United Nations Youth Volunteers are a separate category of UN Volunteers, recently created in response to the United Nations Secretary-General’s call for greater engagement in volunteerism of history’s largest generation of people under 30.
Who are UN Youth Volunteers
Motivated and talented youth between the ages of 18 and 29 (be younger than 29 throughout the duration of their service) who want to engage in development and peace initiatives in their own country or in another country around the globe. Their educational background and experience required varies by assignment, but generally work experience over two years is not expected.
Volunteer positions
Volunteers may work in human rights, climate change adaptation, primary health care, disaster management, peacebuilding, youth engagement or many other areas. They may work directly in a United Nations agency or be assigned to one of its partner organisations, a university or the government.
Benefits
Volunteers will be rewarded with an experience that will stay with them for the rest of their life. Their engagement as UN Youth Volunteers will be an opportunity to change the world for the better while simultaneously honing your own skills, gaining knowledge and a better understanding of the realities of international development and peacebuilding.
Duration
UN Youth Volunteers are sponsored by United Nations agencies, their partners, governments or academic institutions, the length of assignment depends on the requesting entity’s needs.
Most UN Youth Volunteer assignments are between 6 and 24 months. On occasion, national and international UN Youth Volunteer assignments are less than six months and then are referred to as ‘short-term’ assignments. When UN Youth Volunteers are sponsored by an academic institution, they are called UN Youth University Volunteers. UN Youth University Volunteers undertake shorter duration generally between 3 and 6 months.
Allowance
Volunteers receive a basic living allowance that allowing them to live healthily and safely in the assigned area. If they volunteer outside of their home area, return airfare or land transport (as applicable) and some other basic costs are paid by the host agency. They will receive orientation and training before and after the assignment.
How to apply
Interested volunteers can find vacancies on the section Special Calls for Volunteers, on Vacancies for national UN Volunteers, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
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