Next time you are in Mapel, in Western Bahr El Gazal state in South Sudan, check out the busy restaurants located near the military barracks.  One is operated by Mary Alueth Madu, now a successful business woman, who employs a staff of six. This is certainly a change since those days before the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was signed, when Mary spent 10 years cooking for the Sudan People’s Liberation Army.

Helen Clark, Administrator of UNDP, says that 20 years after the Rio Earth summit, sustainable development is still not mainstream policy because governments considered the short-term outcomes too politically risky.

Stefanie Franke (Germany) is a former UN Volunteer with the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) Return, Reintegration and Recovery (RRR) unit.  She was seconded to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) where she worked with the Sudan Information Campaign for Returnees (SICR).

The desire to make a difference in people's lives is what keeps David Asiimwe (Uganda) motivated as he serves as a UNV Civil Affairs Officer  in Bentiu, Unity State with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).  If this means interrupting a mission to Mayom County with UNV colleague Pradeep Jha to help a returnee construct her Tukul, then so be it.

The desire to make a difference in people's lives is what keeps David Asiimwe (Uganda) motivated as he serves as a UNV Civil Affairs Officer  in Bentiu, Unity State with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).  If this means interrupting a mission to Mayom County with UNV colleague Pradeep Jha to help a returnee construct her Tukul, then so be it.

The German Foreign Minister, Mr Guido Westerwelle, visited the UN campus in Bonn today.  He was welcomed by the Chair of the Consultative Forum of the Heads of UN Agencies in Germany, Ms Flavia Pansieri, together with the heads of the United Nations agencies in Bonn.  The Minister asserted the commitment of Germany to the UN agencies in Bonn and their work on sustainable development. He also discussed the support Germany was giving to enhance the UN campus facilities as the UN presence in Bonn continues to grow.

UNV Executive Coordinator Flavia Pansieri attended the UNDP/UNFPA Executive Board in June 2011 in New York. She emphasized the need to acknowledge volunteerism in various ways, “in particular not as an afterthought, but as an intentional component of programmes designed to promote national ownership and the development of national capacities,” she said.

Mr. De Raad started his UN career as a Junior Professional Officer (JPO) and steadily grew through the ranks in progressively responsible leadership positions. His career included field postings in Bangladesh and Tanzania with United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and UNDP.