Support the emergency response to the crisis in the State of Palestine as a volunteer 

Supporting land restoration and preservation through Online Volunteering with UNCCD

The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is developing a global Land Restoration Information Hub which comprises a wide range of data sets on land and habitat restoration. To collect substantial data at local and global level, 126 Online Volunteers engaged through UNV served with UNCCD headquarters in Germany since March 2023. Hamid, Nicole and Vanessa are three of the Online Volunteers who supported UNCCD’s efforts with their skills and collaboration.

As we are leaving the third year of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration behind us, UNCCD is introducing innovative ways to combat climate change and its effects. Keeping technological developments in focus, the Land Restoration Information Hub aims to provide easy access to information and encourage collaboration and engagement by collecting data and best practices on one platform.

Oksana Vlasenko: "I'm sure everyone has understood that there's no point in just sitting and waiting"

Oksana Vlasenko, a young woman from Kyiv, has been living in Chișinău, Moldova, for more than four months. She is a UN Volunteer Refugee Support Associate within the Mayors for Economic Growth initiative, implemented by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and financed by the European Union. In the interview below, Oksana shared from her life in Moldova and her experience serving in an international organization.

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.

"Through volunteering, we contribute to personal and community development"

Volunteering is an extremely important component for personal development. Through volunteering and helping others, individuals gain the opportunity to develop new skills, network and provide personal contributions to advance progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals within their communities.

The project sustaining peace and social cohesion in Bosnia and Herzegovina through enhanced inter-municipal and inter-entity cooperation on local services is implemented by UNDP in nine locations acorss the country. It engaged 18 UN Community Volunteers within their communities. At the beginning, two of them shared their positive stories and experiences about their volunteer engagement.

Raising awareness in rural communities on ending violence against women and girls in Timor-Leste

Fidelia Mendonca and Rogerio Lopes are national UN Volunteer Programme Coordination Assistants with the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in Timor-Leste. Serving under the Spotlight Initiative Project, they are raising awareness about national laws and policies related to combating violence against women, girls and marginalized groups, domestic violence and access to the formal justice system. 

With approximately 1,3 million population, Timor-Leste has made milestones in ending violence against women and girls and intimate partner violence. More than 75 per cent of the population under 35 and more than half of the youth live in rural areas and have been unable to shift the high tolerance for men’s perpetration of violence against women.