Aliya Mohamed Kosar, Refugee UN Volunteer Youth Community Service Assistant with UNHCR  Aliya is dedicated to empowering vulnerable individuals and communities, with a focus on addressing the unique challenges faced by youth. Born in Somalia, her first-hand understanding of marginalized communities fuels her commitment to supporting those at risk in improving their lives.

The volunteering opportunities were with the UN Development Programme (UNDP), UN Population Fund (UNFPA), UN Human Rights (OHCHR), UN Women and UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). They aim at building the women UN Volunteers capacities, while raising their awareness of gender and protection concepts. They also promoted their participation in recovery efforts and increased their resilience, particularly as many were affected by the May 2021 escalation in Gaza.

Orphée landed her internship with the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme in Panama "auf Umwegen", as she says in German, or in an unanticipated way. Initially, she was assigned to a different duty station, but when that assignment was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, her fluency in Spanish qualified her for Panama. "I wanted to contribute to peace and development and felt a direct connection to volunteerism," Orphée shares.

Fatima-Zahra has been a volunteer for the civil society since 2008. After she began her UN Volunteer assignment, she wanted to connect with people especially youth, women and girls who benefit from UNFPA initiatives. In her role, she documents stories centering on issues of stigma and reasons that prevent women, girls, and youth from fulfilling their potential such as child marriage, early pregnancy, maternal death, and gender-based violence.

In January 2023, seven women began their 12-month UN Volunteer assignments with UNICEF in Iraq and Jordan under the Young Arab Women Talents initiative. The areas of service are communications, social and behavior change, water, sanitation and hygiene, talent acquisition, and gender inclusion. These UN Volunteers are between the ages of 24 and 32 years. They bring diversity and increase the representation of women in UNICEF's regional workforce.

Cultural barriers and social norms limit women's access to the digital sector in general. This is especially so in Burundi where technology jobs are scarce, particularly for women." In 2019, I started as an IT intern. Now, I am a UN Volunteer with Monitoring and Evaluation, and the Digital Unit. I give technical support to UNDP staff on new digital platforms.

The project, Empowerment of Urban Women from Low-Income Families through Home Gardening to Ensure Food Security and Nutrition, was implemented in Sri Lanka from October 2022 to February 2023. It covered 12 communities with women and youth as key beneficiaries, and centered on emergency response to the socio-economic crisis in the the country. In recent years, the interest in home gardens has increased. This strategy to household food security especially helps the urban low-income communities.

Digital transformation brings new possibilities where we can measure the sustainability, track detriments such as green house emissions and maximize use of our existing resources. This is part of UNEP's Medium Term Strategy, the outcomes of which I support.  

Tuba was one of 40 UN Volunteers recognized for their volunteering impact during the 2022 UNV Country Awards in Dhaka. She was awarded 'Champion UN Volunteer’ for her outstanding contribution to gender equality.

Jennifer Klem is from the United States of America. In 2021, she started her first assignment as an online volunteer and published two projects, UNICEF 2021 Global Gender Equality Results Report and a Gender Onboarding Brochure for the new staff in UNDP Liberia.