The call for “decolonizing aid” divides the humanitarian world into those who provide assistance on quasi-colonial terms and the aid recipients, on whom the terms of this aid are imposed, reinforcing dependency, and making the whole system self-serving. The proposed solution is to remove layers of intermediaries before aid reaches the intended recipients and/or change the composition of that layer from foreign to local groups.

Nesrine Kammourieh is a Digital Communications Associate with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Lebanon. She manages the organization's social media accounts, creates impactful content and manages the digital campaigns. She also monitors the performance of various digital platforms. 

In 2023 UNV launched two separate, but interconnected initiatives. Several UN Volunteers with disabilities were contacted and requested to provide feedback on the accessibility of the UNV applications. Highly valuable feedback was received, including a comprehensive Keyboard Accessibility Assessment Report, prepared by Hudoykul Hafizov, UN Volunteer who served as Disability Inclusion Advisor with UNDP in Uzbekistan.  

UN Volunteers Hawzhin Hussein, Noor Alhasany, Hajer Al-Sallami, and Ramia Al-Hakeem promote women's empowerment for a more inclusive and equitable society in Iraq. Throughout the country, including in the Kurdistan region, they coordinate projects and manage initiatives aimed at empowering women across various sectors. Projects include education, healthcare, economic opportunities, and political participation for women. Hawzhin, Noor, Hajer and Ramia emphasize that society cannot progress till dedicated investments are made in women-centric initiatives. 

It's summer and in the sweltering heat of Harare, the capital city of Zimbabwe, we sought refuge in a tranquil, shaded area. I was about to take an interview. A conversation with a young community member. The interview quickly turned into a heart-to-heart. Nineteen-year-old, Debbie Chinochema, looked me in the eye, smiled intermittently, before sharing her journey. It was a story of surviving stigma to becoming a community champion, and then evolving into a strong voice for adolescents living with HIV.

Katrin Hermanek is an international UN Youth Volunteer fully funded by Switzerland. She serves as a Gender Equality Programme Analyst with UN Women in Lebanon. Her grassroots-level community service helps identify needs of women and girls. In coming up with solutions, a major emphasis is to ensure women get a decision-making role in their communities.

Although Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 for gender equality and International Women’s Day, instilling the spirit of the goal, do not explicitly focus on women with disabilities, they consistently focus on the empowerment of all women and leaving no one behind.  How do we ensure that we empower all women across the board? For that, it’s important to first look the entire picture.  

The Community UN Volunteers were selected from 22 unions under Bandarban and Rangamati districts representing the marginalized group of ethnic minorities descending from tribal groups in the hard-to-reach terrains of Hill District Regions - 58% women. The volunteers began their assignments in December 2023 to support the multi-donor Local Government Initiative on Climate Change (LoGiC).

I am the focal point of UPSHIFT with UNICEF. which aims at youth social innovation.  

The life path of 21-year-old Anes was not the same as that of his peers. From early childhood he walked through a world that often did not understand his unique abilities. He was born with Down syndrome, which greatly influenced his upbringing and life circumstances, from schooling and adolescence to acceptance in society. But every obstacle was a new step towards success for him.