Volunteering to determine refugees’ status in India

Andrea Marilyn Pragashini Immanuel, Gauri Talwar and Shreya Bose
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Andrea Marilyn Pragashini Immanuel, Gauri Talwar and Shreya Bose are national UN Volunteers currently serving with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in New Delhi, India. These three women are Refugee Status Determination Assistants and through their volunteer assignments they make a difference to the lives of the countless people they interview every day.

Andrea Marilyn Pragashini Immanuel: “Refugees bring with them their culture, traditions, history and a truckload of experience. They strive through unimaginable hardship, incomprehensible misery and through it all find the strength to smile. They have taught me perseverance, to never give up hope even when everything fails and to strive hard. They have taught me to appreciate life, peace and prosperity.

Creating opportunities for more resilient communities in Serbia

Jelena Maric Lukovic
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Before becoming a UN Volunteer, I spent eight years in the Commissariat for Refugees and Migration of the Government of Serbia working on issues of forced migration, assistance to refugees and internally displaced persons. This experience gave me a deep understanding of why timely humanitarian response is integral to migration and it showed me that, to be effective, these responses need to be followed by developmental responses in support of peace.

My name is Jelena Maric Lukovic. I serve as national UN Volunteer Resilient Programming Assistant with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in the Republic of Serbia.

Enhancing rural livelihoods and food security with FAO in Viet Nam

Barbora Chmelova
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Every day at the UN, I experience the utmost feeling of broadening my horizons in terms of both professional and personal development. I truly appreciate the opportunity to work with experts, which offers me great possibilities for learning and networking.

I am currently serving as an international UN Youth Volunteer in Agricultural Economics with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Hanoi, Viet Nam. I’m one of the six UN Youth Volunteers fully funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic in 2017.

We have a relevant mandate

Joel Ayim Darkwah
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Joel Ayim Darkwah is a national UN Volunteer, Assistant Programme Officer (Sustainable Development) at United Nations Developement Programme in Ghana. Monitoring UNDP projects is one of his tasks, including monitoring some project interventions in disaster preparedness in remote areas. His assignement as UN Volunteer made him understand the nature of the developement work and how relevant it is. He hereby shares his thoughts...

Last March 2017, I had the opportunity of travelling to the northern part of Ghana to monitor some project interventions in disaster preparedness and to assess the impact on the beneficiaries. As I journeyed through the most remote parts of that region, I couldn’t help but to engage myself in deep thoughts about development across the country and particularly in such areas where many challenges are persisting.

UN Volunteers ready to help Nigeria in North-East

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The Chief of the Development Programming Section at United Nations Volunteers, Geoff Prewitt, made the offer following his recent travels through Nigeria, including visits to Northeast.

Building confidence and commitment through online volunteering

Néstor Liendo
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I think that it is not only about what one can give as a volunteer, but also about what one receives: new contacts, references, projects, the satisfaction of contributing and being part of something bigger, the learning coming out of a challenge of this kind.

The month of December was passing by and my sadness had turned into depression. At that moment, I had lived outside of Venezuela for almost two years, since I, like many other young people from my country, felt the need to look for opportunities beyond our borders. However, in my case, my stay in Colombia had become more challenging than expected: I couldn’t find a job where I could utilize my skills and professional knowledge, and I was quite far from content.

Partnering for a research symposium on volunteerism

Beijing, People's Republic of China
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Globally one billion people are engaged in volunteering – representing a powerful, cross-cutting means of implementation for the Sustainable Development Goals. However, there remains a huge demand for empirical evidence on the value of volunteering for sustainable development. China has experienced strong growth and innovation in its volunteering infrastructure, and today there is a pressing need to evaluate and share innovative Chinese approaches to volunteering for sustainable development.

Partnering for a research symposium on volunteerism

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Globally one billion people are engaged in volunteering – representing a powerful, cross-cutting means of implementation for the Sustainable Development Goals. However, there remains a huge demand for empirical evidence on the value of volunteering for sustainable development. China has experienced strong growth and innovation in its volunteering infrastructure, and today there is a pressing need to evaluate and share innovative Chinese approaches to volunteering for sustainable development.

“Greening the blue” in Haiti

Pablo Sánchez Ortega
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Working as a UN Volunteer in an organization like MINUSTAH is a life changing experience. I am motivated by the progress made on the environmental performance of the UN as the result of our highly motivated and creative team who works hard to reduce the UN’s environmental impact. From environmental management systems to campaigns on waste, our role in “greening the blue” is vital.

As a UN Volunteer Environmental Engineer Assistant with the Environmental Compliance Unit (ECU) at the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), I work with the Civil, Military and Police components of the mission. The MINUSTAH mandate is to support the Government of Haiti in the stabilization of the country and, to achieve this objective, the Mission is committed to conducting its activities in an environmentally friendly manner.

Helping preserve and expand protected areas in Angola

Ester Coelho
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One of 39 Brazilian UN Volunteers serving around the world in 2016, Vanessa Falkowski left Brazil to start a new experience in Angola as Biodiversity Officer with UNDP to create and preserve nature reserves in the country.

As a Forest and Nature Conservation Specialist, Vanessa Falkowski had been working at a rural settlement when she decided to move to Luanda, Angola, to take up her assignment as Biodiversity Officer with UNDP within a project for the Expansion and Strengthening of Angola’s Protected Area System.

The Angolan civil war that came to an end in 2002 was followed by the destruction of several protected areas, resulting in the loss of many forests, animals, and nature.

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