Hudoykul grew up in Urgut district in the Samarkand region of Uzbekistan. He said that as a child, he learned to always put in that “extra effort” to “fit in” so that others would accept him. And he did fit in – excelling at most subjects in national and international law at university. 

The Fellowship Programme provides an opportunity to bring 18 young professionals into UNFPA, with a dedicated focus on both providing a youth perspective and driving innovation in UNFPA’s priority areas. This includes addressing unmet needs for family planning, stopping preventable maternal deaths and ending violence against women and girls.

At the start of Melody's  UN Volunteer assignment in Namwala District in Southern regions of Zambia, she supported the programme's implementation in the remote District along with a senior agriculture government official. As part of her assignment, she conducted research on different well-being indicators and prepared various project documents, including concept notes, advisories, budgets, work plans and reports.

In the region, more than 4.8 million Venezuelans have left the country towards other territories like Peru, where 57 percent live in overcrowded spaces (World Bank, 2020).

In Mozambique, one in three women suffered from violence in their lives in the pre-COVID-19 era. Different forms of abuse towards women and girls in many provinces of Mozambique have previously been recorded, especially in Chimoio, Mossourize, Gondola and Tambara districts of Manica province, where domestic violence and abuse cases against women are prevalent, with some resulting in death or loss of body parts.

"We have six international UN Volunteers and 16 national UN Volunteers, which represents 10 per cent of the overall personnel of UNICEF. They contribute significantly to achieving results for the children of Chad," says Mariana Stirbu, the Deputy Representative of UNICEF.

Ayaka’s assignment had a strong focus on COVID-19 response and capacity building, along with accelerating private sector engagement in the Sustainable Development Goals. She also enhanced Uzbekistan’s participation in the UN Food Systems Summit last year. 

The National Youth Volunteering Platform will establish a structured volunteering programme for the first time in Iraq. This platform will give young people a chance to register, search and apply for volunteer activities, in line with their skills and interests. Opportunities will be provided by various partners and organizations, including private companies, non-governmental organizations and institutions.

International Volunteer Day 2021 called for the recognition of volunteers and volunteerism as powerful and cross-cutting ways of achieving the SDGs and building an inclusive world. A number of UN partner representatives, influencers and national authorities shared via social media their messages of acknowledgement and appreciation for the support of volunteers.

Malou had worked earlier as a consultant for the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and UN Development Programme (UNDP), and as a staff member in UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), all in the Philippines. She is now a UN Volunteer Coordination Assistant in the Philippines.