UN Volunteers collaborate with peace monitors in concerted efforts towards peaceful elections in Kenya

Kevin Ochieng
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Kenya is holding general elections next month. On the ballot are candidates for the Presidency and members of Parliament. UN Volunteers are on location, assisting the process. Elections are the cornerstone of a representative democracy, giving citizens the opportunity to freely chose leaders that will lead the nation on their behalf. The process provides a crucial opportunity for citizens to shape their governing structures and fashion leadership that resonates with their aspirations and vision for national development.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Kenya is offering ongoing support in preparation of the 2017 Kenyan general elections. 12 UN Volunteers are on location serving with monitoring counterparts, contributing to UNDP’s support of the electoral process.

Exchanging experiences and knowledge of youth volunteering in ASEAN, and beyond

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Exchanging experiences and knowledge of youth volunteering in ASEAN, and beyond

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Volunteering to prevent famine in Somalia

Aleksandra Risteska
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Responding to the drought and preventing famine in Somalia is a United Nations system-wide priority. To tackle the needs of the operation, UN personnel and resources were shifted to support immediate response to those communities most affected by the drought. For months, the UN response was scaled up, reaching millions of people in need across Somalia.

Communications are a vital element of humanitarian assistance. As system-wide coordination took shape, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Somalia expanded its public information campaign on drought response and strategized new ways of informing people about its operations – both to make the public aware of the UN’s efforts and to provide information on where, when and how communities could get help themselves if affected by the drought.

UNV renews partnership with the World Bank

Colombo, Sri Lanka
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Duvindi Illankoon, Manela Karunadasa and Kavitha Ariyabandu are on a six-month UN Volunteer assignment and support the World Bank on core staff responsibilities that include developing the existing relationship with the Government of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and maintaining momentum on national economic reform.

This new deployment is especially noteworthy – World Bank and UNV rejuvenate their more than three-decade old partnership and, UN Volunteers take on core bank staff responsibilities instead of being tasked to specific projects as in the past.

UNV renews partnership with the World Bank

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Duvindi Illankoon, Manela Karunadasa and Kavitha Ariyabandu are on a six-month UN Volunteer assignment and support the World Bank on core staff responsibilities that include developing the existing relationship with the Government of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and maintaining momentum on national economic reform.

This new deployment is especially noteworthy – World Bank and UNV rejuvenate their more than three-decade old partnership and, UN Volunteers take on core bank staff responsibilities instead of being tasked to specific projects as in the past.

Supporting local communities to achieve food security in South Sudan

Fighting the famine in South Sudan
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On February 2017, the United Nations formally declared famine in parts of South Sudan, warning that “war and a collapsing economy have left 100,000 people facing starvation there and a further one million people are classified as being on the brink of famine.”

International UN Volunteer Solomon Bekele (Ethiopia) has been serving with the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in South Sudan since April 2016 as the Pastoralist Literacy and Education Specialist for the project: Enhanced Knowledge and Education for Resilient Pastoral Livelihoods in South Sudan.

UN Volunteers and FAO bolster their partnership

Rome, Italy
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Daniel Gustafson, FAO Deputy Director General and UNV Executive Coordinator Olivier Adam signed a Memorandum of Understanding today aiming at scaling-up their collaboration and making rapid deployments easier.  

UNV fields around 6,600 UN Volunteers from more than 150 countries working with dozens of UN organizations and Peacekeeping Operations in more than 120 countries.  FAO currently has 17 UN Volunteers posted in Chad, Honduras, Mongolia, Viet Nam and a host of other duty stations.  

UN Volunteers with FAO create agricultural employment opportunities in Mongolia

Creating employment opportunities for vulnerable rural people
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UN Volunteers with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) are serving in a project creating employment opportunities for vulnerable rural people, women and youth. Operational 2016-2019, the project entitled “Support to Employment Creation in Mongolia: Piloting Quality Private Sector Work in Selected Livestock and Vegetable Value Chains” is supported by the Government of Mongolia, the European Union, and the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), in partnership with the national ministries for agriculture, industry and labour, government support institutions and services, as well as vocational training institutions, trade associations and the private sector.

In Mongolia, agriculture employs 35 per cent of the total labour force and, more importantly, it accounts for over 70 per cent of employment in rural areas. The livestock sub-sector accounts for almost 10 per cent of export earnings and approximately 80 per cent of total agricultural production. The agriculture and food sectors offer the best opportunity to grow inclusive employment (Ministry of Labour, 2014). There is a clear need to match the agro-industry’s increasing demand for a skilled ‘employable’ workforce with ‘decent work’ opportunities.

UN Volunteers participate in Kazakhstan Expo 2017

Astana, Kazakhstan
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Expo-2017 Energy of the Future takes place from 10 June to 10 September in Astana, Kazakhstan, and introduces innovative technologies and solutions to scale up the world’s sustainable energy production, promoting energy security and efficiency, and advocating for renewable energy around the world.

Two million visitors are expected to attend the Expo, which is made possible with the help of some 4,000 volunteers.

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