On December 2, 2021, the President of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly, the Permanent Missions of Brazil and Japan to the United Nations, the United Nations Development Programme(UNDP), and the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) Program held an informal commemorative UN General Assembly meeting to mark the 50th Anniversary of UNV and the 20th anniversary of the International Year of Volunteers. Among the speakers at that meeting in the General Assembly Hall of the UN Headquarters in New York was one Tsinghua University graduate: Kabelo Botlhe Dikobe from Botswana.

Dikobe, who graduated in 2019 with a master’s degree from the Tsinghua School of Journalism and Communication, is an international UN Youth Volunteer, working as an Executive Analyst at the Office of the Executive Director of UN Women at its headquarters in New York. She had been invited to speak as the representative of international UN Youth Volunteers.  

Dikobe at the UNGA

Speaking from the podium in the General Assembly Hall as the two giant screens on either side of the podium displayed her face in close-up, Dikobe made a convincing case for leveraging data to solve shared social problems and the youth’s role in it.  

She highlighted how volunteerism had provided an entry point for young people like her to address complex socio-economic challenges through new models of volunteering that involve new technologies and online connectivity, imperative to the changing needs of the world, especially as people confront the changes brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Advancing a new narrative of connected volunteerism for effective youth leadership, Dikobe underlined the urgent need to understand and solve social problems with data. “During the pandemic, as a local and online volunteer from the Global South, I recognized the need to leverage on research and data to help track and mobilize communities so that no one is left behind,” she said.

Dikobe giving a speech

This year’s theme for International Volunteer Day is “Volunteer Now for our Common Future.” To Dikobe, the theme means generating data-driven insights into shared social problems volunteers could draw on to take effective measures in resolving them.

In her speech, she said she agreed with the UN Secretary-General's data strategy, which aims to unlock the data potential of the UN system for better decisions and stronger support to people and the planet—in the moments that matter most. She also pointed out that volunteers across the world could use “big data” productively to further review existing societal challenges and strengthen and empower community-led monitoring.

Dikobe at the UNGA

Dikobe, an advocate for equal women’s representation in the media and environmental protection, has extensive experience in global communications and journalism. She was a contributing freelance journalist for China Daily’s Global edition, writing about China-Africa affairs, and worked as a journalist for The Botswana Gazette newspaper. While in Beijing, she served on an ad hoc basis as a State Visit Ad Hoc Committee member of the Embassy of Botswana during the Botswana-China Business Forum. She was a Business Communication and Law lecturer until recently.

She also has an impressive track record working as a volunteer. At Tsinghua, as a member of the Tsinghua University African Student Association, she volunteered in a wide range of activities: she supported and facilitated international events on cultural diversity, Africa Day, youth leadership and Beijing Women empowerment seminars. She also worked as an intern with Tsinghua’s Global Communication Office, sharing Tsinghua stories with the world.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dikobe worked with the African Girls Empowerment Network in Nigeria as an Advocacy, Fundraising and Communications volunteer. In her country, she served as a local volunteer with Volunteer Hub as a Communications Officer, raising awareness on volunteerism and holding civic discourse on gender-based violence, environmental awareness, and socio-economic challenges youth face.

In April 2021, Dikobe joined UN Women through its inaugural Young Women Leaders Program, a partnership initiative with the United Nations Volunteers program. The program has allowed her to contribute to UN Women's operations in New York by sharing her voice, passion, and commitment to gender equality.

Dikobe at the UNGA

Given her outstanding accomplishments, Dikobe had the privilege to attend the informal commemorative UN General Assembly meeting as a speaker and share her volunteer experiences on behalf of youth volunteers.

“Volunteerism is at the core of how diverse groups of young people are passionately seeking social transformation around them. An enabling environment for volunteering that fosters creativity, innovation, and data-centric best practices from youth, I am confident that this large population of youth volunteers can be a great value add in achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, for all,” she said, concluding her speech to a round of applause from the audience. She has made the whole Tsinghua community proud.

原文链接：She delivered a speech at the UNGA on behalf of youth volunteers