I am an international UN Volunteer Communications Specialist from Ghana. My role with UNDP in Zambia involves connecting with people throughout the country to document stories of strife and triumph. What I value most in my work is storytelling and bringing to the fore voices of the ones not heard.

My motivation to become a UN Volunteer stems from my belief in the power of every individual to effect change and contribute to the creation of a more just and sustainable world. --Naida Spahic, UN Volunteer Grant Investment Package Monitoring Assistant with UNDP, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

As we are leaving the third year of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration behind us, UNCCD is introducing innovative ways to combat climate change and its effects. Keeping technological developments in focus, the Land Restoration Information Hub aims to provide easy access to information and encourage collaboration and engagement by collecting data and best practices on one platform.

In the past months, the Youth4Climate initiative has benefited from the efforts of two Online Volunteers: Issakha Khouzeifi and Silvia Alfonsi. Over a period of four weeks, they supported the UNDP team by mentoring young people and helping them in preparing and improving their proposals in response to the Youth4climate call for solutions.

The Great Green Wall, an African-led initiative, aims to restore Africa's degraded landscapes and transform millions of lives in one of the world's most vulnerable regions, the Sahel. The initiative aligns perfectly with the broader sustainable development goals of the United Nations. It addresses 15 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including challenges such as climate change, desertification, drought, famine, conflict and migration.  

Seven UN Volunteers are serving with UNCCD and the Panafrican Agency for the GGWI in West and Central Africa. They are based in Burkina Faso, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Senegal. Their collective endeavors exemplify how the GGWI goes beyond 'simply' planting trees. It aims to improve livelihoods and combat climate change on a continental scale.

At the heart of this community-driven initiative are three UN Community Volunteers assigned to FAO: Fatoumata Ka, Abdoulahat Ngom and Amadou Fall.  

UNEP is actively seeking young, passionate, and skilled talent from less represented regions of the world to join the organization and become the environmental leaders of tomorrow. This online recruitment drive will last until 15 May 2023. This is your chance to help us all work together to protect our Earth; your chance to help us shape your own future. --Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP, speaking to potential applicants in a video message

Q. Anita, can you tell us about the programme you are serving with? A. The programmes where I am involved are the FAO-Kosovo Programming Framework and Programme on Forestry titled "Support to strengthening sustainable and multi-purpose forest management to improve rural livelihoods and address climate change in Kosovo." Both will enhance Kosovo’s capacities for sustainable use of natural resources and contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), for instance, Life on Land.