For COP 23, UN Volunteers has recruited more than 650 volunteers to support a wide range of operational tasks throughout the event. They all attended a full-day training on October 30. Follow the involvement of volunteers during COP 23 here (hover over the image and scroll down):

The UN Climate Change Conference COP 23 is taking place in Bonn, Germany, between 6 and 17 November. UNV is also present in different ways to make sure volunteerism is part of the conversation around the protection of the environment and the fight against climate change.

Eastern Ukraine is an area of protracted armed conflict, which refers to conflicts that are marked by longevity, complexity and a high impact on local populations. Kramatorsk, located in the Donbas region, was one of the first cities over which the Ukrainian government lost control during the conflict’s onset in 2014.

I was working for the Irrigation Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Japan (currently the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries) when I was invited to speak at a symposium hosted by the United States Consulate in Fukuoka. At the event, the Principal Officer gave me a book entitled The Good War: the U.N.'s World-Wide Fight Against Poverty, Disease and Ignorance. That chance encounter, in the summer of 1969, changed my life.

Within the first three weeks after the earthquake, UNV mobilized five UN Volunteers to immediately support the work of UN agencies after the earthquake. The rest of UN Volunteers were deployed during the three months after the disaster. They all worked directly with the communities and the people who suffered the devastation of the earthquake, focusing mainly on reaching families, especially women and children who lost not only their homes but also their livelihoods, helping build their capacity and supporting strategies for economic empowerment.

Democratic elections provide a crucial opportunity for citizens to shape their governing structures and freely chose the leaders that will lead the nation on their behalf. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) promotes credible and inclusive elections by supporting countries to establish independent electoral bodies and prevent electoral conflict and violence.

UN Volunteer Castro Baraza sits in his office at the Kisumu County Headquarters finalizing reports of his pre-election peace building activities. It is three weeks since the presidential results were announced, and Kisumu remains peaceful with business fully operational and the new County administration already taking charge. Castro is however still hard at work, ensuring the peace dividends are maintained and the development agenda in the region is realized.

Ludovic Brandhot is a national UN Volunteer serving with the local government in Mbrès, Central African Republic. For more than four years, instability persists in the country. Approximately 60% of the territory remains occupied by armed groups. In the prefecture of Nana-Grébizi, in the heart of the country, clashes between rebel groups in 2016 and March 2017 completely paralyzed the activities in the city. The civilian population was trapped. Today, te humanitarian situation continues to be unbearable.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Kenya is offering ongoing support in preparation of the 2017 Kenyan general elections. 12 UN Volunteers are on location serving with monitoring counterparts, contributing to UNDP’s support of the electoral process.

→ Expand the map here. World Refugee Day marks the need to show support to refugees all over the world, to stand with them in their plight, and honour the courage, strength and determination of women, men and children who are forced to flee their homeland under threat of persecution, conflict and violence.