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.

In Asia Pacific, Spotlight focuses on domestic violence and intimate partner violence. UNFPA and Pacific Community conducted Family Health and Safety Studies across 11 Pacific countries.

Kawtar Abendag is a UN Youth Volunteer serving with UN Women in Morocco. She is a Gender Responsive Budgeting Programme Assistant for Communications and Knowledge Management. Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) ensures an equitable distribution of public resources for the benefit of all. It does not mean that there should be a separate budget for each gender rather it means that gender equality is mainstreamed throughout the public budget cycle. From planning the budget, to spending the resources, and to the final audits.

Alexandra's UN Volunteer assignment is fully funded by the Government of Sweden through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). 

Daniel Valbuena

Heather's experience with domestic violence extended beyond the home; Heather recalls having a close encounter with a male relative who tried to force himself on her. She also witnessed other women in her community being abused by their male partners. These memories from her childhood and adolescence stayed with her, and she often wondered how many women were suffering in silence.

The event was attended by government officials and UN agency representatives, with 50 people participating in person and 79 online.  In his welcome address, Dr Ali Ahmed Yahaya spoke, representing the WHO Africa Regional Director. He commended the efforts and commitment of volunteers to achieve WHO's mandate and their involvement with communities to improve public health systems in Africa.

Stefan leads the Spotlight Initiative's communications arm creating awareness of the programme through coherent communications and digital campaigns using messaging, data and infographics that tell the story of the programmes, services, results and impact.

The Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, issued by the United Nations General Assembly in 1993, defines violence against women as "any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life''.