UNV India - Annual Report 2015

UN Volunteers
Annual Report 2015

Foreword
2015 has been a year of significant achievements for UN Volunteers in India. It gives me great pride to report that 104
volunteers, including 8 international volunteers, serve the United Nations in India. With their ideas and enthusiasm,
these young men and women are contributing to peace and development. Working across a spectrum of issues including
gender, education, disabilities, environment and youth volunteering, they are working to realise the values of
the United Nations and the priorities of the Government of India.
Volunteerism is a powerful means of engaging people in tackling development challenges and can transform the pace
and nature of development. Facilitating volunteers from across India, and from other countries, to work towards devel-
opment is a key priority for the United Nations in India.
In partnership with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, UNV and UNDP launched a project to strengthen National
Service Scheme and Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan- two of the largest youth volunteering schemes in the world. This
partnership enables young volunteers to directly work with policy-makers in 29 states of India.
India is the youngest country in the world with over 350 million young people, 65 percent of whom are below the age
of 35. India’s youth will play a critical role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted by UN
Member States including India at the historic Sustainable Development Summit in New York in September 2015. The
SDGs are a historic, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for change. It’s an historic opportunity also for young people to be
a part of the change. UNV in India is facilitating young people’s participation in nationalising and implementing the
SDGs. Interesting innovations are emerging from the UNV India’s popular ‘Youth Addas’, gatherings of youth volunteers
and civil society organisations on SDGs.
UNV India, in partnership with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India held the Asia-Pacific
launch of 2015 State of the World’s Volunteerism Report (SWVR 2015). This first global review will spark a global conversation
including in India about of the role of volunteers in improving the way citizens are governed and engaged
that is so critical to future development success. Youth interaction with the United Nations Secretary-General’s Envoy
on Youth facilitated by UNV India helped in knowledge sharing on youth volunteering in other countries and helped
inspire them to volunteer for youth development in India. Such events held by UNV India have led to conversation on
recognition of volunteers and reinvigorating volunteering in India.
We thank the Government of India’s Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports for their leadership. We look forward to con-
tinued partnership with the civil society and youth networks. We hope this report will encourage youth volunteers.
Yuri Afanasiev
United Nations Resident Coordinator in India

TABLE OF CONTENTS
United Nations Volunteers India in 2015...............................................................................................................3
Recap – IVD 2014 – Slogan Writing Contest........................................................................................................4
Strengthening NYKS and NSS.............................................................................................................................5
Training on Youth and Volunteering......................................................................................................................6
Youth Volunteerism and the National Youth Policy...............................................................................................6
UN Volunteers at the ’Youth Leaders Forum (YLF)”.............................................................................................8
UNV India support to the 2015 Nepal earthquakes..............................................................................................9
Asia-Pacific Launch of the State of the World’s Volunteerism Report.................................................................10
Visit of the UN Secretary General's Envoy on Youth – Mr. Ahmad Alhendawi....................................................11
Youth Ki Awaaz (YKA) Debates..........................................................................................................................12
Workshop on the role of volunteers and Volunteer Involving Organisations (VIOs) in popularising the SDGs...13
India Social Good Summit 2015: Technology for Social Good............................................................................14
Trialogue on Youth & SDGs................................................................................................................................14
UNV participation in Action Aid trainings.............................................................................................................15
5 Days of Dignity Campaign...............................................................................................................................16
State level orientation workshop on the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030................16
Art Competition for Children with Disabilities .....................................................................................................17
UNV India staff at the Capacity Development Workshop for Programme Assistants/Associates in Bangkok....18
International Volunteer Day (IVD) Events and Workshops.................................................................................19
Contact information.............................................................................................................................................20

United Nations Volunteers India in 2015
Number of UNVs in India – 104 (National: 96, International: 8)
Host Agencies – UNDP, UNV, UNHCR, UNIDO, FAO, UNICEF, UNESCAP, UN WOMEN
Number of Indians serving as Online Volunteers: 586 (Jan - June, 2015)
Online volunteering positions offered by organizations that are based in India: 46 (against 31 positions that were offered in 2014)
Himachal Pradesh, 1 national UNV
with UNDP
Jammu and Kashmir, 1 national UNV
with UNDP
Punjab, 1 national UNV
with UNDP
Haryana1 national UNV
with UNDP
Rajasthan1 national UNV with
UNDP
Uttarakhand, 2 national UNVs with
UNDP
New Delhi, 44 national and 8 international UNVs with UNHCR,
UNDP, UNV, UN ESCAP, UN WOMEN, UNICEF
Uttar Pradesh, 1 national Sikkim, 1 national UNV with
UNV with UNDP
UNDP
Arunachal Pradesh,1
Bihar, 1 national UNV with
national UNV with UNDP
UNDP
Nagaland, 3 national
UNV with UNDP
Assam, 1 national UNV
with UNDP
Gujarat, 1 national UNV
with UNDP
Meghalaya, 1 national
UNV with UNDP
Manipur, 3 national
UNVs with UNDP
Mizoram, 5 national UNVs
with UNIDO, FAO, UNDP
Madhya Pradesh, 1
national UNV with UNDP
West Bengal, 1 national UNV with
UNDP
Jharkhand, 1 national UNV with UNDP
Tripura, 1 national UNV
with UNDP
Maharashtra, 3 national UNVs with
UNDP
Odisha, 11 national UNVs with UNDP
Chhattisgarh, 1 national UNV with UNDP
Telangana, 1 national UNV with UNDP
Karnataka, 1 national UNV with UNDP
Andhra Pradesh, 1 national UNV with UNDP
Kerala, 1 national UNV with UNDP
Tamil Nadu, 2 national UNVs with
UNHCR
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UNITED NATIONS VOLUNTEERS INDIA ANNUAL REPORT 2015

Recap – IVD 2014 – Slogan Writing Contest
On International Volunteer Day (IVD) 2014 Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, the United Nations Volunteers (UNV)
programme India, UNDP India and Swechha - We for Change Foundation with support from Nehru Yuva Kendra
Sangathan(NYKS), National Service Scheme(NSS), various civil society organizations, private sector partners and other
groups, responded to the call of the Prime Minister of India to volunteer for a Swachh Bharat or Clean India.
More than 3,000 volunteers from Delhi/NCR turned out to
volunteer for a clean-up of a portion of Delhi’s Yamuna River bank
and actively showcased how volunteering and behavioural change
can contribute to revitalizing the highly-polluted river, a lifeline for
60 million people in the country.
Everyone present at the riverbank was invited to take part in
a slogan writing contest and to present his/her personal ideas
on how individual and informal day-to-day volunteer action can
contribute to sustainable development. Winner of this competition
Ms. Pooja Sharma, a student of Lady Shri Ram College for
Women visited UNV India in January 2015 and was taken on a
tour through the offices of UNICEF and UNDP in India. She met
UNDP Country Director Mr. Jaco Cilliers and had the chance to
interact with a mixed group of current and former UN Volunteers.
She also received a bunch of goodie bags.
Pooja proved to be not only very creative
when it comes down to writing slogans, she
told us that she is also volunteering for a Delhi
based NGO and working on a project to end
open defecation in a market area in south
Delhi! A true volunteer!
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Strengthening NYKS and NSS
A joint project of Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, UNV and UNDP
With the overarching aim of taking forward the National Youth Policy (2014), the Ministry of Youth Affairs and
Sports (MoYAS), UNV and UNDP have partnered to strengthen key youth volunteering schemes in India.
The National Service Sheme (NSS) and Nehru Yuva Kendra
Sangathan (NYKS) are India’s prime government schemes
coordinating more than ten million volunteers. “Strengthening NYKS
and NSS” is a project under UNV’s Global Youth Volunteering
Programme that UNV is conducting in partnership with Ministry
of Youth Affairs and Sports (MoYAS), Government of India and
UNDP. Its aim is to provide catalytic support to these massive youth
volunteering schemes and to facilitate greater youth participation
and voice in peace and sustainable development programmes.
The project furthermore seeks to support young people in realizing
their full social, economic and human potential and to instil a
strong sense of civic engagement and the will to transform their
communities within young people. To achieve this, the preparation
of Action plans for the implementation of the National Youth Policy
(2014) within four key themes, has been initiated.
In order to make this a reality, the project partners have recruited a
project team consisting of a Delhi based project cell and 29 national
UN Volunteers District Youth Coordinators (UNV DYCs) placed at
one district in each of the 29 states of India. 2016 will be an exciting
year as the National Project Team and our 29 UNV DYCs will begin
the implementation of activities!
May: UNV India achieves important social media milestone
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UNITED NATIONS VOLUNTEERS INDIA ANNUAL REPORT 2015

Training on Youth and Volunteering
Flagging off the on-ground engagement for the new joint youth volunteering project ‘Strengthening NYKS and NSS”, Project Manager
and 32 national United Nations Volunteers (UNVs) have undergone a training/professional development programme at the Rajiv Gandhi
National Institute of Youth Development (RGNIYD) Regional Centre, Chandigarh.
A month long training at RGNIYD from 10 Dec 2015,
introduced the UN Volunteers to a new understanding of
youth-led development and volunteering. It was designed
on a model of 10 percent classroom activity and 90 percent
field work, with a special focus on building an understanding
of youth volunteerism and developing strategies to promote
volunteering in different contexts.
A UNV-DYC from Assam shared, “This training has been
an excellent ground for refreshing my knowledge on project
management, common jargon such as social audit, social
inclusion, gender justice, etc. It has helped improve my
communication skills through group work, presentations
and performing other tasks. Most of the sessions are not
only insightful but, most importantly, actionable.”
The customized training curriculum included introduction to key government
policies and schemes, youth development and engagement, project
management, youth volunteering and youth work professional competencies.
During the conclusion of the training Hon’ble Prof. K.S. Solanki (Governor
(Punjab and Haryana and Administrator Chandigarh U.T.) and Mr. Vijay
Kumar Dev (Advisor to the Administrator) gave their best wishes to the team
and congratulated them on being part of such an innovative initiative. What is
now a first of its kind training, is likely to become institutionalized at RGNIYD
in order to skill future youth volunteers.
33 trainees comprising of National Project Team and UNV-
DYCs learnt from eminent experts in the field of youth and
volunteering which included Major General Dilawar Singh,
Director General, Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS),
Dr. Girish Tuteja, Director, National Service Scheme (NSS)
and others.
Youth Volunteerism and the National Youth Policy
“Around 100 volunteers, entrepreneurs, decision
makers and experts came together for a consultation
on ‪‎Youth ‪‎Volunteerism and the National Youth Policy (India)
on the occasion of International Volunteer Day (‪‎IVD 2015)
on 9th Dec 2015 at UN Conference Hall 55, Lodhi Estate,
New Delhi.‬
Welcome remarks by Mr. Jaco Cilliers, Country Director UNDP in India
and a special address by Mr. Rajeev Gupta, Honorable Secretary Youth
Affairs, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Major General Dilawar Singh,
Director General, Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan - NYKS India and Dr.
Stanzin Dawa, Regional Coordinator, Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of
Youth Development (RGNIYD) were followed by the presentations of four
national specialists. The latter are working on an action
plan for implementation of India’s National Youth Policy
through youth volunteerism under four key themes
- social ‪‎inclusion, ‪‎gender justice and equality, social
entrepreneurship as well as environment & ‪‎disaster
management.
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They introduced the audience to their areas of expertise
and engaged them in working groups and discussions
on how volunteering can become part and parcel of
the action plan for the implementation of the National
Youth Policy and how it can contribute to achieve
sustainable development. The event was attended
by the “Strengthening NSS and NYKS” project team,
including 29 national UN Volunteers who will be working
as District Youth Coordinators (DYCs) at state level,
directly under Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
Young entrepreneurs, experts and decision makers from
various backgrounds used the opportunity to engage with
our project team and counterparts from the ministry to lay the
basis for further fruitful cooperation between the Government
of India, the Indian Civil Society, United Nations Development
Programme - UNDP and Volunteers.
We thank all the participants for engaging discussions and are
looking forward to keep the conversation rolling throughout
2016!
RC. Vanlalmuani
UN Volunteer Spotlight 1
RC. Vanlalmuani (Muani) is UNV Livelihood Development Associate at the UN Joint Initiative Office in Aizawl Mizoram. The
initiative is a collaboration between the Mizoram State Government, FAO, ILO, UNDP and UNIDO and Muani is part of a unit
called the State Level Marketing Task Force. We were fortunate enough to talk to Muani and ask her to tell us a little bit more
about herself and her work.
-Hi Muani. What was the last book/movie you read and watched?
The last book I read was "What Young India Wants' by Chetan Bhagat and the last movies I watched were Divergent and
Insurgent.
-What is your motivation to volunteer?
As a Rural Management graduate, I want to fully work within the development sector, especially in the fields of agriculture,
marketing and rural development. From my childhood onwards I have been very interested in agriculture. I used to help my
family in building up the farm where I grew up. My family has always been a role model for volunteering for others. They help
the needy persons nearby our farm. That’s why I feel happy whenever there is any volunteering work and always try to take
part in it. Volunteering runs very thick in our blood right from my childhood.
-What was the most impressive thing in your work in 2015?
The most impressive thing I did this year is a survey on spices production and an analysis of marketing chains.
-Have you or are you volunteering outside the UN?
I used to work with SIRD, Mizoram where we gave training to farmers in different villages. I also worked with North East Rural
Livelihood Project (NERLP) in Lunglei District where we worked in the Rural Development Sector and I volunteered for Young
Mizo Association (YMA), which is a volunteer organization for the youth of Mizoram.
- If you are to recommend one Bollywood movie to someone not familiar with Indian cinema, which movie would that be?
3 Idiots. The sense of humour can be shared with anyone in the world!
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UN Volunteers at the ’Youth
Leaders Forum”
Taking forward UNV India’s partnership for continued discourse on youth development, national UN
Volunteers Mr. Auro Shashwat and Mr. Preetam Sengupta were invited by Ministry of Youth Affairs and
Sports to attend the Youth Leaders’ Forum prior to the Asia Region Commonwealth Youth Ministers
Meeting in Delhi. The forum was convened by the Commonwealth Secretariat and hosted by India’s
Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports under the title ‘Youth Participation at the Heart of Sustainable
Development’ from 27 to 30 July 2015.
The first two days witnessed youth leaders strengthen
their resolve to amplify the collective youth voice in the
eight Asian Commonwealth member states. Two working
groups – one of which was voluntarily moderated by
national UN Volunteer Preetam – were formed to develop
a set of recommendations from young leaders towards
the upcoming Youth Ministers Meeting.
These recommendations were eventually condensed into
the Youth Declaration, a comprehensive list of issues
such as sustainable youth employment opportunities and
having a greater say in the development of the region’s
future.
Youth leaders at the Forum discussed national
youth policies and called on the Ministers to partner
with them to strengthen and cultivate inclusive,
democratic, autonomous and youth-led National
Youth Councils in all Asian Commonwealth countries,
and at the regional level for engagement with youth
bodies in other blocs such as the European Union,
the Pacific and the Caribbean. Supporting the call
by youth leaders, Ministers committed to backing
a youth-focused monitoring mechanism for the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including
the disaggregation of data and analysis using the
Commonwealth Youth Development Index.
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UNV India support to the 2015 Nepal earthquakes
“As a former UN Volunteer, I can say that this is once in a lifetime opportunity for you (UNV Civil engineers) to use your skill to
help your community and your country. The experience you gain while volunteering is very special. The scale of devastation in
Nepal is quite high. You’ve an incredible task to build back better. You all now have the opportunity to rectify the mistakes made
in the past and build disaster resilient Nepal.”
-Mr. Jamie McGoldrick UN Resident Coordinator Nepal
Terrible disaster hit Nepal in April and May 2015, when ‪the so
called ‎Nepal Earthquake and a number of subsequent tremors killed
and injured thousands of people and deprived them of their livelihoods.‬
UNV Headquarter very swiftly took action to support UN volunteers
based in Nepal. It worked closely with the UNV India field unit in order
to provide items that were crucial for the wellbeing of UN volunteers
during the early days of recovery.
The fi eld unit also joined colleagues from other UN agencies to collect
donations and to encourage the public to become a part of the Nepal
Earthquake Response by donating food, money or time.
The response to these calls was tremendous and while Nepal was
not able to accommodate for everyone offering to go there to help,
many potential volunteers learned about Online Volunteering and how
they could help by joining the Standby Task Force, a global network
of volunteers trained and ready to collaborate online in the immediate
aftermath of a natural disaster.
At the same time the UNV India Programme Officer temporarily
joined the UNV Field Office in Kathmandu to assist with planning
for a large scale deployment of national UNVs with UNDP Nepal
in support of the Government’s efforts on debris management and
damage assessment. UNV Nepal thereafter quickly deployed young
UN Volunteers with UNDP who became an important asset for the
earthquake response throughout the following months.
1
UNV India's support for Nepal earthquake
2
3
1. Collecting resources
2. Online Volunteers
3. Programming
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Asia-Pacific Launch
of the State of the World's Volunteerism Report 2015
"Participation in different spaces is essential for the marginalized to find and express their voice, build
their confidence and engage actively in events that affect them directly."
2015 State of the World’s Volunteerism Report Transforming Governance
The main idea behind the State of the World’s Volunteerism
Report (SWVR) series is to provide a global review and
concrete facts and figures on the contribution of volunteering.
2015 SWVR – Transforming Governance is the first global
review of the role of volunteers in improving the way citizens
are governed and engaged. It draws on evidence from around
the world, including case studies from the Asia-Pacific region,
and specifically India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and China. The
report shows how volunteers are working with governments
and civil society organizations to hold those in power to
account, to influence policies and laws and to represent the
voices of those who are often left out of development decisions
such as women, youth and marginalised groups.
The report was launched on 23 June 2015 by Mr. Rajeev
Gupta, Secretary, Youth Affairs, Ministry of Youth Affairs and
Sport, Ms. Rosemary Kalapurakal UNV Deputy Executive
Coordinator, Mr. Louis George Arsenault UN Resident
Coordinator a.i. and Representative UNICEF, and Dr. Rajesh
Tandon, Founder President, Participatory Research in Asia
(PRIA). Lead author of SWVR 2015, Ms. Amanda Mukwashi
presented SWVR's key findings and kicked off a lively
discussion on the role volunteerism in facilitating sustainable
development and good governance
“Selfless service is the fountainhead of all moralities, all values and all
virtues”, said Mr. Rajeev Gupta, Secretary, Ministry of Youth Affairs and
Sports (MoYAS), Government of India, at the launch of the report in New
Delhi. “Volunteerism in its purest sense is selfless service – service to the
community, service to the nation, and service to the world at large.”
Speaking at the launch of the report, UNV’s Deputy Executive Coordinator
Rosemary Kalapurakal said: “The potential of volunteers to help create
truly people-centred development is enormous, but, as yet, far from fully
tapped. In order to achieve the new Sustainable Development Goals we
need to see the participation of all sections of society. Volunteers have
a critical role to play in representing the voices of those who are often
excluded from development decisions, including women, youth and other
groups who may be marginalised”.
After what quickly became a very open and constructive exchange, Ms.
Kalapurakal thanked the volunteers for their feedback and assured them
to take some of these thoughts back to the team at UNV headquarters in
Bonn, Germany.
Our Delhi based UN Volunteers furthermore had the chance to meet with
UNV Deputy Executive Coordinator Rosemary Kalapurakal over lunch to
discuss obstacles and opportunities within their assignments in India.
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Visit of the UN Secretary General's Envoy on Youth -
Mr. Ahmed Alhendawi
On 28 August 2015, UNV India in coordination with the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office organized an interactive
meeting between the UN Secretary General's Envoy on Youth, Mr. Ahmed Alhendawi and volunteers from the UN
as well as various other youth volunteering organizations at the UN Conference Hall in New Delhi.
During the interaction, Mr. Alhendawi said “It is
imperative to engage young people as part of solutions,
and engaging volunteers is a smart way to do that!”.
He informed the participants about the UN Youth
Volunteer Programme that has been prepared and
launched by UNV in a response to the UN Secretary’s
call for more youth engagement into sustainable
development and shared his firm belief in the
transformative power of volunteering with regard to
positively shaping youth and providing them with
purpose and meaning to life.
What followed was a very constructive conversation
between Mr. Alhendawi and the crowd, focussing on
current challenges that young people in India are facing
and how they and other young Indians can contribute
to overcome them.
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Youth Ki Awaaz (YKA) Debates
On 12th October 2015, politically conscious students from across Delhi participated in YKA Debates, a new interactive format that is
designed to cover themes especially relevant to Indian youth and that simultaneously reaches out to young people from all around the world
by live-streaming the debate online. The YKA debates were organized by UNV India, Youth Ki Awaaz, Action 2015 and hosted at WWF
Auditorium, Lodhi Estate.
At the first edition of such a debate, six competitively selected university students from Delhi engaged in what is called a 3x3 parliamentary
debate. Two teams of three students, representing a hypothetical government and opposition, debated over a topic that was given to them
only shortly before the debate took place.
With World Leaders, including India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, having just signed up for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),
the agenda that will play a crucial role in each country’s path towards inclusive development, it was hardly surprising that the topic of the day
touched upon several SDGs:
“This House believes that a cut in India's social spending is essential
to provide for India's manufacturing prowess, paving a way for wide
scale employment and a higher GDP.”
In what quickly became a fast paced and lively debate, the
government ("Increasing GDP isn't the same as increasing economic
inequality") as well as the opposition ("We have to understand that
manufacturing isn't the new solution. Welfare hasn't failed") made
strong statements towards their cause and it was only small details
that saw the opposition emerge as victorious in the end.
The first YKA debate turned out to be a great venue for Indian youth
to express possible obstacles towards inclusive development in India,
while also providing them with an opportunity to present ideas on
how to support the government in achieving the SDGs.
Youth Ki Awaaz, Action/2015 and the United Nations Volunteers (UNV)
programme in India are convinced of the potential of volunteerism and India’s
extremely young population to overcome poverty and achieve the sustainable
development agenda. They are therefore constantly exploring possibilities to
mobilize and engage volunteers and to give a voice to the youth of the country.
Victor Igbokwe
UN Volunteer Spotlight 2
Victor is a 37 years old international UN Volunteer and holds an MA in Human Rights and Conflict Management from Scuola Superiore
Sant’Anna, Italy. He was born in Abia in eastern Nigeria, however, he grew up in Jos, in the central region of the country. Although having
arrived in India only a couple of months ago, Victor has already started travelling the country educating people about Disaster Risk Reduction
Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation.
He works on Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation, with the United Nations Disaster Management Team (UNDMT) to support
enhancing capacity of United Nations Plan of Action on Disaster Risk Reduction for Resilience through the implementation of various activities
around disaster management. He also provide support to partner organizations in terms of reporting, capacity building, organizing conferences/
events, advocacy and promotion of volunteerism among other things.
-What has been your happiest moment working as a volunteer?
Not long ago I was approached by a group of youths here in India and they wanted to know how I started as a volunteer, and what it entails. So I
was able to share my experience of starting out and how fulfilling it can be. They then went on to write an article about volunteering and are now
looking out for ways in which they too can be volunteers. So sharing my thoughts with youngsters makes me very happy.
Full interview of Victor can be found at www.in.undp.org/unv
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Workshop on the role of volunteers and Volunteer
Involving Organisations (VIO) in popularizing the SDGs
Experts from the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office (UNRCO), UN Volunteers and delegates from 14 national and international VIOs took part in
interactive sessions to brainstorm ways to popularise the SDGs in India, after having hear the inspiring stories of ActionForPune Development
and Academic Forum for Research & Communications (AFRC) India, both being organizations that have been main contributors to the 900,000
My World Survey votes that have been collected in India.
Participants agreed that there is tremendous need to translate the 2030 Agenda for Development into the local languages and to furthermore
contextualize each and every goal in order for the SDGs to become a success within the country. This sparked off a number of collaborations
between several VIOs, one of them being the Youth Addas on SDGs jointly organized by Restless Development, Pravah, Commutiny (The Youth
Collective) and UNV India.
UN Volunteer Spotlight 3
Sneha Pillai
Sneha is a 23 year old UN Volunteer working as Outreach and Monitoring Associate for a coastal and marine biodiversity conservation project in
Sindhudurg, Maharashtra. She holds a degree in print journalism from the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai and has previously worked with The
New Indian Express. She is also pursuing a diploma in Human Rights Law from the National Law School of India University, Bangalore, alongside her
work.
- What was your most impressive work in 2015?
There are two works that I consider to be most impressive. The training programme in Tanzania under the UNV scholarship and a coastal and our
marine biodiversity conservation project in Sindhudurg.
The training in Tanzania was a learning experience like no other. Since I am not from a biodiversity background, getting to know about such a wide
range of projects, from dealing with fisher communities, farmers, the tourism industry, conservation of large marine mammals, to rearing oysters and
crabs for additional livelihood, has been tremendously helpful. It's all been a very spectacular experience.
-Have you or are you volunteering outside the UN?
I volunteered as an English teacher with an NGO called Make A Difference in Cochin. They teach institutionalized children who are in shelter homes,
orphanages and so on. I used to teach the 9th class children. I was doing this at a YMCA run all boys shelter home on my off days while I was working
as a journalist with the New Indian Express. I tried to teach them to dream whatever they want to do through teaching English language. That was a
very humbling experience.
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India Social Good Summit 2015:
Technology for Social Good
India Social Good Summit on 28 September
2015 saw hundreds of students coming together
at Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, one
of the country’s premier hubs of technology
and innovation. At the Summit, technologists,
representatives from government, celebrities
and young innovators showcased technologies
that are changing the lives of people across the
country.
Several of our national and international UN Volunteers were present at the
venue, helping out with crowd control and social media coverage of the event.
A big thanks to everyone who volunteered!
This year’s global theme, #2030NOW, asked the
question, “What type of world do I want to live
in by the year 2030?” During the Social Good
Summit, global citizens around the world unite
to unlock the potential of technology to make the
world a better place.
Trialogue on Youth & SDGs
UNV India continues to engage with Youth for popularizing SDGs.
On 10th September 2015, Development Alternatives in partnership
with UNV’s long standing partner Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO)
India invited the UNV Programme Officer (PO) to take part in a
trialogue on the topic of Youth and SDGs: What young minds want
to see in India by 2030?
The UNV PO was joined by Mr. Amitabh Behar, Executive Director
of National Foundation of India and Ms. Atishi Marlena, a social
activist and a member of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to deliberate and
discuss youth perspectives and views of the SDGs especially in
context of India. Instead of lengthy presentations, the organizers
asked the panellists to quickly introduce themselves and their
position vis-à-vis SDGs to then lead over into a long and interesting
conversation between the panellists and a very engaged group
of Indian youth. One of the strongest outcomes of the trialogue
was the agreement on the immense need to make SDGs popular
amongst the youth as a precondition for their success.
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UNV participation in Action Aid Trainings
Thanks to a collaboration between UNV and ActionAid International, all currently serving UN
Volunteers were offered a chance to get one of a total of 100 scholarships to attend on-ground
trainings at ActionAid’s training centres in Bangladesh, El Salvador, Ghana, Kenya, State of Palestine
and Tanzania.
Seven national and international UN Volunteers serving in India
successfully applied for one of these exciting learning opportunities.
They attended trainings on Social Media and Debate, Gender and
Governance as well as Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) at the
ActionAid Training Centres in Kenya and Tanzania
Volunteers taking part in the Gender and Governance training got
introduced to the concepts of gender and governance, different
frameworks for their analysis, the linkages between both topics and,
subsequently, how gender can be integrated into governance. The
beginners training on M&E introduced the basic elements of a project
cycle and saw the participants formulate M&E plans for hypothetical
projects designed by themselves over the course of a week.
The participants of the seminar on Social Media and Debate focused
on enhancing their video making, photo shooting and blogging skills
while also discussing different formats of debate, public speaking
skills, argumentation theory and the overall speech making process.
National UN Volunteer Dipanshu Roy felt that “The training was really
a good experience. Now, I know many important things about social
media and its tools, which I was not aware about before this training
programme. I am looking forward to use this learning into my current
assignment now”.
Adding further, his colleague Sugandha Nagar said, “I learnt about the
various factors that go into making a social media campaign successful
and also how to mitigate risks involved in communicating through social
media. Apart from this, learning from fellow UNVs across the globe was
added value to the programme.”
A heartfelt thanks to ActionAid and the Volunteer Knowledge and
Innovation Section (VKIS) at UNV Headquarter for making this happen!
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5 Days of Dignity Campaign
#5DaysofDignity Campaign – Let’s break the taboo around menstruation!
In October, UNV was very happy to be able to support Youth Alliance and
Goonj in rolling out their #5DaysofDignity Campaign, an effort to reach
out to college campuses and to break the taboo around
menstruation.
The campaign revolved around a group of dedicated volunteers planning
various activities throughout Delhi to tackle the stigma around the female
cycle. They achieved this by asking students and other locals about their
thoughts on the topic, before designing games and activities based on
common misconceptions and prejudices they encountered in these
interviews. The initiative proved to be a huge success and the
campaigners were able to motivate additional volunteers who pledged
to break the taboo surrounding menstruation.
State level orientation workshop on the Sendai
Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030
Himachal Pradesh is prone to various natural and manmade hazards, such as earthquakes, landslides, flash floods, snow storms and
avalanches, droughts, dam failures, fire – domestic and wild, accidents – road, rail, air, stampedes, boat capsizing, biological, industrial
and hazardous chemicals etc. The hazard which however, poses biggest threat to the state are earthquakes. Himachal Pradesh has been
shaken more than 80 times by earthquakes having a magnitude of four (4) and above on the Richter Scale as per the recorded history.
This is why the State Government of Himachal Pradesh in
collaboration with United Nations Disaster Management
Team (UNDMT), celebrated the International Day for Disaster
Reduction (IDDR) 2015 in Shimla, the capital of Himachal
Pradesh. The aim of the celebrations were to promote the
understanding of disaster risk, to create an enabling environment
for disaster preparedness and emergencies as well as to make
the state more disaster resilient.
In order to achieve these goals, a workshop with 400 youth volunteers from
various schools and colleges was organized by national UN Volunteer Utkarsh
Pandey and international UN Volunteer Victor Igbokwe. In their roles as support
to the UN Disaster Management Team (UNDMT) in India, they sensitized the
students about “disaster risk reduction and volunteerism” by explaining the
role of different stakeholders in disaster situations and introducing the Sendai
Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) including its objectives, guiding
principles and the framework’s linkages to the Sustainable Development Goals
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Art Competition for Children with Disabilities
In November 2015, UNV India and UNESCO New Delhi Office joined hands and hosted a group
of talented children to participate in an art competition on the lawns of UNDP in India
UNESCO, New Delhi with support from UN Volunteers India team and
institutional support from Saksham Trust and Delhi Viklang Adhikar Manch
organized Art Competition for Children with Disabilities on 16th November
2015.
The event recorded participation of 50 children aged 8-16 years from 6
institutions for the blind, deaf & mute and children with autism. Although
the term competition is used, the idea was for children to just have fun and
have a different experience. The aim of the event was broadly to sensitize
institutions on importance of art education and provide a platform to children
to express their thoughts through art. The event was graced by Mr Jatin
Das, contemporary artist and renowned painter, Ms Ritu Sethi, foundertrustee,
Craft Revival Trust, and Ms Premola Ghose, India International
Centre, who also constituted the jury for the competition. Children were
encouraged to use their imagination around the theme of culture and paint/
make it on the canvas. The art work was so marvelous that the jury had a
tough time reaching to a decision. All children were presented with a gift and
certificate of participation.
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UNV India staff at the Capacity Development Workshop
for Programme Assistants/Associates in Bangkok
Two members of the UNV India team went to Bangkok in October 2015 to attend a Capacity Development Workshop for
Programme Assistants/Associates from Asia and the Pacific, Europe and the CIS and Arab States.
During the two-and-half day training, they deepened their understanding of the UNV values and objectives as well as UNV’s
added value within the mandate of UN partners, they strengthened their networking and communication skills and refreshed
their knowledge on the Volunteer Management Cycle. They furthermore demonstrated their knowledge of the Conditions of
Service for all UNV modalities, learned how to manage finances and human resources through ATLAS Finance and HR were
able to learn from the experiences of their colleagues from other regions.
"The workshop was very useful as I was able to understand a lot of new processes that were implemented last year. A lot
of our queries were also addressed and because of that now I have solutions for most of the issues.”
Krishna Raj, UNV India Administrative Assistant
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International Volunteer Day (IVD) 2015
Events & Workshops
International Volunteer Day (IVD) 2015 saw widespread celebrations all across Delhi and India. Below is a collection of
the concerted efforts of UNV India and its partners.
Celebrations with PRAVAH, Commutiny and
Restless Development
On 5th December 2015, to mark IVD 2015, UNV India joined hands with PRAVAH,
Commutiny - the Youth Collective and Restless Development to host a Youth Adda on the
relevance of SDG’s for young Indians.
In order to actively engage and inspire youth to take action on the SDGs, it was decided to
actively engage youth by holding an Adda (which in Bengali translates as “conversation of a
group of people” usually informal). Under the theme "Sustainable Development Goals and
Us!" more than eighty students, young leaders and volunteers from various colleges and
universities came together at the UN Conference Hall, 55 Lodhi Estate, New Delhi to learn
about the ‪‎SDGs and how they are relevant to India and their personal life.
After what proved to be a very brief and vivid session to “break the ice”, the participants
familiarised themselves with the 17 SDGs and were quick to share and develop ideas how to
bring about change and contribute to achieving the goals in ‪‎India.
Everyone involved had a lot of fun and agreed that this was only the beginning to what will
become a series of Youth Addas on the SDGs! We will be hosting Addas on specifi c goals
throughout 2016.
For updates on upcoming addas and other UNV events make sure to follow UNV India
on Twitter and Facebook.
VSO IVD Celebrations at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi
On the occasion of IVD 2015, International UN Volunteer Victor Igbokwe and
national UN Volunteer Rubina Singh joined youth, experts and volunteers with
Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) India to celebrate youth volunteerism and
youth's role in development!
While Victor had a chance to speak about the importance
of ‪‎volunteerism in disaster risk management, Rubina reflected on
India’s National Youth Policy as well as different government/ UN
schemes to engage young people as volunteers.
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Celebrations in Odisha and Manipur
IVD was not only celebrated in the national capital Delhi,
but by many partners and volunteer involving organisations
throughout the country. Two great examples being the
festivities and activities in Manipur and Odisha where
Volunteer Involving Organisations (VIOs) partnered with
UNV India to celebrate IVD 2015.
In Odisha a prize distribution ceremony was organised by
Centre for Youth and Social Development (CYSD) that rewarded
volunteers who did extraordinary work. The Manipur chapter of The
Peace Gong gathered local volunteers to conduct several social
services before leading into formal IVD celebrations at Kasturba
Gandhi Institute for Development Manipur. Some impressions from
both events can to be found below:
Contact information
UNV Country Office
c/o United Nations Development Programme [UNDP]
55 Lodhi Estate, New Delhi – 110003, India
Tel: +91- 011- 46532333
Web: unv.india@undp.org
To know more about UNV India, visit
www.in.undp.org/unv
Follow: twitter.com/UNV_India
Like: facebook.com/unitednationsvolunteersindia
For more information about becoming a UN Volunteer, visit the UNV
website: www.unv.org
For more information about UNV Online Volunteering, visit
www.onlinevolunteering.org
The UNV Field Unit India team:
Narendra Mishra: Programme Officer
Gul Berry: Programme Associate
Krishna Raj: Admin Assistant
Michael Dohr: Volunteering and Post-2015 Officer
Shun Uno: University Volunteer
Annual Report 2015
Editing team: Narendra Mishra, Michael Dohr, Shun Uno
Designed by: Shun Uno
Permission is required to reproduce any part of this publication.
©United Nations Volunteers India, 2015
Photo credits: Sarabjit Singh, Yashas Chandra/UNDP India, UNESCO
New Delhi, UNV India, Youth Ki Awaaz, VSO India Trust, CYSD,
Peace Gong Manipur
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UN Volunteers
Annual Report 2015