To have A-I-ready data is already a very successful differentiator for organizations over the last few years. Being able to use large amounts of data and provide visually appealing reports and dashboards helps fact-based decision-making and brings transparency, visibility and strategic, tactical and operational benefits. The reports and the dashboards are the visible tip of the data iceberg.

The volunteer organization of the United Nations is United Nations Volunteers, in short – UNV, which provides grassroots-level response in emergencies and local-level support to peace, humanitarian and development initiatives.

The United Nations E-Government Survey is a development tool that examines countries’ strengths, challenges and opportunities, and informs policies and strategies.  From June to September 2023, each Online Volunteer collected data through online assessments of national and city-level public sector portals, including associated official websites of 193 United Nations Member States.

Madam Chair, distinguished delegates, Associate Administrator,  The report before the Executive Board provides a high-level summary of UNV’s work in 2023. While it strives to comprehensively cover our activities and the hard evidence of our results, it may still lack the vivid details of the daily realities.

My interest in the United Nations began while I was still in high school student. I was part of Model UN, an educational model of the UN where students learn about diplomacy and international relations. I started my volunteer journey as an Online Volunteer through the United Nations Volunteers in November 2023 with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Bureau for Policy and Programme Support and the Sustainable Development Goals Integration Team. 

This partnership aims to build on the progress and achievements made during the previous UNV and ILO partnership from 2017-2022, particularly the development of survey tools for the statistical measurement of volunteer work .

The research paper titled The role of volunteers in leaving no one behind: Supporting United Nations entities and national governments towards realizing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development demonstrates a wealth of data detailing the expansive efforts of volunteers.

In 2023 UNV launched two separate, but interconnected initiatives. Several UN Volunteers with disabilities were contacted and requested to provide feedback on the accessibility of the UNV applications. Highly valuable feedback was received, including a comprehensive Keyboard Accessibility Assessment Report, prepared by Hudoykul Hafizov, UN Volunteer who served as Disability Inclusion Advisor with UNDP in Uzbekistan.  

The impacts of climate change on people's lives and ecosystems cannot be ignored and are being felt in every corner of the globe. Not simply an environmental issue, it's a humanitarian crisis.  Shockingly, over the last five years alone, approximately 1.59 billion individuals have been affected by climate and weather-related disasters. As a result, around 130 million people have been forced to leave their homes and have become internally displaced.

Although Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 for gender equality and International Women’s Day, instilling the spirit of the goal, do not explicitly focus on women with disabilities, they consistently focus on the empowerment of all women and leaving no one behind.  How do we ensure that we empower all women across the board? For that, it’s important to first look the entire picture.