"Remember the impact of volunteering" says UNDP Resident Representative

For UN Volunteers environmental impact is important. And that's the message Armen Grigoryan, a former UN Volunteer currently United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative in North Macedonia, gave while visiting United Nations Volunteers in Bonn. Reflecting on World Environment Day, he speaks of disaster risk reduction and environmental protection — topics close to his heart.

In an interview at UNV Headquarters, Armen Grigoryan shares, "Volunteering is a growing concept in North Macedonia as it contributes to the improved quality of life through the active involvement of people in social life.

UN Volunteers can advocate for the importance of volunteerism in the communities and workplaces especially in the support of public institutions, state bodies, local self-government units and the City of Skopje in many areas, as well the disaster risk management, environment protection issues, good governance and inclusion.

Diverse perspectives in security sector reforms in the Western Balkans

Vesna Ciprus is a UN Volunteer Gender Equality Project Officer serving with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) South Eastern and Eastern Europe Clearinghouse for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SEESAC). Her volunteer assignment focuses on integrating gender equality in security sector reforms in the Western Balkans through a regional project titled ‘Strengthening of the Regional Cooperation in Mainstreaming Gender in the Security Sector Reform in the Western Balkans’.

Beyond its globally recognized work on small arms control, UNDP SEESAC advances gender mainstreaming in security sector reform by supporting regional cooperation among the Ministries of Defence of four Western Balkans countries — Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. 

Online Volunteers create cool climate solutions

Pauline Rukani, Isaac Koomson and Rabia Demirci are Online Volunteers engaged through United Nations Volunteers to support the activities of United Nations Development Programme's (UNDP) Accelerator Labs (AccLab).

Understanding how climate change affects cities is crucial for finding sustainable cooling solutions with minimal energy consumption and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. This is an area of focus for the UNDP AccLab in North Macedonia — centered on innovation and collective intelligence.