Apart from interns, there are other classified volunteers as well. Mostly female, they come in all ages, though most average in their late 20s, with a wide range of experience, educational backgrounds and nationalities, mainly Europe, North America and developed Asian nations like Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong. Unesco's director Sheldon Shaeffer hopes to see more interns from Southeast Asia, especially Thailand.

To be eligible, interns should be enrolled in university and be able to volunteer a maximum of six months. Although they receive no stipend, Unesco internships are well regarded by young people seeking international careers. The process for many begins at www.unescobkk.org/index.php?id=2703.

However, opportunities as great as this come at a price with many volunteers learning unexpected lessons.

For starters, the work can be intense with volunteers investing both passion and energy to contribute to Unesco's mission. Just like paid staff, they find themselves working long hours in order to maximise success. The key motivational factor for volunteers is their sense of achievement and contribution to a great cause.

When asked about the biggest challenges, financial concerns and disappointment rank highly. All agree that longer stays amount to a better, more satisfying experience, as it takes time to get to know a project well. But long stints as a volunteer don't come easy or cheap. Apart from the cost of flying to Thailand, expenses include accommodation, food, a laptop, visas and even transport to and from work-related events, such as meetings and conferences, even when outside of Thailand.

Feeling unappreciated in the rush to get things done also affects motivation, though some volunteers feel more frustrated than others. "We don't expect payment, but more appreciation would be nice," one volunteer said. Being at the bottom of the hierarchy where credit for good work can be overlooked may result in diminishing enthusiasm, and enthusiasm is a volunteer's most essential attribute.

Read the full article: How volunteering at Unesco changes lives

There will never be the perfect logical frame, and furthermore there are people operating in the field of M&E (Monitoring and Evaluation) that see logical frameworks having a number of intrinsic problems; such as they do not allow for process orientated projects.

This having been said, they remain a tool used by many donors and organisations. So I am going to share some of the main stumbling blocks I have come across when reviewing logical frameworks and some handy hints I use that help me developing them.

Journalists in Moldova who want deeper knowledge of the development goals of the United Nations can participate in an upcoming course. Application deadline: August 25.

The UN Development Program (UNDP) office in Chisinau is organizing the course, scheduled for September 14 to 16. The training will help educate journalists about the UN’s Millennium Development Goals, in the hopes that it will help raise public awareness about the goals.

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