Hello, All:

We hope you had a pleasant week! If you’ve been keeping up with the news, you likely already know OpenAI rocked the Internet with cybersecurity disclosures that rippled across the globe. More details can be found below.

Be advised:

• Additional Open Call: Our partner Webbie Social is running the “Unspoken Strength” Open Call for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. We encourage staff members to share your experiences through art for healing. DEADLINE: Oct. 31st

• Starting Nov. 1st: Our organization will promote The Match-A-Meal Campaign Fundraiser with Action Change for Giving Tuesday & the holiday season to assist those at risk for food insecurity due to El-Niño induced drought in Zimbabwe.

• Q4 Hashtag: Simuka Africa will revive our hashtag “#DoGoodForNoReason” for World Kindness Day (Nov. 13th) and the Holiday Season. We encourage staff members to have fun with this theme if selected for your assignment.

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  AI & Cybersecurity

  

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• Be advised: This week, The 34 Gallery received six AI phishing attempts via email and text during the 48 hours after the OPENAI disclosure was made.

• Take precautions regarding internet phishing scams and malware attacks, which are set to increase substantially in the wake of this crisis. Follow cybersecurity advisories provided by your local communities and government pertaining to safety measures.

• The next Career Focus Meeting is scheduled for Nov. 21st, which will cover aspects of this situation. After creating an account, click on “Organizations,” then “34 Gallery” to see our meeting list. Problems? Email : [email protected]

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  Q4 Online Volunteer Service

  

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Administrative Notices

• 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.

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The November Social Media Calendar

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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.

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Suggested Topic List

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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.

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 coping with chronic pain, chronic illness or being a caregiver to someone with these conditions.

• SDG 3: Creating a Home Wellness Space: tips to declutter & destress

• SDG 4: Avoiding Overload: Strategies to balance work and school (undergrad, graduate & doctoral)

• SDG 4: Shifting Course: Personal Essays on successfully changing a field of study or career path.

• SDG 8: Tips & Strategies for Working From Home or Hybrid Work Environments

• SDG 8: Tips & Strategies for Returning Work Routine after a Leave of Absence

• Report Summary: FAO Strategic Framework 2022-31

• UNDESA Report Summary: World Social Report 2026 - The New Economics of Social Inclusion: Making Transformations Work for All

• WHO Report Summary: Public health intelligence for a safer world: WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence strategy 2026–2030

• 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.

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The United Nations System: An Introduction

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

• The UNDP & Zimbabwe: Resilience Starts at Home: Turning El Niño's Warning Into a Family's Next Move

• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) suspended its latest negotiations late on Friday after a week of tough talks in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

• Introduction to The European Development Bank (EDB)

• Introduction to The World Health Organization’s Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence

• The United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) was established in 1968 pursuant to Economic and Social Council Resolution 1086 B (XXXIX) of 1965, which urged an expansion of the United Nations activities in crime prevention and criminal justice.

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  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

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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

• The European Development Bank (EDB) Careers (Germany)

• Communication Officer Position in the IPCC WGI Technical Support Unit. The position will remain opened until November 20, 2026.

• The UNESCO Internship Programme 2026 offers opportunities to gain practical experience, develop professional skills, and learn about the work of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

• Are you a PhD student, researcher, health practitioner, or policymaker? Apply for the WHO Summer School 2027 on Systems Thinking, NCD Prevention and Healthy Ageing in Nice, France.

• The Women in Tech × UN Women programme empowers women and girls through digital training, professional guidance, and education on technology-facilitated violence.

• FAO World Food Forum Internship Programme 2026: Gain practical experience at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy, supporting work related to youth and women's empowerment, policy, communications, partnerships, innovation, and agrifood systems.

• World Food Forum Youth Policy Board 2027–2028: Take on a youth governance role within the WFF Youth Assembly and contribute to conversations on agrifood systems, policy advocacy, and youth empowerment.

• The United Nations is selecting 10 journalists from Least Developed Countries (LDCs) for the DPoA MTR Journalism Fellowship in Qatar.

• The Sweden–UNICEF FemTech Ventures 2026 programme supports innovative companies developing solutions for girls’ and women’s health, including sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).

• The 2026 UN Young Professionals Programme (YPP) offers eligible young graduates and professionals from participating countries an opportunity to begin a career as an international civil servant with the UN Secretariat.

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A.I. Policy, News & Jobs

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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:

• The Office of Information and Communications Technology (OICT): Women Leading Digital Transformation at the UN 

• OpenAI: Patch the Planet: global response coordination as agents uncover critical vulnerabilities

• DigWatch: UN names co-chairs for 2027 Global Dialogue on AI Governance

• DigWatch: UNIDIR director warns of declining human control in military AI operations

• 404: AI Is Changing Everything About Hacking. No One Knows What Happens Next

• News: Character.AI declares bankruptcy

• Introduction to the UNIDIR’s Centre of Excellence on AI, Peace and Security

• The Windfall Trust:a policy research organization preparing governments and institutions for AI-driven economic disruption. We bring together researchers, economists, and decision-makers to map out what it could look like, and surface workable options.

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Science, A.I. & Tech Opportunities

• 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

• The Windfall Trust Careers (remote - economics)

• Mozilla Foundation's Human-Scale AI cohort in its Incubator offers non-dilutive grant funding to builders developing bespoke AI technologies designed around the people, purposes, and contexts they serve as an alternative to scale-at-all-costs systems.

• The Mandela Washington Fellowship Reciprocal Exchange offers grants to U.S. professionals and Fellowship alumni to carry out short-term in-person or hybrid projects that benefit people and institutions in the project country and the United States.

• The World Food Forum is requesting applications for its Young Scientists Group Program to support youth advisory bodies and the page provides an application form for prospective participants.

• The Longevity Design Challenge is pleased to announce its applications to support student design competition for practical, human-centered robotic solutions that help people navigate life-course challenges while strengthening human relationships and improving well-being across long lives.

• The SCOSTEP Visiting Scholar Program aims to provide graduate students from all countries with opportunities to receive training in established solar-terrestrial physics laboratories for periods ranging from one to three months.

• The Novartis Next Generation Scientist Program 2027, in collaboration with the University of Basel, offers a three-month research opportunity in Basel, Switzerland.

• AI for All – GLIDE Edition is a practical introduction designed to help health professionals understand both the opportunities and the risks of AI in their work. This class begins Nov. 16th & is free. Apply here.

• Carnegie Mellon University Africa (CMU-Africa) is offering a cost-free, six-course online Certificate in Artificial Intelligence for Africa for qualified applicants. Learn AI concepts, Python programming, machine learning and generative AI with an African-context focus.

• Applications are open for the Technical AI Governance (TAIG) DPhil Studentships at the University of Oxford for October 2027 entry.

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Opportunities

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Career Tip, I: “How AI Is Changing Strategy—and 4 Skills Leaders Need Next” — Harvard Business Review

• 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)

• The Allianz MoveNow Social Innovation Challenge is an award competition for youth-led impact startups and projects developing solutions to social and environmental challenges in underserved communities. (ages 18 - 30)

• The L’AiR Arts Residency at Atelier 11 is requesting applications to support artists and cultural professionals with a residency in Paris to develop self-directed artistic projects and research, workshop ideas, and engage in intercultural exchange with the local and international arts community.

• The Girl Up’s Project Awards provide trust-based grants to youth leaders aged 13 to 25 for community-based ideas that advance gender justice and strengthen young people’s leadership, technical expertise and influence.

• The Women and Biosphere: International Photo Competition is inviting participants to portray women’s roles in sustainable development, biodiversity conservation, natural resource management and the relationship between women and water.

• The EMKP Documentation Grant Program is requesting applications to support applicants working with host institutions to document endangered material knowledge systems and preserve records of knowledge associated with objects, spaces, architecture, performances and environments.

• The EMKP Legacy Digitisation Grant Program has launched its applications to support individuals, communities and institutions to digitise records from completed projects documenting material knowledge that is endangered or was endangered during the research.

• The Rauschenberg Medical Emergency Grants invites applications to support artists facing unexpected medical, dental, or mental health emergencies so they can access critical treatment without delaying care or taking on overwhelming debt.

• The Treehouse Climate Action Poem Prize is designed to recognize poets whose exceptional poems help readers understand the vulnerability of the environment and offers selected poets an award and publication opportunity.

• The John S. Knight Journalism Fellowships at Stanford University invite journalists and people working in service of journalism to spend nine months exploring challenges facing the field and developing as more effective, purposeful and resilient leaders.

• The WRITEABILITY Fellows Program 2027–2028 offers up to five writers financial support for a writing residency and a year of creative development.

• The Swedish Institute (SI) offers eligible international professionals a fully funded scholarship to develop their expertise, strengthen leadership skills, and contribute to sustainable development.

• The Photography Contest “SOFIA: OLD EUROPE, NEW ENERGY,” organized by Sofia Tourism Administration | Visit Sofia, invites professional and amateur photographers worldwide to submit images that present Sofia’s history, nature, cultural and religious coexistence, and everyday city life as an engaging tourist destination.

• The Photobook Dummy and Photozine Awards aims to recognize photographers, artists, designers, and other creative talents for original photobook dummies and photozines, providing opportunities to exhibit their work and participate in international festival visits.

• 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 Dublin City Council Artist Residency Programme is accepting applications to support professional artists and arts organisations from Ireland and abroad with residency space and dedicated time to develop creative work while engaging with Dublin’s social, cultural and physical fabric.

• 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 Nalafem Fund Grants 2026 offers three grants of US$1,500 each to support initiatives advancing the Africa Young Women Beijing+25 Manifesto during the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence.

•  The CrossCulture Programme (CCP) Fellowships 2027, organised by the Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen (ifa), offers a 2–3-month professional placement in Germany or a participating partner country.

•  The Gender and Justice Mentorship Programme 2026 offers free expert mentorship to help participants strengthen their research articles and prepare them for international academic journal submission.

• The Raisina Young Fellows Programme 2027 offers two fully funded places through the Policy Center for the New South (PCNS) for eligible members of its youth community.(India)

• The Youth Ecopreneur Programme (YECO) supports young innovators to scale green businesses through funding opportunities, mentorship, and global exposure.

• Want to study in South Korea? Applications are open for the Daejin University Scholarships for the March 2027 intake, in partnership with the Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA). Eligible students from eight East African countries can apply for undergraduate and master’s degree programmes.

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Food For Thought

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• Self-care, I: “Why sleep hygiene alone won't treat your insomnia” — Jade Wu, PhD, TEDxJacksonville

• Self-care, II: “The science of stress, coping, and recovery, in 22 minutes” — Lisa Damour

In closing, sleep deprivation is a major aspect of mental health disturbance, illness, and crisis. Yet it is one of the most common issues globally. A staggering amount of professionals also view it as a sign of “success.” During your time with us this quarter, we encourage you to try these simple tips to alter your sleep routine for the better:

• Try to limit how many caffeinated products you consume, especially in the afternoon.

• Be aware that alcohol and nicotine can also disrupt sleep and can cause nighttime waking.

• Set a relaxing bedtime routine.

• Make sure your bedroom is quiet.

• Finish eating meals 2-3 hours before bedtime.

• Exercise regularly. A low-impact fitness program, like walking, swimming or yoga, is helpful for managing pain and stiffness and improving sleep.

• Go to sleep and try to wake up at the same time every day, including weekends.

This weekend, get some rest!

— The Simuka Africa Team ❤

May hope, peace & unity always be with you.