UN Volunteer Machiko Kitagawa played a pivotal role in engaging adolescents and youth with UNICEF in Nepal. Her primary focus was to oversee the implementation of Generation Unlimited (GenU) in Nepal, devising strategies, bolstering country frameworks and forging crucial partnerships to empower Nepalese youth. Machiko's assignment was fully funded by the Government of Japan, under the Human Resource Development Programme for Peacebuilding and Development.

In supporting decent work and economic growth with IOM, I took the lead in youth entrepreneurship and expanded opportunities for young people's skill development. This was an important part of reducing the flow of irregular migration and improving Sierra Leone's economic development.

The DRC has faced myriad challenges, ranging from significant humanitarian assistance needs and chronic underdevelopment to political instability and protracted armed conflict in the Eastern part of the country. Humanitarian, development and peace actors are all present to support the government and the population with its recovery and development pathway.

I served at the UNDP Istanbul International Center for Private Sector Development in Türkiye as a Research and Partnership Analyst with a focus to ensure the engagement of private-sector partnerships for developing digital skills and the green economy. 

Egypt hosted more than 250,000 registered refugees and asylum seekers in 2021. Most came from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan, South Sudan and Syria, and about 38 per cent of these refugees were under the age of 18. Commonly, refugees and asylum seekers live in rented apartments in urban centers in Egypt, making them vulnerable to fluctuating economic conditions and poverty. Many child protection issues exist in these circumstances, such as insecure accommodation, increased risk of detention, discrimination, physical and sexual violence and inaccessible essential healthcare. 

Despite the progress Tunisia made since establishing a new constitution in 2014, there are many elements in the democratic transition that have not yet been completed. These include justice and security sector reform, anti-corruption and revision of the legal institutional framework. In addition, Tunisia is facing new challenges, such as countering terrorism and extremism.

The Comprehensive School Safety (CSS) programme is an extension of the Government of Nepal’s School Sector Development Plan, and as such, provides a detailed roadmap on how to ensure a child’s right to access quality education in safe learning environments. My key duties in the capacity of a DRR Programme Officer were to monitor programme progress and provide technical support in a timely manner.

As a coordinating agency, the RCO seeks to strengthen cooperation between UN entities on issues related to economic development and climate change resilience. It looks at ways to strengthen the UN system by financing and implementing cross-cutting programmes.

UN Volunteer Kazuaki Tsujii joined UN Women in Lebanon in 2018 as a Peace Building and Conflict Resolution Officer. He served through the Global Human Resource Development Programme for Peacebuilding and Development (HRD) of the Government of Japan from April 2018 for one year.

A UN Volunteer's journey in south-eastern Mauritania Sitting by the window on my first flight with the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) en route to Bassikounou, in the south-eastern part of the country, all I could see was the vast Sahara Desert. As I got off the airplane during a stop-over in Kiffa, heat blew into my face. The sand was playing with the wind. There was no shade. And it was about 45 degrees Celsius. The question on my mind was: how can people survive — and thrive — in a desert?