Mission and objectivesMorobe Development Foundation Inc. is a leading Internationally recognised NGO based in Lae Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea. It has the vision to help young people reach their full potential by utilizing their hidden talents in community development initiatives so they can realize their potential and become role model in the community. MDF was established to address a broader and more diverse range of objectives and work through the use of dance, music, and drama, MDFโs primary aim is to ensure that women participate equally in decision-making in any project undertaken, including projects related to Ending Violence against Women and promoting Human Rights to support the Government and the Sustainable Development Goals. MDF, in collaboration with Online Volunteers, engaged through the UNV's Unified Volunteer Platform (UVP), has also undertaken various scientific research studies related to the environment - forest cover loss, land use land cover change, the influence of various parameters on surface waters, and coastal shoreline turtle habitat loss. These projects included the participation of various experts and researchers from diverse fields across various countries across the globe - ranging from marine biology, biodiversity conservation, PNG community management, remote sensing, and land use policy among various others. MDF is managed by a management committee, which is made up of the Chairman, the Deputy Chairman, Secretary, the Treasurer, the Project Coordinator, Community Development Officer, and a male and female member of the foundation, and ensures that women participate equally in decision making. We at MDF assert that we have the required skill sets, knowledge, established international network, and the necessary foundational work to undertake projects successfully.
ContextMDF is a leading internationally recognised NGO based in Lae, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea. It is committed to empowering communitiesโparticularly youth and womenโthrough participatory approaches including research, cultural expression, and policy engagement. One of MDFโs core mandates is to promote gender equality by ensuring women are equally represented in decision-making processes and benefit from all community development projects. This assignment contributes to MDFโs ongoing efforts to advocate for Ending Violence Against Women and Promoting Human Rights, in line with SDG 5: Gender Equality. It will also complement MDF's long-standing collaboration with the UNV platform to engage volunteers with expertise in research especially in knowledge generation and public policy development. Through this gender justice research project, MDF aims to: - Identify and document structural and cultural barriers to women's empowerment in PNG. - Examine the compatibility of local practices with international human rights standards, including CEDAW. - Propose strategies that are context-sensitive and grounded in both global best practices and the lived experiences of PNG women. The final report will serve as a foundational resource for MDFโs community-based advocacy, programme design, and government engagement work, reinforcing its commitment to evidence-based interventions.
Task DescriptionAll activities will be conducted entirely online and will focus on academic and policy-based literature reviews, with the possibility of supporting relevant case study summaries to enrich the analysis. Each Online Volunteer will be assigned a specific focus area within the broader gender justice theme. Volunteer 1: International Legal and Human Rights Frameworks - Conduct a literature review on international conventions such as CEDAW, UN Sustainable Development Goals (especially SDG 5), and global human rights mechanisms. - Summarise academic and institutional sources on how these frameworks apply to or influence PNGโs gender policies. Volunteer 2: Domestic Gender Challenges and Sociocultural Norms - Identify and synthesise case studies (if available) that reveal the lived realities of women affected by systemic challenges. - Provide a thematic analysis of sociocultural and legal barriers to women's empowerment in PNG. Volunteer 3: National Policy Initiatives and Institutional Responses - Examine national strategies, legislation, and donor-funded programmes targeting gender equality and womenโs participation in PNG. - Conduct a literature-based evaluation of the success and limitations of these efforts. Volunteer 4: Comparative International Strategies and Adaptation Potential - Identify and review literature on successful womenโs empowerment initiatives from other countries in the Pacific or Global South. - Analyse which aspects of these programmes may be relevant or adaptable to PNGโs sociocultural and legal landscape.
Competencies and values
Living conditions and remarks