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Online volunteers lend their voice to the UNDP 2013 China National Development Report

National UN Volunteer Qiushi Yue facilitated UNDP’s collaboration with Henry Tenenbaum and Coirle Magee

06 Oct 2016
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Two UN Online Volunteers collaborated with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in China to record the audio version of the China National Human Development Report 2013,Sustainable and Liveable Cities: Toward Ecological Civilization. The report explores the current urban transformation in China from the perspective of human development, and discusses the recent history of China’s cities, key challenges and projections for the future, including measures that could guide urbanisation towards the goal of liveable, sustainable cities. The audio-book adaptation is among the first signature UN publications made available in digital audio media. It serves audiences with different reading and learning preferences, and has helped publicize the report for a wider impact.

Qiushi Yue, during her assignment as national UN Volunteer with UNDP in China, facilitated UNDP’s collaboration with the online volunteers through the various stages of the project. After an initial briefing that included the UNDP Deputy Country Director in China, a timetable was set up, technical questions resolved, and the two online volunteers recorded the text. After a first editing round, the recording was tested by 12 UNDP staff and interns, whose feedback was integrated to ensure product quality. “It was wonderful working with the two online volunteers and their stories were very inspiring. I felt proud to be part of the volunteerism for development process,” Qiushi says.

The Team

  • Henry Tenenbaum

    Poland / USA

    Henry Tenenbaum has dual Polish and American citizenship, and over 40 years of professional experience in journalism, television/radio production, and broadcast presenting. He is an Emmy-award-winning former television anchor and since his retirement has been developing the capacity of international development organizations in media production. “I have tremendous admiration for the work of UNDP around the world and was excited to be able to help in some small way. The visionary Beijing team was wonderfully encouraging and helpful.”

  • Coirle Magee

    Ireland

    Coirle Magee, a student of Chinese from Northern Ireland currently living in Beijing, was the audio-book’s second narrator. When she discovered this opportunity to volunteer for UNDP China, she says she just had to apply: “as a student of Chinese I have a particular drive to give something back to the country I’m currently living in. Online volunteering is such a great way to contribute to causes you care about, using whatever skills you have, in a way that you can fit into your everyday life. I would recommend it to anyone.”

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