At 25 years of age, I was a teacher in Australia, yearning to experience something new. Out of the blue, I was offered an opportunity to teach at a missionary school in central Liberia. I remember going to a nearby library to check where Liberia was in the atlas!

UN Volunteer Saleh Nasser, serves as an Adolescent and Youth Associate with the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Jordan. He supports skills development programmes that place youth with community and business leaders who represent role models. Such programmes help to foster connections across generations through the transfer of knowledge, while equipping youth with tools for success in their future career paths.

Salomé Jacquet (France) is a UN Volunteer Local Development Specialist serving with the UN Development Programme (UNDP). She supports a project focused on supporting decentralization, governance and local development as a means of improving the living conditions of beneficiary communities. Since 2019, she has been serving as the project’s focal point for youth-related aspects.

Yasmine Diawara Affoue, David Roland (both from Côte d'Ivoire) and Samba Kante (Guinea) are all UN Volunteers who are passionate about advocating for young people. They provide their expertise to youth and women-focused programmes of UN agencies such as the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).

Oshan Gunathilake is a national UN Volunteer Specialist serving as Volunteer Management and Community Engagement Specialist with the project Youth Participation and Engagement for a Healthier, Equitable, Safer and United Sri Lanka. 

The African Development Bank reports that while 10 million to 12 million youth enter the workforce in Africa each year, only 3 million formal jobs are created annually.

Uganda has one of the youngest and most rapidly growing populations in the world. At a 3.7 per cent population growth rate, 78 per cent of Uganda’s population is under the age of 30. Considering the immense potential of youth to the country's development, The United Nations Development Office in Uganda undertakes several initiatives aimed at empowering the youth of Uganda. These include skilling, innovation and entrepreneurship as catalysts to broaden UNDP’s development agenda in Uganda.

UNV works with partners to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Lao PDR Development Strategy. To do so, the organization recruits diverse talents and offers a variety of volunteer opportunities.

The UN system in Bolivia is implementing the UN Peacebuilding Initiative through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and UN Women. Under the leadership of the Resident Coordinator's Office a

Ever since the start of the Coronavirus pandemic, we have learned that we have to rethink our business practices and integrate online volunteering in our working environment in order to build forward better and thrive.