Hello, All:

This week, Simuka Africa finalized a partnership with ActionChange.org to relaunch our award-winning Match-A-Meal Campaign to assist those at risk for food insecurity due to El-Niño induced drought in Zimbabwe for Quarter 4.

• Visit our page on their website for additional information.

Be advised:

• Recent updates from our hosting providers impacted our 34 Gallery website form and [email protected] inbox, hence the delay in direct contact for some of you. Further details are below.

• The first Career Focus Meeting for Q4 staff has been scheduled for October 17th on HeyPeers. Register here for an opportunity to meet your supervisor & other staff members. After creating an account, click on “Organizations,” then “34 Gallery” to see our meeting list. Problems? Email : [email protected]

  ________________________________________

  

• The SAYA Briefing inbox is fully operational. Until this issue is resolved, respond to this email with questions and concerns that require immediate response.

• Videographer Assignments: The following links will direct you to the source material for your content:

  SDG 2 Content: Use the information from the World Meteorological Organization to create short videos on the El Nino affecting East & Southern Africa.

  SDG 3 Content: Use the World Health Organization and WHO guideline on self-care interventions for health and well-being to create short videos on self-care techniques.

  SDG 5 Content: Use the UN Women Gender Snapshot Report as source material.

  ________________________________________

  Q4 Online Volunteer Service

  

  _______________________________________

Administrative Notices

• Please Be Advised: Part of your assignment is also social media participation. Liking and commenting on artwork we feature directly reduces distress for those utilizing our Art Therapy Open Calls to cope.

• Volunteers with experience hosting virtual meetings: Opportunities exist with HeyPeers and Sharewell to be a guest speaker in our groups or host your own for SDG 3 and 5. Email us for more information.

• New UNV Volunteers: During your service, be sure to Complete the Essential & Mandatory Courses on the UNV E-Campus by Jan. 2nd, 2027.

• Questions about assignments or protocol? Respond to this Briefing.

  _______________________________________________

The November Social Media Calendar

____________________________________________

The next deadline for assignments is October 30th.

We encourage you to create heartfelt content based on what aligns with your career goals and interests. Check our websites and social media for examples of what we publish.

These are our content creation guidelines:

• Art, Poetry, & Fiction Submissions: 34 Gallery Open Call instructions are here.

• Virtual Publications: Articles are 700 words minimum. Submissions can also include up to 4 graphics or artworks. Personal Essays on mental health, education, or career topics are also welcome.

• Graphic Design & Video: Graphics should be submitted in batches of 4, 8 or 12. Video must be 2 minutes or less.

• Email us your selected topic first to reserve a spot on the publication calendar.

____________________________________________

Suggested Topic List

____________________________________________

Simuka Africa Volunteers have successfully attained employment, internships, Fellowships, and other positions based on their active publication history with us. Report summaries in particular provide an edge in the job interview process.

• Be advised the submission is not a guarantee of publication. Assignments that are full of errors, improperly sourced, and less than 700 words will not be published.

• Articles that violate politically neutrality also cannot be published. Our content must remain visible for our global audience members in mental health crisis residing in areas of restricted speech.

• Articles, video or graphics can be submitted for any of these topics except report summaries and listings requesting a particular format.

If you have time in your schedule to complete one of these, notify us with your selected topic by responding to this briefing or emailing us directly:

• SDG 3: Personal Essays on Grief

• SDG 3: Coping Strategies for Anniversaries of Loss and/or Trauma

• SDG 3: Coping Strategies for the Holiday Season

• SDG 3: Seasonal Affective Disorder, definition & interventions

• SDG 8: After the Promotion - Tips for transitioning into a new role at work

• SDG 8: Strategies for Unexpected Workplace Changes (new boss, mission direction, expanded focus, reduction/increase in hours)

• UN Water: World Water Week 2026 Impact Report

• UN Women Report Summary: The Gender Snapshot 2026

• Can’t make the deadline? Things happen. Just notify us so your task can be reassigned. However, be advised that Simuka Africa is unable to issue recommendation letters or UNV reports on your behalf without a record of submitted assignments during the quarter.

________________________________________

The United Nations System: An Introduction

____________________________________________

SimukaAfrica.org is listed as UN SDG Action Cause #53469.

• The UN & Zimbabwe: A Future Beyond Circumstance, UN Zimbabwe Brings Mentorship to Saint Joseph’s Home for Boys

• The UN & Zimbabwe: End Child Marriage and Invest in Girls’ Rights: Promises Made Must Be Promises Kept for Every Girl in Zimbabwe

• UNDESA: Gender equality woefully off track, new UN report reveals

• UNAIDS: The Global AIDS Strategy: 2026-2031

• Introduction to The One Campaign

• Introduction to ODI Global

• Introduction to The Africa Credit Rating Agency: AfCRA was established through an African initiative to strengthen the quality, depth and diversity of credit information available to financial markets. Our purpose, however, is global.

• Introduction to The Women's Health Co-Lab: a collaborative fund aiming to mobilize $100 million to transform the future of women's health across the United States and Global South.

• Introduction to The Micronutrient Forum: the central platform for evidence and advocacy to improve micronutrient health.

  ____________________________________________

  International Trainings

• UNV Masterclass: Personal Advocacy — 27 October 2026

• UNV Data Analysis: Microsoft Excel Webinar Series 

  Intermediate Level, Text Functions: November 12

  Advanced Level, Logical & Counting Functions: December 10

• 10 Free UNSSC Online Courses 2026 — Learn about climate action, sustainability, peace & security online.

• These FREE self-paced online courses allow you to learn at your own pace, with certificates available for eligible courses:

  Green Marketing Challenge – UN System Staff College

  Introduction to Standards & Sustainability – International Trade Centre

  Investment Project Preparation & Appraisal – UNIDO

  Foundations of Central Bank Law – IMF

  Financial Development & Financial Inclusion

  Introduction to Corporate Social Responsibility – ITC

  Trade & Circular Economy – WTO

  Taking the Entrepreneurship Route – ITC

  Work & Employment for a Sustainable Future – SDG Academy

  Sustainability Learning Pathway

________________________________________

United Nations Employment

• UN Careers - the primary UN career hub

• UNJOBNET - daily job listings for the entire UN System

• UNJOBNET: Remote Positions - daily updated UN remote work

• IISD Climate Change Jobs

• UN Women Careers

• UN Women EmPower Academy

• One Campaign Career Vacancies (Italy, D.C., Canada)

• United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Careers

• World Food Programme Careers Careers

• International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)

• United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Careers

• PATH · Supply Chain Advisor (Quantification Analytics Tool) Abuja, Nigeria ... (Remote position)

• FHI 360 Careers

• World Health Organization (WHO) Careers

• International Organization for Migration (IOM) Careers

• Environmental Resources Management (ERM) Careers

• Asian Development Bank (ADB) Careers

• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Careers

• International Budget Partnership (IBP) Careers

• Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study Fellowships 2028: Opportunities for individual researchers, research teams and artists-in-residence.

• NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program 2027: Graduate research fellowship opportunities in eligible STEM fields in the United States.

• Echidna Global Scholars Program 2027–2028 — Brookings Institution: A $26,500 fellowship focused on education, gender equality and policy research.

•  Healthy Food Policy Fellowship 2026: An opportunity focused on food policy and public health.

• TIMERA Fellowship 2026–2029: Infectious disease modelling training for African public health professionals.

• IWA & Grundfos Youth Action for SDG 6 Fellowship 2027–2028: The Fellowship supports Young Water Professionals (YWPs) to strengthen their leadership, professional capabilities and contribution to global water challenges.

• The United Nations Regional Course in International Law for Africa 2027 offers qualified legal professionals an opportunity to learn from leading scholars and practitioners in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

• The United Nations University (UNU) Junior Fellows Internship Programme 2027 offers eligible postgraduate students and recent graduates an opportunity to gain practical experience at the Office of the Rector in Tokyo, Japan.

• UNDP ECoWYERT Programme 2025–2030: An initiative supporting women, youth, entrepreneurs and traders to advance regional trade growth across Africa.

____________________________________________

A.I. Policy, News & Jobs

____________________________________________

Our Updated Simuka Africa A.I. Organizational Policy can be found here. It also includes direct links to the A.I. Tools most asked about in job interviews.

• Zimbabwe & A.I Development:

• News: Character.AI declares bankruptcy

• Mem connects your notes.

• Firecrawl can turn any website into clean data for AI.

• Julius AI is Data Analysis without the formulas.

• n8n creates automation without paying per step.

• Gumloop is a drag-and-drop automation builder.

• Clay completes lead research on autopilot.

• Fyxer is an AI Assistant that runs your inbox.

• Granola creates meeting notes.

• Napkin AI turns a Paragraph Into a Diagram.

• OnBoard is a board meeting management platform that features integration with Teams and Zoom and offers AI-generated agendas, minutes, and scheduling.

• Grammarly is a generative AI writing assistant that catches typos, missing punctuation, incorrect punctuation, and suggests sentence structures and word alternatives that match the mood and attitude of your nonprofit’s tone of voice.

• Handwrytten uses handwriting robots that hold real pens to write out notes in your handwriting and signature.

• NotebookLM is an AI research tool that can analyze your sources and turn complex data into clear, visually compelling content.

• Otter AI transcribes, summarizes, and provides action items for in-person or Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams meetings.

• Plus allows users to edit and generate presentations for AI Google Slides and PowerPoint in any language.

• Wispr Flow is a voice-to-text dictation AI that turns speech into clear, polished writing.

____________________________________________

Science, A.I. & Tech Opportunities

• The Global AI & Digital Summit hosted by the World Bank Group in partnership with the Republic of Korea's Ministry of Finance and Economy (MOFE) and Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT), will bring together leaders from government, business, academia, civil society, and development organizations in Seoul to explore how AI and digital technologies, including small AI, can create jobs, boost productivity, and expand access to services. (Oct. 20 - 21)

• Free GIZ Data Governance Certificate Courses — Build practical skills in data governance and Africa’s digital economy.

• ITU-UNDP Responsible Digital Transformation Course —Learn about AI, data governance and impact assessments.

• UN GIS & OpenStreetMap Courses — Develop practical GIS, mapping and geospatial skills through UN Maps.

• NASA Open Science Training — Free Open Science Essentials and Open Science 101 courses.

• The Digital Training Academy (Nigeria)

• Data Annotation: Train AI as a Medical Expert

• Data Annotation: Train AI as a Legal Expert

• Entelect Careers (Zimbabwe)

• Hippocratic AI: Careers

• Navina: Careers

• The AI Job Board

• Helm.ai Careers

• All Tech Is Human Job Board — Ethical AI Jobs

• Handshake Job Board

• Working Nomads Job Board

• ITU Gender Champions Programme 2027: A global opportunity supporting young women leaders in digital transformation.

•  Google invites eligible students to apply for its 2027 Student Researcher Program, offering opportunities to contribute to innovative research projects across its research teams.

• ETH AI Center Fellowships 2027 — Switzerland: Fully funded PhD and postdoctoral research opportunities in artificial intelligence at ETH Zurich.

• The BNEF Pioneers is a global competition recognizing innovative climate-tech solutions that accelerate decarbonization and address major climate challenges.

• Are you a researcher, graduate student, activist, or professional passionate about feminist economics, gender equality, and social justice? Apply for the 5th IAFFE Feminist Economics School 2027 at Okayama University, Japan.

____________________________________________

Opportunities

____________________________________________

Career Tip, I: How to secure a highly competitive role at the World Bank Group — Devex Career Briefing

• Careers at Zepz

• Careers 24 — (Zimbabwe)

• ARTJOBS: Job Vacancies

• ARTJOBS: Calls for art

• Jobs.art — art careers

• 482 Jobs Australia

• Remote: Idealist.org: Remote Positions

• Remote: Flexjobs Remote Job Board

• Remote: No Desk Remote Job Board

• Remote: Remote.com Job Board

• Remote: Real Work From Anywhere Job Board

• Education jobs: Teach Away Job Board

• Education Jobs: Tes Jobs

• Education Jobs: Higher Ed Jobs Board (US)

• Edtech.com is an independent, education-focused job board trusted by teams across K–12, Higher Ed, workforce, and learning & development. Our community members come from excellent institutions and companies throughout the world.

• The Global Teacher Prize, presented by the Varkey Foundation, is a global award recognising exceptional teachers for their contributions to the teaching profession, including classroom teachers, digital educators, education-programme leaders, and teachers working in refugee and other non-formal settings.

• The Wellcome Photography Prize is awarding prizes to image makers whose photography and scientific or medical images reveal how health and science shape lives, illuminate urgent challenges and discoveries, and offer moments of hope.

• The Re:Paris Prize is thrilled to announce its applications to support accomplished designers based in the United States to research how design can reshape understandings of Africa and the Black diaspora as sites of spatial intelligence, innovation, and future-making.

• The Geographies: An Exploration of Places, Environments and Cultures, a LoosenArt call invites artists worldwide to submit work for publication in the Issue Collective editorial project, with selected works also considered for a group exhibition in Italy.

• The D-Prize Global Competition is thrilled to announce its applications to support aspiring entrepreneurs to build new ventures that distribute proven solutions to people experiencing poverty.

• WiSER Pioneers Program 2026: A global sustainability leadership opportunity for young women.

• EJS Center Director of Research, Knowledge & Archives: A professional leadership role advancing African women's leadership through research, knowledge and archives.

• The WomanKind Creative Grant offers early-stage women’s health startups a 6-week design partnership providing strategic branding and visual identity support.

• The Walk of Water Photostory Contest: Out of Sight invites photographers to submit photo stories exploring the hidden intersections of water, ecosystems, and human health, with a special focus on wastewater and its impact.

• The World Travel Photography Awards offers cash prizes and publication opportunities to amateur and professional travel photographers worldwide.

• Sequoia Park Zoo Conservation Grant Program is inviting applicants from conservation organizations and educational institutions to submit preproposals for projects that deliver measurable impact on wildlife and habitat conservation.

• The DW Traineeship is an 18-month paid journalism program for aspiring journalists interested in multimedia storytelling and international reporting.

• The CVUT Starting Grant is seeking applications for excellent early-career researchers with substantial international experience to establish an independent research group at the Czech Technical University in Prague.

• The World's Biggest Business Competition offers entrepreneurs the chance to compete and gain recognition to start or grow their business.

• The Asian Development Bank-Japan Scholarship Program provides full scholarships for citizens of ADB developing member countries to pursue eligible Master's degrees at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa through the East-West Center.

• The Nieman-Berkman Klein Fellowship in Journalism Innovation offers journalists and media professionals to pursue a year-long research or project on journalism’s digital transformation at Harvard University.

• The NBA Summer Internship 2027 is a 10-week paid programme offering eligible undergraduate and graduate students hands-on experience, professional development, and exposure to NBA leaders.

• The PEACE Action Next Gen Programme invites Young Researchers and Innovators (YRIs) to join a mentorship and professional development programme running from January to October 2027.

•  Apply to one of three ChangemakerXchange programmes supporting youth empowerment, social innovation, and equality through tailored training, international networking, and collaborative project funding. 

• Jim Leech Mastercard Foundation Fellowship on Entrepreneurship 2027: Free online entrepreneurship training, mentorship and startup funding opportunities for African students.

• The France Excellence Eiffel Scholarship Programme, developed by the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, supports outstanding.

• The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) offers eligible university students an opportunity to gain professional experience in African trade and trade finance.

• Salzburg Global Seminar offers internship opportunities across communications, development, library support, and program activities.

____________________________________________

Food For Thought

____________________________________________

• Self-care, I: How caregiving makes you a better leader — GeVonna Fassett, TEDxSIUC

In closing, psychology is a broad and expansive field. Yet all branches agree that routine self-care and self-regulation are a vital part of overall health. Here are seven quick guidelines that can assist with making your own outlook brighter on a daily basis:

1) Mean what you say. It shows others that you are trustworthy and alleviates the guilt of broken promises.

2) Recognize that masking is not the same as thriving. Your professional self should be an extension of you, not an illusion.

3) Remain firm on your values. Blindly following group trends can eventually lead to low self-esteem and burnout.

4) Reserve judgement until all the facts are known. Be wise enough to research both the issue and the source of the information before jumping to conclusions.

5) Acknowledge your darker emotions. Journaling, art, and photography are all excellent ways to vent anger, despair and anxiety without harm.

6) Understand that perfectionism isn’t healthy. No one operates at 100% capacity 24 hours a day. Give yourself the grace to be imperfect.

7) Opt for authenticity over superficiality. Being yourself will help you establish a better network of support.

This weekend, enjoy a relaxing activity!

— The Simuka Africa Team ❤

May hope, peace & unity always be with you.