Volunteering for sustainable development

The International Volunteer Day is a celebration mandated by the UN General Assembly in 1985. It offers an opportunity for volunteer-involving organizations and individual volunteers to promote volunteerism, encourage governments to support volunteer efforts, and recognize volunteer contributions to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at local, national, and international levels.

As a contribution to this day, we would like to introduce our four United Nations Volunteers working in Albania. They are our colleagues Jiyoung, Alienor, Showvik, and Ida. 

Jiyoung Nam is a Climate Change Specialist at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO). Jiyoung has been in Albania for just over 2 years and during her time at the organization, she has worked closely with supporting the Albanian government in defining and implementing its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) in the Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU) sector. She has also been supporting a project that builds the capacities of women and youth farmers in diversifying their income as well as sustainable development of the agriculture sector. Jiyoung holds a master’s in international development focusing on Environment, Climate Change, and Development. Prior to joining FAO, she worked at UNDP environmental unit in Indonesia concentrating on biodiversity and green commodity and in an environmental NGO focusing on agroforestry, afforestation, and rural community development.

"Serving as a UNV in Albania has given me a tremendous opportunity to learn more about and contribute to international cooperation towards sustainable development of the country. Especially working as a project coordinator for the climate change policy support in FAO has been a great steppingstone to enhance my knowledge as well as capacity in formulating the project in the nexus of climate change, agriculture, and ecosystem and mobilizing the resource for meeting the needs of the community and the agriculture sector of the country, where so much potential in the growth for more inclusive and sustainable development is observed." - Jiyoung

Aliénor Béjannin is working with Programme Management and Coordination at UN Women. During the past 10 months, Aliénor has helped develop UN Women's new Strategic Note for 2022-2026 with the goal to ensure women and girls meaningfully contribute to Albania's sustainable and inclusive socio-economic development and EU integration. She has also developed tools and conducted trainings for other UN agencies to build their capacities in gender mainstreaming. Moreover, she has helped expand partnerships with the private sector in Albania through the WEPs (Women's Empowerment Principles), offering guidance to businesses on how to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment in the workplace, marketplace, and community. Aliénor holds a master’s in Political Science and Gender Studies. Prior to joining UN Women in Albania, she did an internship with UN Women's headquarter in New York and coordinated the expansion of an educational program for girls to learn STEM skills in Canada.

“My time as a UNV in Albania has been inspiring and rewarding. Working with partners and allies for gender equality on daily basis gives me a strong sense of belonging and it helps me explore new and innovative ways to address the persisting inequalities that UN Women is dedicated to tackling.” - Aliénor 

Showvik Das Tamal is an Associate External Relations Officer with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). Prior to becoming a UN Volunteer, Showvik worked with the UNHCR in Bangladesh supporting around 900,000 Rohingya refugees in one of the largest refugee camps in the world. He holds a master’s in Human Rights Law and a diploma in Forced Migration. Showvik has been in Albania since April 2021 and his work here is centered on reporting, partnership development, and resource mobilization. During the past 8 months, Showvik has supported the UNHCR in several activities such as organizing the Tirana Marathon “Run with Refugees” in partnership with the Tirana Municipality. Moreover, he has launched a photo exhibition in partnership with Caritas and the Inter-Religious Council. Currently, he is working with Durres University to introduce a course on International Refugee Law for their master programs. 

“At UNHCR, our job is to create a world where our job is no more required. Here in Albania, we are working jointly with the government to reform the policy structures to be more inclusive to the refugees and all vulnerable people at large.” - Showvik 

Ida Augustsson is working with Risk Communication and Community Engagement at the World Health Organization (WHO). She has a background in Human Rights and holds a master’s in Medical Science with a major in Public Health. Prior to joining the WHO Ida was active within the civil society in Sweden, working with questions of intersectional feminism, antiracism, and global justice targeted to youths. Ida has been at the WHO for two months. So far, she has been involved in organizing Infodemic Management trainings together with the Institute of Public Health with the aim to tackle misinformation and rumors about the COVID-19 pandemic. She has also assisted student campaigns held at Universities around Albania to raise awareness about the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to have joined the WHOs country office here in Albania. Working for an organization that strives to give everyone, everywhere an equal chance to live a healthy life is inspiring. During my time here, I hope to communicate health in a way that starts conversations, sparks engagement, and influences behavioral change.” - Ida