Many factors motivated me to volunteer: I always wanted to be an agent of change to change mindsets towards persons with disabilities and disability-related matters. I further wanted to prove to the world – through my actions and contributions – that disability does not mean inability. --Pelgrina Shimanu Ndumba, UN Volunteer with UNDP, serving under the UNDP-UNV Talent Programme for Young Professionals with Disabilities

During her assignment at the Forum for Development and Multi-ethnic Cooperation (FDMC), Tatjana visited healthcare workers in local health centres, partook in a creative information campaign to raise the awareness on the importance of vaccination, and delivered protective materials. Moreover, she supported social clubs and paid visits to the people of her community living in vulnerable conditions in Graçanicë/Gračanica.

The main goal of the initiative is to facilitate the integration of those who have declared their intention to reject violence, stop fighting and join the social, economic and political life of the country, as well as to promote the understanding of the local population and the reparation of open wounds within the civil society.

From June 2018 to July 2020, Sophie was assigned to the Public Information Unit of the UN Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea Bissau (UNIOGBIS) as a Project Manager. Her mission, together with colleagues at UNDP, was to implement a project funded by the Peacebuilding Fund to create enabling conditions for journalists to play a positive role in a democratic society: boosting the media sector in Guinea-Bissau for greater peace.

Yumiko served through the Global Human Resource Development Programme for Peacebuilding and Development (HRD) of the Government of Japan, and supported two projects funded by Japan. One of these was a project for the prevention of violent extremism in Muslim areas, which is a priority in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region. UNDP has provided technical advice to local governments and organized knowledge platforms for stakeholders, such as religious leaders, community heads, academics, officers, internally displaced persons, indigenous people and youth.

A lot has been said about how young people can take action to combat the crisis, from community organizing to innovative startups. Luckily for you, that isn’t what I will do, because, let’s face it, we do not talk about the interdependence of generations enough.

As a member of the procurement team, Yurii contributes to almost 20 projects. UNDP Ukraine provides procurement support services to the Ministry of Health and the Recovery and Peacebuilding and Democratic Governance Programmes.

Thank you, Mr Associate Administrator, for your introduction and your – and the Administrator’s – commitment to volunteerism and your strong support to the United Nations Volunteers programme. Madame President, Distinguished delegates, Mr Associate Administrator, Ladies and Gentlemen:

I was invited to deliver keynote remarks in front of you. I can do that. Or, I can ask us to pause and reflect about a future keynote speech that one of you may be asked to deliver to a youth audience in the year 2050. 2050 is when the world will mark mid-century. By that time, the 21st century’s identity will have been cast. And it is you—your generation—that will have a major role in casting this identity.

Before UNDP, I worked at the Permanent Representation of the Czech Republic to the European Union (EU) in Brussels, Belgium – working closely with the Agriculture and Environment Unit and engaging with the EU’s Task Force for Rural Africa. This provided me with development experience in an agricultural context. As a recent graduate and practitioner in the field of Agricultural Economics, it has been a challenging yet compelling transition to dive into the approaches to prevent violent extremism (PVE). --Tomas Kral, UN Youth Volunteer, UNDP