The Cities Project, or project for South-South and Triangular Cooperation among Maritime-Continental Silk Road Cities for Sustainable Development, was initiated by UNOSSC in 2017. It promotes South-South and triangular cooperation at the city level, taking advantage of the strategic opportunities offered by the Belt and Road Initiative in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  

Zhao had just started his UN Volunteer assignment with UNDP, during the coronavirus outbreak. Having the option to also travel to his hometown for the Spring Festival, with the impending crisis in hand, Zhao decided to stay back in his duty station to support the prevention and response efforts for COVID-19 instead.  Zhao’s hometown Yuhang District, Hangzhou City, in China’s Zhejiang Province, is about 1,300kms apart from his duty station in Chengbu Miao Autonomous County, Shaoyang City, Hunan Province.

I am glad that at this critical period, I am in Wuhan, together with my parents. I am not a selfless superheroine fighting against the disease for others, just no more than an ordinary resident in Wuhan. No matter how increasingly serious the situation is or how highly concerned the outsiders are, our lives continue in this homeland. Since it was confirmed there is a possibility of human-to-human transmission of the coronavirus,  I have been at home - for more than 2 months. Our compound has been strictly blocked for entry.

Growing up in an open and forward-thinking environment, I am grateful for the fact that no one ever told me what to do, or what not to do, simply because I was a girl. For me, women are definitely strong enough to play crucial roles beyond the stereotypes that define them otherwise. My gender identity has, and should, never limit my potentials or aspirations.

Xinyi has been serving as a Programme Assistant at the UNAIDS China Office since 2019.  Before serving as a UN Volunteer, she was an intern at UNAIDS China Office and the Headquarters in Geneva. She completed her studies in Global Health at the University of Washington in the United States.

The support of UN Volunteers has been crucial for UNDP Papua New Guinea to deliver on the referendum support. Their inputs and contributions have been instrumental. UN Volunteers will continue to play a role in the post-referendum phase such as in future programmes supporting sustainable livelihoods, economic development and governance. --Dirk Wagener, UNDP Resident Representative in Papua New Guinea

On the occasion of International Volunteer Day, we are organizing a workshop on Volunteers for an Inclusive Future, in collaboration with the Service Beyond Banking (SBI) Foundation. When: 27 December 2019 in Mumbai

With the agriculture sector absorbing nearly 30 per cent of the country’s labour force, while providing livelihoods to 70 per cent of the country’s rural population, a majority of our communities are at the unrelenting mercy of inevitable climate shocks.  The Mahaweli River Basin, the largest draining area of Sri Lanka’s extensive collection of rivers, is home to a large proportion of the small rain-fed farming communities on the island. And, unsurprisingly, climate shocks have exacerbated the prevalent poverty and food insecurity within these communities. 

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.