What does your assignment with UNDP mean to you? To me, this assignment is an opportunity where you don't just serve for livelihood, but also to change people's lives as much as you can. I am aware that one person cannot do much, but I am convinced that the change starts within each of us. This is much easier to do when you are part of a team of professionals who share common values. I am fortunate, because both in the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, I have very open-minded colleagues, who helped me to change my mindset.

A young postgraduate in Development Anthropology, I started my journey as a developmental professional with a provisional non-governmental organization in 1991, working as Coordinator for a Course on Ecology and Environment in a remote tribal district of Kandhamal in the state of Odisha, India. Over the next 8-9 years, I worked with many provisional non-governmental organizations and international universities on issues of forestry, environment, tribes and livelihoods.

The fully funded opportunities primarily focus on economic development and other priority areas as identified by the Ministry, with deployments to take place in jointly agreed countries. Recruitment for these opportunities is currently ongoing via UNV’s Unified Volunteering Platform (UVP).

UN Youth Volunteer Love-lis Liljeström (Sweden) is supporting the roll out of the crisis response of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in Port Sudan. Love-lis is a Programme Liaison Affairs/Transition Affairs Assistant, and her assignment is fully funded by Sida, Sweden.

With the spirit of volunteering deeply rooted in her, Fatouma has always had the drive to empower young people. Her journey started in Geneva where she interned with the Permanent Mission of Djibouti to the United Nations and the World Trade Organization. Armed with knowledge and experience, and having youth empowerment at heart, she returned to Djibouti to volunteer as Regional Coordinator and Youth Development Delegate with UNDP. Within her assignment, she has been implementing the Youth Leadership Programme (YLP) in her country since 2021.

In the past months, the Youth4Climate initiative has benefited from the efforts of two Online Volunteers: Issakha Khouzeifi and Silvia Alfonsi. Over a period of four weeks, they supported the UNDP team by mentoring young people and helping them in preparing and improving their proposals in response to the Youth4climate call for solutions.

The life path of 21-year-old Anes was not the same as that of his peers. From early childhood he walked through a world that often did not understand his unique abilities. He was born with Down syndrome, which greatly influenced his upbringing and life circumstances, from schooling and adolescence to acceptance in society. But every obstacle was a new step towards success for him.

Representing over 160 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean, youth bring the abilities, ideas and determination to overcome the triple planetary crisis – loss of biodiversity, pollution and climate change. Volunteerism is a means for utilizing those skills, while accelerating and increasing their scope of action. 

As soon as I landed at the airport, loud French voices reminded me of how not francophone Burundi is, because Kirundi, our national language, does most of the work. I was at first nervous, for I hadn’t really used the language since high school. But as soon as I settled in, French eased its way back in during my conversations with colleagues, neighbors, and taxi drivers. The latter would always greet me with a "Tu es gabonaise?" (Are you Gabonese) full of suspicion, and I would wonder how striking it was that I was not from here.

I have a long history of service that began at a young age. I completed residencies for unaccompanied refugee children and volunteered with CISV, an international youth organization that promotes peace through education. My previous experiences prepared me well for my UN Volunteer assignments with UNDP in Kosovo, fully funded by Sweden. They played a crucial role in helping me truly understand the challenges people face and the significance of finding solutions to alleviate human suffering.