This undertaking aims to develop young women’s leadership capacities to become agents of change for their communities, contributing to social cohesion. I strongly believe in the solidarity and connection between women. Young women need just a bit of support to experience big changes. --Aleksandra Jovanović

Education is one of six themes at the centre of the GRF, critical to the support of refugees and the countries that host them. The Spotlight Session focused on tertiary education for refugees, through a conversation about how barriers are being overcome, how interventions are improving the quality or expanding the quantity of opportunities available, and ultimately, how higher education pathways can support self-reliance and solutions for refugees.

The UNHCR-UNV DAFI Initiative seeks to expand the success of the DAFI programme by addressing the difficulties that graduated refugees face when trying to enter the job market. The Initiative constitutes an opportunity for the DAFI graduates to gain professional experience as UN Volunteers in the UN System, where they can contribute with their unique background and perspectives to help achieving the SDGs.

For International Volunteer Day (IVD) 2019, the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme in Viet Nam will have a joint celebration with UN agencies and thematic groups. The theme of the celebration will focus on equality and human rights for LGBTI groups in the country. UNV is partnering with UN Women, the UN Human Rights Thematic Group, Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Hanoi University of Science and Technology.

To celebrate International Volunteer Day (IVD), we will have a fun walk. This will start from Motael church in Dili to the Dili Centre, which is the venue of our IVD event. We are happy to partner with the Timor-Leste Red Cross Society, National Scouts Association of Timor-Leste, Australian Volunteers International, Volunteer Services Abroad, Peace Corps, Pateo in Dili Centre, MOVE (Portuguese NGO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), World Health Organization (WHO), UN Women and the UN Resident Coordinator's Office.

The joint UN project Empowering Youth for a Peaceful, Prosperous, and Sustainable Future in Kosovo* is implemented through a synergized effort among the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and UN Women and is funded by the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund (PBF). The project aims to engage youth with shared interests and concerns belonging to underserved communities to become active changemakers and catalyze peace and trust-building energies in Kosovo.

By 2030, the sustainable goals (SDG4) aims to ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes. Nowadays, young women do not have the same access to education and training as their male peers. According to UNICEF, globally, 264 million children and adolescents do not have the opportunity to enter or complete school.

Since the beginning of 2019, 286 UN Volunteers, including 154 nationals and 132 internationals support the protection of refugees and migration management with the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). UN Volunteers positively impact the living conditions of the refugees, in Chad and 13 countries in West and Central Africa.  This year, in addition, UNV is providing young refugees in

This phase of the project engaged four community volunteer groups from Khaizi, Hazara, Sariyab and Nawa Killi, to develop radio programmes. In total, 35 female and 25 male community volunteers were trained on ICT, radio production, script writing and broadcasting and ran the community radio for the duration of one year. On average, one radio programme was produced every 2-3 weeks. In total, 15 radio programmes were developed in one year and aired on FM101 during prime-time hours. An estimated 160 to 250 listeners tuned in for each programme.

I used to work for Port Moresby Municipality as a book keeper for market venders when I got the opportunity to become a UN Youth Volunteer with UN Women’s Safe City Programme. Over 80 per cent of vegetable sellers in Port Moresby are women, especially single mothers and widows who experience all sorts of abuse in public places. The programme promotes the safe use and enjoyment of public spaces by women through empowering them economically and through other means.