Cairo, Egypt: My name is Mohammad Abbas. I am a national UN Volunteer in Egypt. An accountant for many years, I was really unhappy with my job. I wanted out. I got my chance in 2014. I became a Community Service Intern with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Interacting with people, guiding them, answering queries were all part of my job. In January 2015, I became UN Volunteer Reception Coordinator for UNHCR in Cairo.

Darfur, Sudan: In 2009, I joined UNAMID as a volunteer HIV and AIDS trainer/counsellor, after having served as a VSO volunteer HIV and AIDS advisor in Cambodia, and as an HIV and AIDS counsellor with TASO in my own country of Uganda. I am passionate about volunteering, having started work as a volunteer in Uganda, and born in a family of volunteers - my father and mother were community volunteers helping those in need.

Darfur, Sudan: When I started volunteering in Darfur with the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) as an HIV/AIDS Trainer/Counselor, my responsibilities included carrying awareness training, counselling and testing. I worked with other UNAMID sections, other peacekeepers and internally displaced persons. The exposure and ownership that I've been given over the projects, as well as the time and responsibility that I've been given from professionals that I've worked with has been overwhelming.

Darfur, Sudan: Fighting the spread of HIV in war zones and conflict settings is a major challenge facing UN Missions across the globe. The conflict in Darfur has resulted in huge displacements of populations, disruption to family structures and livelihoods, as well as the deterioration of health infrastructures. Additionally, it has led to the creation of camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) across the region. In general, the spread of HIV/AIDS is exacerbated by conditions of violence and instability that increase the risk of exposure to the disease.

Gaza, State of Palestine: Volunteerism is the path I have chosen to shape the development of my community and my own self-confidence. In my home of Gaza city, within the State of Palestine, volunteerism, as with many other things, takes its own particular shape. We volunteer to help people and to help ourselves in the context of high levels of poverty and unemployment.

Ramallah, State of Palestine: They say if you travel the world carrying the same thoughts and attitude throughout your journey, it is as if you have never left your place. Cognition and knowledge is not about how many places you have seen; sometimes it is how you can view the same place or thing in different ways and from different perspectives. Being a national UN Volunteer provided me with the opportunity to see my country, Palestine, in a different way.

Ramallah, State of Palestine:  I love people, cities and towns. For that reason, I chose to be a spatial/urban planner and I plan for people. When we plan, people should be at the centre of the process; and we should aim to improve people’s lives. People, cities, towns and villages cannot be viewed separately, they are so interconnected. As long as people are there, cities always develop and never stop.

Following the momentous political transitions that swept the Arab region in recent years, the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme’s groundbreaking Arab Youth Volunteering for a Better Future regional project is building trust between young people, their communities, and governments in Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia and Yemen.

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: The International Conference on Youth Volunteering and Dialogue opened on 3 December 2013 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. More than 200 young volunteers from over 33 different countries attended the Conference, along with delegates of UNESCO, the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Education and the King Abdulaziz Center for National Dialogue. The three-day event provided young volunteers, experts and practitioners with the opportunity to discuss, display and evaluate ‘best practices’ in the field of volunteerism.