UN Volunteers go above and beyond to build the confidence and skills of their students

Deema Al-Sousi (State of Palestine) & Rakel Jeaid (Lebanon)
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Education is recognized by the United Nations as a basic human right and yet only about 61 per cent of refugee children worldwide are enrolled in school. The enrollment of refugees in higher education is a mere one per cent. Through education programmes, UN Volunteers work to build the confidence and skill base of students and pupils despite their fragile contexts.

Since 1950, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has been working to ensure recognition of the rights of five million refugees in the Near East. Among them are over half a million children who continue to receive quality education.

Investing in quality early learning programmes is vital for change in Ethiopia

Kosumo Shiraishi, HRD-UN Volunteer Education Officer, Ethiopia
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Research shows that investing in quality early learning programmes is one of the most effective ways to improve a child’s success in a school. In Ethiopia, children under five comprise the largest age bracket in the population. There are approximately 10 million children aged 0-3 years and seven million children aged 4-6 years. Investing in Early Child Development interventions, like early learning, is critical for the long-term prosperity of the country. Kosumo Shiraishi (Japan) served as a UN Volunteer Education Officer with UNICEF under the Human Resource Development Programme for Peacebuilding and Development, supporting the education sector planning and management in the country.

As an HRD-UN Volunteer, Kosumo Shiraishi was assigned to the Education Sector Planning and Management unit with UNICEF Ethiopia.  During the assignment, Kosumo worked in close collaboration with several units of the Learning and Development Programme, including Early Childhood Education, Access and Equity, Education in Emergencies and Quality Education and Learning. The programme also has an explicit commitment to leverage education for peacebuilding outcomes, particularly in regions where conflict has occurred between refugees and host communities.

UNV and UNDP improve access to justice services for communities in Niger

UNV partnering with UNDP
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In Niger, the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme is partnering with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), deploying UN Volunteers to contribute to international community efforts in poverty eradication, promotion of full employment and decent work, gender equity and access to social well-being and justice for local communities.

It’s in Maradi, approximately 550 kilometers from Niamey, the capital of Niger, that Sani Garba conducts different missions to deliver legal aid to the vulnerable people. Born in Niger, Sani serves as a national UN Volunteer Legal Advisor with UNDP.

As the second largest city of Niger, Maradi is exposed to many challenges due to climate and food security threats, as well as migration issues, as the town is on a migration route for many young Africans. 

From engagement to employment: improving the social inclusion of young Roma in Serbia

UNV partnering with UNDP and UNHCR
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Across the European Union, leaders have pledged to fight poverty and social inclusion as part of the Europe 2020 strategy. Improving the economic and social integration of Europe's most deprived and vulnerable minority groups, such as Roma, is high on their agenda. The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme is partnering with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) to provide Roma youth with a venue for engagement as UN Community Volunteers.

In the Republic of Serbia, Roma are the largest ethnic minority and remain one of the most disenfranchised communities, often facing discrimination, social exclusion and unequal access to employment, education, housing and health services.

UNDP's 2017 regional survey on the socio-economic position of Roma in the Western Balkans highlighted that although education among Roma has improved, one of the biggest challenges for the social inclusion of Roma in Serbia was the high level of unemployment.

"I learned to juggle two mindsets: to reduce the risks of disasters and to react to their impact," shares former UN Volunteer

Alex Suwitra, UN Volunteer Emergency Response Coordination Assistant
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Extreme weather situations such as droughts and monsoon rains often pose severe humanitarian challenges to tropical island states such as Sri Lanka. In 2017-2018, Alex Suwitra (Australia) served as a UN Volunteer Emergency Response Coordination Assistant with the Resident Coordinator’s Office to assist the coordination of international humanitarian aid, develop disaster risk reduction strategies and disseminate information on crucial humanitarian interventions. He recently shared reflections on his volunteer experience.

In Colombo, Sri Lanka, UN Volunteer Alex Suwitra acted to anchor the engagements of UN agencies, international partners, NGOs and government and safeguard the immediate and longer term disaster response to the needs of communities in distress.

The unique geography of the country that makes it more susceptible to the effects of climate change creates a very contrasting situation – floods and landslides in the southwest parts and drought in Sri Lanka’s north and east regions.  

Supporting the path to peace, prosperity and democracy with UNDP in Myanmar

Sho Matsumura, HRD-UN Volunteer M&E/Reporting Officer, Myanmar
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After seven decades of civil war, underdevelopment and social and political stagnation, the Government of Myanmar has declared its vision of building a peaceful, prosperous and democratic Myanmar. The government is committed to aligning national priorities with the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and seeks their integration into economic and sectoral policies and plans. The UN System is supporting the people and the Government to achieve national development priorities and aspirations. Over the coming years, the UN will remain focused on supporting the implementation of reforms and transitions though four main pillars: socio-economic development, peace building, humanitarian action and human rights.

The UN in Myanmar is in the process of formulating its first United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) for the period 2018-2021. The Office of the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator is the unit within the UN Development Programme (UNDP) providing support to the Resident Coordinator and the United Nations Country Team to promote and implement the UN coordination/reform agenda and the overall UN strategy. This support is guided by the principles of inclusiveness and sustainability and in the internationally agreed treaties and standards.

Building a case for ending female genital mutilation, child marriage and other harmful practices in Africa

Faith Bwibo, national UN Volunteer with UN Women
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In its efforts towards empowering women and girls, UN Women is working with stakeholders to address several challenges in Africa, including the elimination of harmful cultural practices like early child marriage and Female Genital Mutilation and Cutting (FGM/C). Faith Bwibo (Kenya) serves with the UN Women Regional Office. In this article, she shares her experience as a UN Volunteer in communications.

Statistics indicate that worldwide, more than 700 million women alive today were married as children. A concerning 17 per cent of them, or 125 million, live in Africa. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have set a target to eliminate this practice by 2030.

According to recent data, women who marry as children have fewer years of schooling than those who marry as adults, potentially leading to lower labor force participation and poorer long-term economic opportunities for themselves and their families.

Contributing to the conservation of Angolan biodiversity and promoting life on land

Vanessa Falkowski, UN Volunteer Biodiversity Officer, Angola
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The Ministry of Environment of Angola has been implementing projects with the goal of creating new protected areas, supporting the infrastructure and management of existing protected areas and combating illegal poaching and human-wildlife conflict. Vanessa Falkowski (Brazil) serves as a UN Volunteer Biodiversity Officer with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in the country. Here, she shares her experiences after almost two years in Angola.

Almost three decades of civil war in Angola have decimated its wildlife, during a time where the country had other priorities and the maintenance of protected areas and conservation of biodiversity were neglected. Now the country has the challenge to recover its biodiversity and rehabilitate its protected areas.

Developing a framework for cancer control in the Arab States region

Gemma Lyons, former UN Volunteer with WHO
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Gemma Lyons served as UN Volunteer Technical Officer on the World Health Organization's regional Cancer Control Programme in the Arab States. Hailing from the United Kingdom and with a background in public health, she shares her experience, serving under the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme in Egypt.

I served as a UN Volunteer at the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean in Cairo, Egypt, from May 2016 until May 2017. This was a fantastic opportunity for me, both professionally and personally.

UNV and the UN Office for South South Cooperation sign a Memorandum of Understanding

New York, United States of America
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The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Olivier Adam, Executive Coordinator of UNV, and Mr Jorge Chediek, UNOSSC Director and Envoy of the Secretary-General on South-South Cooperation.

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