Putting data-driven solutions at the center of sustainable cities

United Nations Volunteers
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Yi Nam Xu (Deanna) is a UN Volunteer with the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) supporting sustainable urban solutions for local communities in Lao People's Democratic Republic. She is a Knowledge Management Assistant and manages the organization's data system. Her assignment is fully funded by the Agency for Volunteer Service, Hong Kong (SAR China). 

With a background in Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics, Deanna sees her volunteer assignment with the United Nations as a platform for meaningful contribution to sustainability—something she's been passionately pursuing as part of her university studies as well.  

I consolidate climate vulnerability and disaster risk data from diverse UN entities and development partners into a unified platform, thus enhancing data accessibility and improving urban planning and decision-making processes.” Yi Nam Xu, UN Volunteer with UN-Habitat.

From China to Bangladesh—a story of energy, enthusiasm and fresh ideas

United Nations Volunteers
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Yiran Zhao, Xinhao Yao, and Xiangyu Jin serve with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) Country Office in Bangladesh. Through their service as fully funded UN University Volunteers, they brought out-of-the-box ideas to help development efforts along with a lot of energy and enthusiasm. 

These three volunteers were part of 40 UN University Volunteers deployed under the joint partnership of UNV, the Chinese Young Volunteers Association (CYVA), and the China International Center for Economic and Technical Exchanges (CICETE). 

I write and develop content to combat cyber harassment of women in Bangladesh," says Yiran Zhao with UNDP. While Xinhao Yao adds, "I got to learn about the rich culture of the country and ways to promote it via my service with UNESCO." And, Xiangyu Jin from UNV Country Office shares, "I got to coordinate youth empowerment initiatives in Bangladesh and saw how youth can create a meaningful impact in a country's development."

Let’s hear more from UN Volunteers and UN entities in this inspirational video from Bangladesh.

 

Online Volunteers support We the Women campaign in 185 countries

United Nations Volunteers
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"At its heart of We the Women is the idea that we, the women, have the power to come together and craft sustainable solutions for our shared future." The words of Angela Polinsky echo some 1000 Online Volunteers like herself who participated in the first-ever global campaign centering on women. These volunteers gathered the voices of over 25,000 women in 185 countries in a survey, the data of which, informs global priorities and how the international community can address them. 

Angela was also one of the campaign volunteers who participated in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Roundtable discussion that centered on the survey, conducted by the United Nations Office of Partnerships (UNOP). Women were asked questions about how they see the future, their priorities, fears and hopes, and how global leaders can listen to them and support them to address issues, challenges and opportunities of the future.

Paying tribute to the courage and commitment of humanitarians

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Grace Kironcho and Ousséni Demba Sidibé come from different parts of Africa and serve with two different United Nations entities. Grace serves with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Ousséni is with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). What connects them is a common goal — volunteering and through it — humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable populations in their home continent. We pay tribute to all humanitarians as we mark the World Humanitarian Day.

Grace Kironcho is from Kenya and serves with UNHCR in Nigeria. She is 33 years old.

UN Volunteers' humanitarian assistance for Gaza

United Nations Volunteers
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World Humanitarian Day is observed annually on 19 August. As we pay tribute to and and salute the courage of humanitarians around the world, we bring you a story of three UN Volunteers, Elena Mansour, Lama Sheta, and Mohamed Moursy whose volunteer actions underpin the crucial support needed on the ground for one of the deadliest conflicts — Gaza.

The war continues unabated in its eleventh month. In this backdrop, Elena Mansour, from the Netherlands, serves as a UN Volunteer in Security Analysis and Training with the World Food Programme (WFP) Regional Bureau in Egypt. She reports on security and political developments regarding food security. This reporting is vital to forecast potential risks for famine.

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