With her knowledge, Johanna motivates young people to keep tradition alive by teaching them the art of weaving. The toquilla straw hat is woven from fibers of palm trees characteristic of the Ecuadorian coast. Pile, Johanna's hometown, is a coastal community and the toquilla straw hat is part of cultural heritage.  

Joelma Pereira is an international UN Volunteer from Guinea Bissau. She is a Communications Officer with UNDP stationed with WHO in Mozambique. She takes pride in being a health champion, and documents key initiatives related to environmental health, climate change, and the misinformation about COVID-19 vaccinations. Joelma also oversees partnerships between WHO and different stakeholders in the health and humanitarian sector at WHO Regional Office for Africa. 

In Asia Pacific, Spotlight focuses on domestic violence and intimate partner violence. UNFPA and Pacific Community conducted Family Health and Safety Studies across 11 Pacific countries.

Kawtar Abendag is a UN Youth Volunteer serving with UN Women in Morocco. She is a Gender Responsive Budgeting Programme Assistant for Communications and Knowledge Management. Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) ensures an equitable distribution of public resources for the benefit of all. It does not mean that there should be a separate budget for each gender rather it means that gender equality is mainstreamed throughout the public budget cycle. From planning the budget, to spending the resources, and to the final audits.

Cécile Giraud is an international UN Volunteer from France. She serves as Gender-Sensitive Education Policy Analyst with UNESCO in Dakar. Her role is transversal, she says.

Maissa Abdellaoui is an international UN Volunteer with a French Algerian background who serves with UNICEF in Senegal. Under the Gender and Exclusion programme, Maissa provides technical support to women teacher networks, menstruation hygiene kits or best referred to as 'dignity kits' for schools and girls, and organization for support groups for girls. 

At 19, Deborah was forced to join an armed militia to fight ethnic groups in her native village in North Kivu Province in the DRC. Six years of witnessing devastation and the violent consequences of civil war, she decided to surrender weapons and opt for a peaceful life.

Alexandra's UN Volunteer assignment is fully funded by the Government of Sweden through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). 

Women's rights have been on the agenda of the whole UN system and its agencies over many years. Emanating from its triple mandate, UN Women has several key aims for their projects, focusing on empowering women, increasing women's political involvement, mainstreaming gender in national processes, greater economic security for women and ending gender-based violence. 

Azhar Sholgami, Mid-fielder of Al-Diffa Team / UN Volunteer with UNDP Sudan To me, there is no greater feeling than winning a tournament. The cheering fans, your teammates, friends, and family in the crowd. It brings people together like nothing else.