I knew that this is not the way I want myself or others to live—shares Priyanka. “I want people to be able to access whatever they need. So, being able to contribute to development, to turn my passions into purposes, I feel very fulfilled. It feels like a dream come true.”  From very early on, Priyanka had interest in International Relations—this was further motivated by being part of Model United Nations in secondary school. That curiosity soon led her to a degree in the same field and a goal of joining the United Nations.  

With a background in Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics, Deanna sees her volunteer assignment with the United Nations as a platform for meaningful contribution to sustainability—something she's been passionately pursuing as part of her university studies as well.   I consolidate climate vulnerability and disaster risk data from diverse UN entities and development partners into a unified platform, thus enhancing data accessibility and improving urban planning and decision-making processes.” Yi Nam Xu, UN Volunteer with UN-Habitat.

“I served with the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) in Lao People’s Democratic Republic. My six-month assignment helped me gain many invaluable experiences that contributed to my personal and professional growth,” says Karinda Chuntavorn, a UN Youth University Volunteer in Resource Mobilization. Her assignment was supported by the Agency for Volunteer Service (AVS) and the Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’s Home Affairs Bureau (HAB).

If I can describe the work of the Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme in one sentence, I would say that it works for both the protection of the environment and development. Most people would think that protecting the environment is something that distracts society from developing technologies, facilities, and the making of profits. However, GEF SGP is the place where we research how to do both simultaneously.

Naomi Umeda, UN University Volunteer from Japan, talks about her 5 month placement at UNV Cambodia Field Unit.