Youth volunteers awarded certificates for successfully completing the community development activities in Darfur

Darfur: In March 2018, 90 youth volunteers were awarded certificates for successfully completing the community development activities as youth volunteers in all the five Darfur States under the Youth Volunteers Supporting Peace and Recovery (YoVoReD) Project Phase III. The YoVoReD is a youth-centred project implemented by UNDP with the support of the Government of Sudan and funded by Japan.
Separate graduation ceremonies were organized in each of the five Darfur states in collaboration with the State Youth Volunteer Coordination Units (SYVCUs), which consist of UNDP, State Ministries of Youth& Sports, Finance, Social Affairs, the Peace centre, National NGOs (VNWRHD, ERRADA, NIDO, CFCI, BORD, TDO and MDO). The First secretary of the Embassy of Japan, Mr. Minoru Yamaguchi and more than 200 representatives attended the ceremonies from the government authorities, private sector, UN agencies and NGOs.
In addition to the graduation ceremonies, career fairs were organized to reinforce the sustainability of the initiative and to facilitate the access of youth volunteers to the job market in Sudan. The youth volunteers gained first-hand exposure to potential employers and received information to enhance their competitiveness in the job market. The representatives from private companies, public institutions, NGOs and UN organizations participated in the career fairs where they provided value-added career information to the prospective youth volunteer job seekers.
Aisha Mohammed, from North Darfur stressed how happy she was to see that many people joined them to celebrate their graduation ceremony, such as the State Minister Youth & Sports and the First secretary of the Embassy of Japan. She said, “this has encouraged me and my colleagues to continue working for the community even after the graduation. The career fair gave me new and useful information on how to apply for jobs in the organizations, at the same time, it motivated me to explore the private sector or establishing my own business rather than focusing on government jobs.”
At the graduation ceremony in North Darfur, Mr. Yamaguchi congratulated the youth volunteers and stated that “I would like to express my respect and appreciation to youth volunteers’ ambition to develop your skills and abilities, and to devote yourselves to the communities. Please remember that the Japanese government and people are always with you to support the efforts for the better future of the Sudanese people.”
The North Darfur State Minister of Youth & Sports, Mrs. Hikma Ibrahim reiterated the importance of the role of the youth in the peace and recovery in Darfur. She stated that “In the past, people used the youth in the conflict in Darfur. Now is the time to work with youth to build peace.”
The following organizations and institutions provided support and solidarity to the youth in Darfur and the YoVoReD project by participating in the ceremonies and career fairs in the five Darfur states:
* Government: State Ministry of Youth& Sports, State Ministry of Finance, State Ministry of Social Affairs, State Ministry of Education, State Ministry of Planning and HAC
* Banking and private sector: Bank of Sudan, Bank of Khartoum, Savings and Social Development Bank, Nile Bank, Microfinance institutions, Sudani (telephone company), and Asma training centre.
* UN and NGOs: UNEP, UNFPA, UNHCR, WFP, UNV and UNAMID, VNWRHD, ERRADA, NIDO, CFCI, BORD, TDO, MDO, ISRA, War Child Canada, Concern and ZOA.
Youth volunteers awarded certificates for successfully completing the community development activities
The Youth Volunteers Supporting Peace and Recovery (YoVoReD) is a youth-centred initiative with the overall goal of building the skills and capacities of youth to empower their communities and play an active role in the peace and recovery process in Darfur. In partnership with the State Youth Volunteer Coordination Units, UNDP trained 90 university-graduates from Darfur and subsequently deployed them as youth volunteers and agents of peace and development in 30 local communities across the five Darfur states. In its third phase, the 90 youth volunteers have improved capacities of 9,297 community members (54% female) and contributed to rebuilding their livelihoods through capacity development training in business and environmental subjects.
YOVORED was initiated in 2012 and have since then trained and deployed 379 youth volunteers who have supported 35,862 people in 113 communities in the 5 states of Darfur.
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The Youth Volunteers Supporting Peace and Recovery (YoVoReD) phase III was newly launched in 2017 by re-designing the Youth Volunteers Rebuilding Darfur Project based on lessons learned from its Phase I and II as well as by bringing more peace-building and youth entrepreneurship components.