Andrii Nahornyi turns complex data into powerful maps to help cities thrive

When international UN Volunteer Sagar Adhikari arrived from Nepal in Sierra Leone, the country was preparing for elections clouded by misinformation. Sagar led the iVerify platform, supported by the PBF, to provide citizens with reliable information. 

I’m Katarzyna Wawiernia from Poland. My volunteer journey began with a simple step: I applied. At the time, I was working in northern Mozambique as a microfinance advisor, helping five local banks support income-generating projects for people living in poverty. When I saw the UN Volunteers ad, I went for it. Despite the myth that joining the United Nations is tough, my process was smooth—just a few exams and I was in.

Humanity in action

 As a 17-year-old, I travelled to the United States on an educational exchange programme and my main motivation was to play baseball and experience American culture.I met a lot of other people from Africa and Asia as well as Europe and I was taken aback and then impressed by their passion and motivation to support their villages and communities back home.

Andrii began his assignment by designing a strategic plan focused on the geospatial component of the project, researching each participating city’s geographic, historical, and socio-economic context. This helped him gain a deeper understanding of the forces shaping urban development.  "Once the groundwork was laid, I began sourcing data—vector, raster, and statistical—while organizing everything in a way that would support efficient geospatial analysis. This step was more than just data management; it was about building a foundation for meaningful insights," shares Andrii.

Distinguished Delegates,It is always an honour to address the Executive Board. Though I must confess—summarizing the annual report of United Nations Volunteers is a bit like trying to tweet War and Peace. But I will try to do it justice. I also look forward to your guidance and questions from the board members and the observing delegations afterward. 

This first-of-its-kind tool is designed to systematically measure and spotlight the contributions of volunteers to sustainable development worldwide.The Global Volunteer Index is set to become a game-changer—giving  governments and development partners insights to tap into the full potential of volunteerism in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

“You’ll be hired when a project is born, and released when it ends." Words of my professor from the University of Bradford are etched in my mind from a couple of decades ago. A thought that has stayed with me ever since. Over the years, I moved between roles at United Nations entities, international organizations, and Islamic Relief—always ready for new beginnings. Between 2002 and 2012, I worked in areas related to reducing poverty, empowering youth, and advancing governance-related programmes. By the end of that decade, I thought I had seen it all.

I joined the UN in 1992 as a UN Volunteer in Cambodia, just after the Cold War ended. A UN Transitional Authority was being set up in Cambodia, the largest UN endeavour since the UN operation in the Congo in the 60’s. Amidst 20,000 personnel, military and civilians, 465 UN Volunteers—including myself—were deployed as District Electoral Supervisors. Despite the Khmer Rouge boycotting the elections and the ongoing civil war, we organized elections in a Khmer Rouge-controlled area.