Recruitment of 19 Russian UN Volunteers funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation is completed
In July 2018, the UN Volunteers Programme (UNV) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation (MFA) signed a Memorandum, under which the number of Russian citizens working in UN structures as UN international volunteers will be increased.
The joint programme of the Foreign Ministry and UNV provides an opportunity for 19 Russian citizens to gain unique international experience and support UN in working on sustainable development issues in 16 countries of the CIS, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Depending on experience and age, UNV will place candidates in countries under two types of contract: Youth UN Volunteers and Specialists.
In September, recruitment for volunteer positions in 16 countries of the CIS, Africa, Asia and the Middle East was successfully completed, and the first volunteers are departing to the UN missions. UN Volunteers will serve with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women).
Before starting work as UN volunteers, 14 UN Youth Volunteers from Russia took part in the training on preparing for the volunteer task.
The 4-day long event, held in September, served as the starting point of implementation of the agreement between the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and UN Volunteers Programme for support of the Fully Funded Programme. During the training volunteers explored and practiced leadership, conflict management and communication skills, and learned about identity and inclusion; living and working in a cross-cultural environment; learning; personal and professional development; and peer support and knowledge-sharing. Volunteers received welcome remarks from representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dilyara Ravilova-Borovik, Head of the Russia-UNDP Trust Fund Alexander Averchenkov, Director of the UN Information Center in Moscow Vladimir Kuznetsov, Program Director of the Association of Volunteer Centers of Russia Diana Dzhalalova, and Head of Volunteer Solutions of the UNV programme, Olga Zubritskaya-Devyatkina.
The UNV programme has contributed to peace and sustainable development through volunteering since the 1970s. The key role of the organization is to recruit, locate and manage the work of qualified volunteers who provide support to UN agencies in implementing peace and development initiatives. In 2017, more than 6,500 people representing 100 different professional fields worked in 131 countries as UN volunteers.