Nine indigenous women are UN Community Volunteers in Bolivia. They promote peace and human rights in their communities through a dialogue on violence and conflict prevention. Gender equality is at the center of this dialogue.
Giovana Urquizo and Luisa Luna Choque are among the nine UN Community Volunteers. Giovana is from Chuquisaca Department in the center south of Bolivia and Luisa is from La Paz, the third most populous city and the seat of the government of Bolivia.
Luisa Luna Choque, UN Community Volunteer with UN Women Bolivia (front) leads a dialogue for peace building and gender equality with community members in La Paz. @UN Women Bolivia, 2022.
The UN Community Volunteers conducted 72 meetings on violence and conflict resolution. Thirteen of these meetings were held in native regional languages of Ayemara and Quechua.
The meetings resulted in nine peace agendas that make up the National Public Policy Agenda in Bolivia.
These efforts were part of the Peacebuilding Initiative in Bolivia, an inter-agency project run by the Resident Coordinator's Office and the Peacebuilding Fund. The project was also supported by UN Women, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme.
Nine UN Community Volunteers with UN Women in Bolivia join a workshop to exchange lessons learned from their service in local communities. Nidya Pesantez, UN Women Representative in Bolivia (front right) joins the workshop activity. @ UN Women Bolivia, 2022.
Today, there are more than a thousand UN Volunteers in Latin America and the Caribbean region, of them, some are UN community Volunteers.
Indigenous women have an important role in communities. With their invaluable knowledge and significant experience, they guide community members to make lives better for everyone around them.