UNESCO REF Call for Volunteers 2026: Join a Network of Change-Makers Shaping Nigeria’s Future
UNESCO REF Media Centre | Call for Volunteers
UNESCO REF invited qualified applicants worldwide to volunteer their expertise to its programmes, with remote roles available and selected assignments requiring presence in Nigeria.
This call is now closed. Applications ran from 12 June to 12 September 2026. Details of future calls will be published on the Volunteering page.
ABUJA, Nigeria, 12 June 2026. The Read and Earn Federation for UNESCO (UNESCO REF) has opened its 2026 Call for Volunteers, inviting accomplished professionals, scholars and emerging leaders from Nigeria, the diaspora and the wider international community to place their expertise at the service of the nation’s development. Successful applicants will join a distinguished network of change-makers contributing to education, agriculture, health, digital transformation and community development across the Federation.
Global alignmentAlignement mondialThe global commitments this story advances. Open to see how.
- SDG17
SDG 17, Partnerships (primary)
ProvisionTarget 17.17: effective public, private and civil society partnerships
How the call respondsBrings global expertise into Nigerian programmes
- UNGA
UN General Assembly resolution 70/129 (2015)
ProvisionIntegrating volunteering into the 2030 Agenda
How the call respondsStructured volunteer engagement aligned with the SDGs
- SDG4
SDG 4 and SDG 8
ProvisionEducation, skills and decent work
How the call respondsVolunteers support training and employment programmes
- AU
African Union Agenda 2063
ProvisionAspiration 6: people-driven development
How the call respondsEngages Africans at home and in the diaspora
Volunteerism has long been recognised by the United Nations as a powerful means of implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In 2015, the United Nations General Assembly, by resolution 70/129, called for volunteering to be integrated into the planning and delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals. The UNESCO REF Call for Volunteers answers that call by connecting individual talent with institutional programmes that deliver measurable change in Nigerian communities.
The call at a glance
L’appel en bref
- Application window. Opens 12 June 2026 and closes 12 September 2026.
- Eligibility. Open to qualified applicants worldwide, regardless of nationality.
- Modes of service. Remote options are available for selected roles; certain assignments require physical presence in Nigeria.
- How to apply. Review the volunteering process on the Volunteering page and register through the application portal.
Where volunteers serve
Domaines d’engagement
Volunteers are deployed across UNESCO REF’s flagship programmes, among them Young Women in Agriculture, which is mobilising 12 million young women for food security; The VOICE Initiative, which prepares women with disabilities for employment in the digital economy; the Educational Financial Facility Scheme, which opens accredited international education to young Nigerians; and the ARDAI TIER I programme in artificial intelligence.
Roles span programme coordination, research and evaluation, curriculum and training, communications, partnerships and community mobilisation. Each assignment is designed to make use of the volunteer’s professional expertise and to leave a lasting contribution.
Why it matters
Les enjeux
Nigeria’s development challenges are matched by an extraordinary reservoir of talent, at home and in its global diaspora. Structured volunteering allows that talent to be mobilised quickly and purposefully, bringing specialist knowledge to communities and strengthening the institutions that serve them. For volunteers, it offers the opportunity to contribute to nationally significant programmes aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals.
ENDS
Notes to editorsNotes aux rédactions
About UNESCO REF. The Read and Earn Federation for UNESCO (UNESCO REF) works to strengthen human and institutional capacity across Nigeria and Africa through education, research and professional development, in alignment with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Media enquiries. UNESCO REF Media Centre, [email protected]