Data supports the existence of a significant nexus between gender mainstreaming, sustaining peace, and civic and volunteer engagement. This was the topic of discussion at a side event organized on 27 October 2016 by the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme, the Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO) and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women (UN Women) at the Permanent Mission of Germany to the UN in New York.

As a UN Volunteer Specialist on Economic Development at UNDP Tajikistan’s Aid for Trade project, I liaise with our clients and partner organizations, monitoring the range of actions and results achieved by the project. UNDP’s Aid for Trade project supports human development through the creation of jobs and by enhancing the export capacity of small and medium sized businesses.

Blanca is a Spanish UN Youth Volunteer; assigned in a UN Joint Programme led by UNDP in Guatemala, empowering isolated communities in San Marcos. Blanca de la Cruz (española), Joven Voluntaria ONU internacional, presta servicio en un Programa Conjunto del PNUD en Guatemala que trabaja para empoderar a comunidades remotas de San Marcos.

Alois Neza Sikuka (Zimbabwe) is a UN Volunteer Peace, Community & Security Specialist with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in South Sudan.

Mohamed Sulaiman Rameez is a UN Volunteer Youth Lead with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Sri Lanka.

Wendy Betancourt García (Colombia) is a UN Volunteer Project assistant with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Colombia.

Volunteerism as building blocks for peacebuilding, how does that work? For starters, volunteerism generates forms of social capital that are indispensable to peacebuilding and plays an important role in strengthening the development of national civilian capacities to address peacebuilding issues.

In an effort to fight high levels of youth exclusion and vulnerability in Viet Nam, the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) partnered with the Vietnamese Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Youth Union (HCYU) in 2009 to create the Strengthening the Capacity of Volunteerism for Development in Viet Nam (VDVN) project.

The joint United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme Social Innovation and Volunteerism in Uzbekistan Project is harnessing the social innovation of young people to tackle development challenges. By providing training, advocacy, and grants to young innovators UNV is helping to unlock the talent and entrepreneurial skills of Uzbek youth, many of whom previously lacked opportunities to contribute to development.

“We can change the world and make it a better place. It is in your hands to make a difference”. Building on these words by Nelson Mandela, UN Volunteers celebrated Mandela Day 2016 in Sudan by trying to improve life for kids in the Jaffar Ebn Aouf Pediatric Hospital in Khartoum.