UNV Turkey organized UN Youth Volunteers Regional Workshop in Istanbul, Turkey between 25-28 February 2019.

In the end of February, UNV Field Unit organized Regional Workshop in Istanbul, Turkey, with the participation of 36 UN Youth Volunteers from 13 countries across the Arab States, Europe and CIS.

During 4-days workshop, young and talented UN Youth Volunteers involved in various learning activities to strengthen their capacities and adopted the best professional practices on personal development, communications, leadership, conflict resolution, and team-working skills.

The Workshop started with welcome addresses by Mr. Dmitry Frischin, UNV Portfolio Specialist for Europe and CIS, Ms. Yeran Kejijian, Programme Analyst at UNV Lebanon, and Ms. Nil Memisoglu, Programme Analyst at UNV Turkey. Additionally, UN Youth Volunteers had a chance to meet with current UN Volunteers, who shared their experiences with them.

The biggest highlight of the workshop for the Youth Volunteers was to meet with Mr. Olivier Adam, UNV Executive Coordinator and have the opportunity to raise questions related with their career development. Mr. Adam shared the key priorities of the organization, answered their questions and thanked them for their dedication and commitment to volunteerism.

During this four-day training, UN Youth Volunteers gained a deeper understanding of how volunteerism can advance progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and how they can successfully engage in their assignments across the Arab States, Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States.

“Information that we have learned was really applicable to the challenges that we are going to face and also the participants made the experience really beneficial. The interactions that we had, the experiences that we have shared really improved the quality of the event,”- shared Doğan Can Türk-Budget Associate, UN Youth Volunteer serving with WHO in Egypt.

Volunteers were able to develop an understanding of the skills, competencies, and personal qualities needed to contribute to the work of the UN agencies effectively, improved leadership and conflict resolution skills, learned how to become an effective team member and to leverage available learning opportunities to build a strong career path.

“Volunteering for me is engagement and this workshop is giving me the opportunity to become more engaged; not just with other communities but also with other people that share the same path, share the same goals in life with other UN Youth Volunteers and it allows me to learn how to improve myself, develop my skills to become more involved in development progress and making change for better,”- said Eda Nazlı Genç-Project Clerk, UN Youth Volunteer serving with UNDP Turkey.

At the end of Regional UN Youth Volunteer Workshop, the participants received their certificates and gained a better understanding of the work of the UNV programme and their role in contributing to the achievement of SDGs within the context of the United Nations.