Hello, All:

Welcome to your final month of Q3 Service with SimukaAfrica.org. We have sincerely cherished your presence with us. Please note the following:

• The final Q3 SAYA Career Development Briefing is scheduled for Sept. 11, 2026 and will include our UNV Assignment Listings.

• The last two weeks of September are reserved for offboarding and onboarding staff. All recommendation letter requests are completed during this time frame.

• Zimbabwean Volunteers: Simuka Africa is launching a new Whatsapp group initiative for local outreach this semester. If you would like to take part, email us to schedule a time to meet with our Founding Director Ezekiel Mudimu for further details.

• Current Volunteers interested in creating Q4 holiday materials for Giving Tuesday & the Digital Penpals Initiative, email us for further details. These campaigns are scheduled to begin running Nov. 1st & Dec. 1st.

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  Administrative Notes

  

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  The Q3 volunteer service period ends on Oct. 1st.

• Remember to complete the Essential & Mandatory Courses on the UNV E-Campus by this date if you are volunteering with us through UN Volunteers.

• All Recommendation letter requests must be submitted by September 18th to ensure completion prior to the quarter’s ending.

• The Q4 Volunteer Service Period last from Oct. 2, 2026 through January 2, 2027.

• The first Q4 SAYA Career Development Briefing is scheduled for Oct. 2nd, 2026.

• Questions about assignments or protocol? Respond to this Briefing or email [email protected].

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The October Social Media Calendar

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The next deadline for assignments is September 30th.

Email all submissions to [email protected]. Check our website and social media for examples of what we publish.

• 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 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: Growth Mindset Strategies for Teachers & Students

• SDG 3: Mood Disorders: Types, Symptoms, & Interventions

• SDG 4: Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) in Educational Settings

• SDG 4: Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports for Students

• SDG 4: Supporting Multilingual Education

• SDG 8: Career Technical Education (CTE) or Vocational Training Pathways — advantages & challenges

• UNESCO Report Summary: Global education monitoring report 2026: access and equity, countdown to 2030

• UNESCO Report Summary: Re|Shaping Policies for Creativity: we share, we act, we build

• 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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Global Insights:

• The UN & Zimbabwe: Victoria Falls' WASH Transformation Points to a Sustainable Urban Future

• The Outer Space Security Conference 2026, organised by the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), will take place on 8–9 September 2026 in Geneva, Switzerland, and online. The conference will bring together policymakers, defence actors, industry, academia and civil society to examine the evolving security challenges associated with outer space. Attend virtually for free here.

• Intro to UN 2.0, a vision of a modernized UN system: with cutting-edge skills and forward-thinking culture for stronger results, better Member State support and greater SDG impact.

• IISD: COP 31 Presidency Outlines Priority Themes, Key Moments on Road to Antalya

• UN Report: Change under pressure: transformation and team leadership during the UN funding crisis of 2025

• Climate, Crisis and Courage - A UN Podcast

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  International Trainings assist your journey!

• UNV Masterclass: Negotiation Skills for Everyday Work - Sept. 8th

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

• Adaptation Fund Gender Mainstreaming E-Course — Free training on gender-responsive climate adaptation.

• Cornell Climate Education & Community Engagement Course — Global certificate programme with scholarship opportunities.

• Environmental, Social & Climate Standards Micro-Learning — Free, flexible learning delivered via WhatsApp by ITC.

• Scaling Climate Finance — Free 7-hour UN course covering climate finance, public investment and private capital.

• Terra.do Climate Fellowship 2026 — A 12-week climate learning programme for action-oriented professionals.

• The UN Tourism Online Academy (Hospitality Careers)

• The UNDP SDG Finance Academy is offering 16 free self-paced online courses designed for learners worldwide.

• The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is offering 16 FREE online courses covering every aspect of intellectual property—from beginner to advanced level.

• The UN CC:Learn Open Online Course on Gender and Environment is now open for global learners.

• Women Leadership in Climate Action — Free global online course from UNITAR & C40 including a UN digital certificate.

• Global Youth Climate Training Programme 2026 — Free online training in climate policy and advocacy from the University of Oxford.

• World Bank Online Courses: Access five free e-learning opportunities covering data, policy, agriculture and development. 

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United Nations Employment

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• UN Careers - the primary UN career hub

• UNJOBNET - daily job listings for the entire UN System

• UNJOBNET: Remote Positions - daily updated UN remote work

• UNJOBNET: Zimbabwe

• UNJOBNET: The Philippines

• UNJOBNET: Nigeria

• UNJOBNET: Canada

• UNJOBNET: India

• UNJOBNET: South Africa

• UNJOBNET: US

• Careers at WHO

• IISD Climate Change Jobs

• UN Women Careers

• Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative Careers

• World Vision Careers

• UNU Careers

• Global Green Growth Institute — GGGI Careers (multiple regions)

• UNV Creative Assignment: The UN SDG Action Campaign has partnered with the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women (UNTF) to mark its 30th anniversary. As part of this collaboration, the Campaign will produce 15 short-form videos highlighting changemakers from around the world. Working with raw footage, visuals, and brand guidelines provided by the UNTF, Online Volunteers will support the team in editing and post-production to create compelling, high-quality digital content. Each video will run approximately 1:00 to 1:30 minutes.

• The World Health Organization invites individuals and organizations worldwide to submit signals of change that may influence the future of sexual and reproductive health and rights over the next decade.

• UNIDIR Graduate Professional Programme 2026 — $1,500 Monthly Stipend in Geneva. Deadline: Sept. 16

• The EAC Youth Fellowship offers a valuable platform for emerging leaders to grow, connect, and create impact. 

• The WTO Youth Talent Incubator Programme 2026–2027 offers a fully online, cost-free opportunity to develop your expertise and connect with global experts.

• The Council of the European Union is offering 5-month paid Consilium traineeships in Brussels, with opportunities in policy, law, administration, communications, translation, IT and more.

• The World Bank Group Young Professionals Program (YPP) 2027 is officially OPEN for applications. Selected professionals gain international experience, cross-institutional exposure, leadership training, mentorship and opportunities to contribute to global development.

• The Africa CDC Youth Pre-Conference 2026 (YPC 2026) brings young Africans together to connect, showcase health solutions, strengthen leadership and help shape Africa’s public health future ahead of CPHIA 2026.

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) Young Professionals Program 2027 is now accepting applications from talented early-career professionals seeking a career in international development.

• Applications are open for the 2027 Joint MSc in Geography of Environmental Risks and Human Security, offered by the United Nations University (UNU-EHS) and the University of Bonn in Germany.

• The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) offers internship opportunities for students and recent graduates in New York, Nairobi, Copenhagen and worldwide.

• The South Asia Institute (SAI), Heidelberg University, in partnership with the Max Weber Forum for South Asian Studies, Delhi (MWF Delhi), invites applications for its Joint Scholarship Programme – Summer 2027.

• The Global Schools Advocates Program 2026 offers educators worldwide free online training, mentorship, a global educator network, teaching resources and a certificate to help integrate Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) into classrooms and school communities.

• The Princeton in Africa Fellowship 2027–28 offers 12-month paid fellowship opportunities with organisations working across the African continent. 

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A.I. Policy, News & Jobs

Our 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. Additional news:

• "The most human skill in the age of AI” — Maya Makarovsky, TEDxMIT

• UN News: UNITAR and HP Bring Industry Expertise and AI Learning to Japan-Funded Programme for African Youth and Women

• IISD: Youth Inform UN-led Efforts to Shape Global AI Governance

• DIGWATCH: UN General Assembly President urges inclusion of women in AI development and peace negotiations

• DIGWATCH: OpenAI launches GPT-6 Astra model and cites monitoring challenges

• DIGWATCH: Sony and Warner Chappell sue Anthropic over AI training on song lyrics

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

• Climate Action Reserve Remote Jobs

• Applications are open for the NTU AI-for-X Postdoctoral Fellowship, which offers funding and research support to early-career scientists leveraging artificial intelligence in STEM fields.

• Anthropic is inviting applicants for a grant program supporting independent researchers who will develop open-source evaluations and benchmarks to measure how AI systems affect user wellbeing.

• The Tech Policy Press Fellowship Program is currently inviting applications to support mid-career journalists, researchers and public policy professionals exploring urgent questions at the intersection of technology and democracy.

• The Mycelia Fellowship 2026 (remote) by the Social Resonance Lab supports practitioners with existing projects at the intersection of storytelling, arts, humanities, civic engagement, technology, community engagement and ethical practice.

• The World Bank Small AI for Development Hackathon 2026 is calling young innovators worldwide to build practical Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions that tackle real-world development challenges in health, agriculture, or tourism.

• NVIDIA is offering early-career opportunities for university students, MBA candidates, PhD researchers and recent graduates to gain hands-on experience in AI, software engineering, robotics, GPU computing, graphics, autonomous systems and advanced technology.

• The Heilbronn AI Fellowship, supported by DAAD and the Dieter Schwarz Foundation, offers outstanding international researchers the opportunity to conduct Artificial Intelligence research in Heilbronn, Germany and join a dynamic academic, industry and innovation ecosystem.

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Opportunities

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Career Tip, I: “You Need to Be Bored. Here's Why.” — Harvard Business Review

Career Tip, II: “How Leaders Can Be Happier” — Harvard Business Review

• Careers at Zepz

• ARTJOBS: Job Vacancies

• ARTJOBS: Calls for art

• Jobs.art — art careers

• 482 Jobs Australia

• Working in New Zealand Job Board

• Idealist.org: Remote Positions

• Flexjobs Remote Job Board

• No Desk Remote Job Board

• Remote.com Job Board

• Real Work From Anywhere Job Board

• JobStreet by Seek is a market-leading online employment marketplace in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

• The SPORELATION@MY-CO BUILD Artist-in-Residence Program invites artists from all disciplines to engage in a three-month residency exploring fungal-based building materials and interdisciplinary collaboration with scientific researchers.

• The Girls Who Click Ambassador Program is offering mentorship and professional development for female photographers and videographers in nature storytelling (age 16 - 30).

• The FASPE Design and Technology Fellowship Program seeks applications for graduate students and early-career professionals in architecture, engineering, computer science and related fields to study professional ethics and ethical leadership.

• The Water Council is seeking sensing tech that works in real water, needs no consumed reagents and is priced for distributed deployment vs. centralized lab use. Information Webinar on Sept. 15th, Apply by Oct. 2.

• The French Institute x International City of Arts Residencies Program is inviting artists and cultural professionals from all nationalities for the opportunity to develop a research and creation project in Paris for three, six, or nine months.

• The Environmental Photography Award is pleased to announce its applications to reward photographers annually for their efforts to raise awareness of environmental protection.Grant Size: $1000 to $10,000

• The NGO Whisperer Global Fellowship Programme is a seven-month accredited online leadership fellowship for exceptional leaders and founders of mission-led voluntary, community, faith, and social enterprise organisations worldwide.

• The Working Class Writers Grant is offering applications to support speculative fiction writers from working class or financially disadvantaged backgrounds to help overcome barriers to participation in the literary world.

• FASPE is inviting applications from medical students and residents for its fully funded two-week Medical Fellowship focused on professional ethics and ethical leadership in medicine.

• FASPE is inviting applications from law students and early-career lawyers for a fully funded two-week fellowship in Berlin and Poland focused on professional ethics and ethical leadership in the legal profession.

• The go go NEXT Emerging Retail Design Challenge invites undergraduate and graduate students worldwide in design-related disciplines to create a modular retail fixture system for an original lifestyle fashion brand.

• Applications are now open for the 3rd Hengshan Calligraphy Award to support original curatorial projects and artistic presentations in calligraphic art by individuals or groups of any nationality.

• The Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition recognizes excellence in photography through the microscope and is open to professionals and hobbyists with an interest in photomicrography.

• The Arbella International Photography Contest invites individuals aged 18 and over worldwide to submit photographs exploring the theme 'The Beauty of Imperfection' for a chance to win cash prizes. Deadline: Sept. 6th

• The Emerging African Storytellers provides support to emerging African storytellers who create compelling work that challenges stereotypes and presents fresh, contemporary perspectives of Africa.

• Applications are open for Tara’s Circle 2026, providing cash awards to women-led projects that generate measurable social, environmental, and economic impact.

• 50 first-generation college students will receive $1,000 financial hardship grants through the First Gen Fellowship 2026 to help cover education-related expenses. (US)

• The UBC Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program 2027 offers eligible young Africans the opportunity to pursue selected master’s degrees at the University of British Columbia in Canada.

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Food For Thought

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• Self-care, I: “Why do people hide chronic illness at work?” — Alyssa McGonagle, TEDxUNCCharlotte

• Self-care, II: “When to Leave Your Job” — Carla Harris

In closing, please note that establishing a professional self-care regime is also recommended during your time with us. If you or someone you know is experiencing difficulty in their humanitarian field work, try the following resources:

1. Protect Humanitarians: A global initiative providing a dedicated emergency fund, legal assistance, and mental health resources for aid workers and NGO staff recovering from incidents or attacks.

2. AidWorkers.org: A public information and support platform offering practical context, guidance, and resources for global aid workers navigating complex emergencies.

3. The KonTerra Group: Offers specialized peer-informed counseling through their Employee Resilience Program, along with training workshops and team support for high-threat environments.

4. RefugePoint: Focuses heavily on mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS), offering peer support opportunities, transition planning, and self-care resources for humanitarian staff.

   This weekend, take some time to reexamine your goals for 2026.

— The Simuka Africa Team ❤

May hope, peace & unity be with you.