United Nations Volunteers

As volunteerism shapes the people connecting global development ambitions to local action, the Journeys of Inspiration photobook channels insights from UN Resident Coordinators into one clear message: volunteerism is about relationships, trust and a commitment to progress.

A partnership between the Benue State Government and UN Volunteers is providing youth with access to fully funded volunteer roles, empowering them with the skills and experience needed to become future leaders in the UN system.

One month after devastating earthquakes struck Myanmar, the UN and its partners have reached nearly 600,000 people with emergency aid, including shelter, healthcare, and clean water. Despite challenging conditions, the response has rapidly scaled up, supported by $35 million in funding. Efforts are now shifting toward early recovery, such as rebuilding infrastructure and restoring livelihoods. Global solidarity, including aid from 26 countries, continues to bolster the humanitarian mission.

UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed met with the Asia Pacific Regional Collaborative Platform in Thailand earlier this week, and called for accelerated action, innovation, and strategic investments to address multi-pronged challenges in the region.

The UN in Timor-Leste, under the leadership of the Resident Coordinator, has now started lighting the way with its solar-powered grid which has begun to give maximum dividends.

The UN team in Bolivia shares the story of a teacher who found alternative ways to engage with his students and their families and inspire others to be creative in the classroom and beyond.

As a UN Volunteer Programme Assistant with UNAIDS in China, Weng Huiling shares their stories and fights for their rights.

Meet Zoe Rimba, a UN Volunteer Subnational Planning Officer at UNICEF Indonesia, who tells her story of bringing the value of volunteerism to child-responsive urban policies.

Every year around the world, thousands of volunteers from dozens of professional backgrounds join missions in different UN agencies to work in the field. All volunteers serving across 150 countries and territories are coordinated by an agency called UN Volunteers, or UNV for short. 

If the world is going to defeat COVID-19 and build back better, then it must also achieve a greater measure of gender equality. The two are tightly linked. That’s why, in response to the crisis, many countries are having more women in leadership as a key to achieving an equal future.

Since it started in 2011, the war in Syria has killed or injured around 12,000 children and pushed over 90% of the country’s children into poverty. Millions of other Syrians have fled to the relative safety of nearby countries—including Jordan, which is now home to some three million registered refugees. That includes some 2.3 million from Palestine and almost 700,000 from Syria.  Nearly half of the Syrians are under age 18.  

UN country teams worldwide are showing up in the fight against COVID-19. Below, we highlight some of the recent coordinated efforts.

On the occasion of the first anniversary of the Beirut blast, UN Country Team in Lebanon with diplomatic corps observe a minute of silence to honor the victims.

In West and Central Africa, the UN Volunteers (UNV) programme took part in the COVID-19 response  of  UN entities and partners.  Volunteers generated a phenomenal outpouring of solidarity and support to address the urgent needs of the communities.

UN country teams across the world are playing a critical role as they support local and national authorities to rollout vaccination efforts. They are also taking immediate and proactive measures to curtail the rise of Ebola cases in countries like the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Guinea.