International UN Volunteer Kyoreh Yoo serves as Project Coordinator with UNICEF. Based in Batticaloa, Kyoreh supports implementation of Child-Friendly Cities Initiative (CFCI) in the Eastern province of Sri Lanka. A UNICEF-led initiative, CFCI first launched in 1996 to respond to the challenges of children's rights in an increasingly urbanized world.

Manitra Raoliarisoa, former UN Volunteer Local Support Specialist with the United Nations Development Programme in Madagascar For over five years, I had the pleasure of serving as a national UN Volunteer with the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and contributing to the development of my country – Madagascar. Time passed so fast, but the fond memories have stayed with me.

Sri Lanka is identified as one of the major hotspots of climate change (according to a report by the World Bank, a hotspot is a location where changes in average weather affects the living standards negatively). Some 4 million people in the country are projected to be severely affected by 2020, thus it is imperative to know exactly how and how disastrous the consequences of this threat will be. 1.       Agriculture and Agricultural Productivity

As a UN Youth Volunteer with a disability, Kasunjith provided a unique and personal input to the discussions related to inclusion and played a key role in advocating for needs specific to the disabled community. If not us then who? ‘Inclusion’ cannot be fostered without the participation of people with disabilities. It is very important that the disabled community is not left behind in the recognition of Sustainable Development Goals. --Kasunjith Satanarachchi Devesurenda, during the 2019 ECOSOC Youth Forum

This project is particularly important as although Sri Lanka has ended a 30-year civil war, there remains unresolved issues of psychological trauma, sexual violence and misunderstanding between different ethnicities. The project is part of the support provided by the UN in Sri Lanka towards the government's 'Peacebuilding Priority Plan (PPP) which serves as the "framework for a coordinated, government, UN, and other stakeholders response to secure lasting peace in Sri Lanka".

UNV partners with nine universities, who fund UN University Volunteer deployment under the KGU Programme.  These include: Kwansei Gakuin University, Osaka University, Akita International University, Sophia University, Tsukuba University, Toyo University, Meiji University, Meiji Gakuin University and Rikkyo University.

I am a volunteer. Most often than not the response I get sounds like ‘You are just doing something for free? Girl you should get a real job’ or ‘So you hand out fliers every day?’ Mmm.. Not really.

I served as a national UN Volunteer in Sri Lanka. During this time, something I found most interesting was the opportunity to work with volunteers who are diverse in every possible way; be it gender, ethnicity, language or religion.

Duvindi Illankoon, Manela Karunadasa and Kavitha Ariyabandu are on a six-month UN Volunteer assignment and support the World Bank on core staff responsibilities that include developing the existing relationship with the Government of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and maintaining momentum on national economic reform. This new deployment is especially noteworthy – World Bank and UNV rejuvenate their more than three-decade old partnership and, UN Volunteers take on core bank staff responsibilities instead of being tasked to specific projects as in the past.

Duvindi Illankoon, Manela Karunadasa and Kavitha Ariyabandu are on a six-month UN Volunteer assignment and support the World Bank on core staff responsibilities that include developing the existing relationship with the Government of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and maintaining momentum on national economic reform. This new deployment is especially noteworthy – World Bank and UNV rejuvenate their more than three-decade old partnership and, UN Volunteers take on core bank staff responsibilities instead of being tasked to specific projects as in the past.