Kankan, Upper Guinea; Guinea-Conakry: When I took up the role of the UN Youth Volunteer for the High Commissioner for Human Rights, I was not quite sure what to expect. "From the university benches, past lectures and books to the real-life practice of human rights on the field." These words are what come to mind when I try to summarise those three weeks on mission to monitor human rights in Guinea.

Monrovia, Liberia: Living through the Ebola epidemic in Liberia, I observed first-hand what was achieved by the global community. By complementing local efforts, it controlled and contained what could have otherwise become another viral infectious disease of global epidemic proportions. The key actions that contributed to the successful control of the Ebola epidemic in West Africa were essentially the prompt actions taken by the UN to marshal resources and other stakeholders to control the spread of the virus.

Monrovia, Liberia:  The post war in Liberia, like any conflict of its kind in the world, left behind factors that fuel the sexual mode of transmission of diseases including HIV. In keeping with UN Security Council Resolution 1308 (2000), all peacekeepers are required to go through a mandatory awareness sensitation and prevention training on basic facts on HIV/AIDS, personal risk assessment and cultural risk factors to HIV/Sexual TI transmission in post war Liberia.

N'Djamena, Chad: We are Alladoum Assidjim and Laura Rutishauser, a national UN volunteer aged 33 and an international UN volunteer from Switzerland aged 29, working together to provide Chadian youth with local volunteering opportunities. In order to do so, we are supporting the set up of Chad’s National Volunteering Programme (CNVP), with our partners the UNV programme, UNDP, the French Embassy and France Volontaires, at the request of the Chadian Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports.

Kigali, Rwanda: 19 815 is the number of peacekeepers deployed to the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). Sent by 52 troop-contributing countries, contingents are deployed for a period that varies from six to eight months before being replaced with a new contingent. The deployment and repatriation of contingents take place in Entebbe, Bujumbura or Kigali, where MONUSCO has MovCon liaison offices.

Bangui, Central African Republic:  I am Italian and define myself as a “soul traveller”. Prior to moving to the Central African Republic (CAR), I have been working, living and studying overseas for the last 10 years. Over the time, I developed expertise in the areas of capacity building, migration, and human trafficking across different countries mainly from South/Southeast Asia, and Africa.

Man, Côte d'Ivoire: Originally from Niger, My name is Samira Keita and I am a United Nations Volunteer Civil Affairs Officer in Man, Ivory Coast. Having earned a Master’s Degree in NGO Management and Development from the London School of Economics in the United Kingdom, I was first introduced to the work of the United Nations while interning at the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Geneva, becoming a consultant in the aftermath.

Lomé, Togo:  Based in Togo, I have been an International United Nations Volunteer (Security Sector Reform Specialist /Programme Manager) at the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa (UNREC) for the past 2 and a half years. Before my current tenure at UNREC I worked with the NGO Search for Common Ground on a conflict mediation project in Northern Tanzania, in partnership with the Tanzanian National Police.

Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire:  In June 2014, 500 highly qualified and committed young Africans arrived in the United States to participate in the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI). Among them was Online Volunteer Jordan Sera from Côte d’Ivoire. Launched by President Barack Obama in 2010,YALI is a United States Department of State initiative aimed at educating and promoting networking among young African leaders. This includes a fellowship to study in the United States for several weeks.

Karimama, Bénin: Just a few weeks after joining the protection unit for stateless persons of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) regional office, I was given the opportunity to participate in my first field mission and to reach out to people threatened by statelessness in northern Benin, at the border with Niger. The aim of this mission was to understand the causes of the situation faced by these people, analyze its impact on their daily lives, and envisage lasting solutions, together with local authorities.