“By investing in education, building the capacity of community members, and fostering global citizenship, young people play a crucial role in creating a better future that is inclusive, equitable, and sustainable for generations to come.” The words of Diana Assenova, a UN Volunteer Education Assistant with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Kazakhstan resonate with the importance of youth and progress.

When Teenari Tekeraoi (Kiribati) began her assignment in June 2023, she was the first international UN Youth Volunteer from the Small Island Developing States in the Pacific. She joined the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) as a Sustainable Development Monitoring Assistant, supporting Fiji, Kiribati and Tuvalu in reviewing and monitoring their national development progress. 

With approximately 1,3 million population, Timor-Leste has made milestones in ending violence against women and girls and intimate partner violence. More than 75 per cent of the population under 35 and more than half of the youth live in rural areas and have been unable to shift the high tolerance for men’s perpetration of violence against women.

Binod Chand, Bikas Jha, Kushal Limbu, Madhusudan Ghimire and Shraddha Thapa are UN Volunteer Infrastructure Asset Management Associates. They serve with the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), in Nepal. While engaging with key stakeholders and elected officials, the group of five invest time to fully understand the impact of existing policies, laws and regulations on municipal asset management and areas of reform and improvement.