Before UNDP, I worked at the Permanent Representation of the Czech Republic to the European Union (EU) in Brussels, Belgium – working closely with the Agriculture and Environment Unit and engaging with the EU’s Task Force for Rural Africa. This provided me with development experience in an agricultural context. As a recent graduate and practitioner in the field of Agricultural Economics, it has been a challenging yet compelling transition to dive into the approaches to prevent violent extremism (PVE). --Tomas Kral, UN Youth Volunteer, UNDP

Nizar (24), Raymonda (28), and Zeinab (27) serve as UN Youth Volunteers in Water/Irrigation Engineering, assisting with the upgrade of existing irrigation infrastructure. “The project consists of the rehabilitation of existing damaged irrigation canals and the transformation of earthen canals to concrete canals,” Raymonda explains. In many regions of the country, very old earthen canals used to transmit water to agricultural lands cause massive water losses.

Throughout the event, representatives from Member States, UN entities, civil society, including volunteer organizations, the private sector, academia and the world’s volunteers will come together to reimagine volunteering for the 2030 Agenda. More than 13,000 people have registered their attendance. To join and receive the links to the sessions, please register at volunteerSDGs.org.

UN Volunteers in Bangladesh provide support to refugees in issues related to education, water and sanitation, health care, research, nutrition, child care and gender, among others. Based in Cox’s Bazar, they serve with the international Organization for Migration (IOM), UN Development Programme (UNDP), UN Population Fund (UNFPA), UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), UNICEF and UN Women.

Online volunteers have been crucial to upscale the impact of Youth Co:Lab’s regional programmes. Coming from different countries and ethnicities, these online volunteers bring a variety of skills to the table. They have applied their skills and knowledge through a range of activities, including proofreading and translating communications materials, conducting research supporting COVID-19 related efforts.