I joined the UNDP Kazakhstan team in 2020. For me, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities has always been a day closer to sadness, arousing memories of being excluded from society due to my disability. Therefore, when my interview for this UN Volunteer assignment was scheduled close to the day, I felt this was ironic.  However, I was successful, and since the start of the assignment, my perspective on how the world sees people with disabilities has changed.

Milanka Nikolic is a national UN Volunteer Human Rights Associate with OHCHR in Serbia. Her assignment is fully funded by the Government of Sweden.  Her involvement in volunteering and interest to learn more about human rights and UN core values led her to join the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme.   My work area has always been activism, primarily for youth from disadvantaged backgrounds, alongside promoting media literacy and social media education.

What motivated me to serve as a UN Volunteer was my desire to learn and to contribute to the important work of the United Nations. It is inspiring that the programme provides such opportunities to young and emerging professionals like me.

My primary role is to spearhead disability inclusion at the Nigeria Country Office. I manage the inclusion of women and girls with disabilities and the youth in UN Women's activities in Nigeria. I have pioneered a Disability Inclusion toolkit tailored to the ongoing programmes in the country. This toolkit simplifies the steps for programme managers and partners to provide access to women and girls with diverse disabilities to contribute, participate and benefit from development programmes.

Having experienced discrimination herself, Chavia has always felt the need to dedicate herself to tackling challenges faced by persons with disabilities. For as long as she can remember, volunteering has always been her passion. During her university years at Aleppo University, Syria, Chavia founded an advocacy organization for persons with disabilities. "At the time, I was fortunate enough to have my father’s support, so I was able to fully dedicate myself to improving the everyday lives of persons with disabilities in my home country," she recalls. 

When I got the opportunity at UNDP in 2019, I was working at the university as a teaching assistant. I thought UNDP would give me a chance to grow and also contribute to everything that I wanted to do in society. I was already interested in inclusive development, inclusive governance, social justice, climate change, and I wanted to play a part in addressing social inequalities.

The Comprehensive School Safety (CSS) programme is an extension of the Government of Nepal’s School Sector Development Plan, and as such, provides a detailed roadmap on how to ensure a child’s right to access quality education in safe learning environments. My key duties in the capacity of a DRR Programme Officer were to monitor programme progress and provide technical support in a timely manner.

Can you share the highlights of your assignment as a UN Volunteer and a bit about what you do every day? I have been a Community Outreach Officer with UNMISS for the past three years. I constantly interact with local communities, women’s groups, youth representatives, students, traditional leaders, faith-based organizations and government stakeholders across South Sudan to educate them on the core values the mission stands for.