Sarah, a 26-year-old Tunisian, runs every day to her office in the Beja Municipality, where she has been working over the last year for the project Madinatouna (Our city).  The project is implemented by the United Nations Development Programme in Tunisia in support ofthe National Federation of Tunisian Cities, and in partnership with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (German Federal Enterprise for International Cooperation - GIZ), CILG-VNG International, Cities Alliance and MedCities.

In Lebanon, three national UN Volunteers, Vicky Kendirjian, Lara Riachi and Rim Kalfayan, joined the Office of the Minister of State for Women’s Affairs (OMSWA) to support the latter and the Lebanese government in addressing priorities pertaining to women's affairs. Promoting the advancement of the status of women in all areas of life, especially in terms of political participation, directly contributes to the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5, achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. 

Finally, we are reaching our destination, after nearly 700 kilometers on a bumpy road. The jeep approaches a small town laid in the midst of the endless steppe. There we meet E., an elected representative from a Citizens’ Representative Hural, which is the name for local self-governing bodies in Mongolia.