Biography Sharon Capeling-Alakija

Sharon Capeling-Alakija has been in her current position as Executive Coordinator of the United Nations Volunteers programme since 1 January 1998.

Based in Bonn, Germany, the United Nations Volunteers programme (UNV) is widely regarded as the "human face" of the UN's development efforts. Working through UNDP's country offices around the world, UNV sends out more than 5,000 UN Volunteers each year to assist in the areas of technical cooperation, community development, humanitarian relief, human rights, electoral support and peace-building processes. UNV also serves as the focal point for the UN-designated International Year of Volunteers 2001 (IYV 2001).

Prior to joining UNV, Ms. Capeling-Alakija was Director of the Office of Evaluation and Strategic Planning (OESP) at UNDP's New York headquarters, a post she held from April 1994 until December 1997. As Director of OESP, she was responsible for the overall management of UNDP's evaluation and planning functions, in particular ways to monitor programme effectiveness and impact; strengthen feedback mechanisms and encourage the growth of a "learning culture" within UNDP.

From 1989 to 1994, she was Director of UNIFEM, the UN Development Fund for Women based in New York which strives to ensure the involvement of women in mainstream development. While at UNIFEM, she introduced new programme initiatives and enhanced UNIFEM's comparative advantage as an organization born of the international women's movement to assist women at both the policy and grassroots levels.

She holds a degree in education from the University of Saskatchewan and began her career as a volunteer with the Canadian organisation CUSO (formerly Canadian University Service Overseas), serving first in the Caribbean and then in Tanzania. During her subsequent 14 years with CUSO, she served as Director of Public Affairs and Programme Funding, Director of the Human Resources Division, and—for seven of those years—Director for the programme in West Africa, based in Lome, Togo.

Born on 6 May 1944 in Moose Jaw in the Canadian Province of Saskatchewan, Ms. Capeling-Alakija, is the fifth Executive Coordinator of the UNV programme since its inception. Ms. Capeling-Alakija serves on the Board of Directors of the North/South Institute in Ottawa, Canada and the NetAid.org Foundation in New York, USA. She is affiliated with the American, Canadian and European Evaluation Societies. In May 1998, the University of Saskatchewan awarded her an honorary Doctorate of Law.

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Abstracts:
	Welcome from UNV S. Capeling-Alakija
Related Documents:
	Biographía Sharon Capeling-Alakija En español
	Biographie Sharon Capeling-Alakija In English