All ILO Voices stories
ILO Voices | Occupational safety and health
Good coffee, safe lives
Briseida Venegas Ramos is president of a female-led coffee cooperative in Veracruz, Mexico. She teaches farmers how to prevent accidents while working.
ILO Voices | Environment
I dreamed a forest into life
Raya Ubenova asked herself what she could do about climate change. Her solution: to plant a forest of 7,500 trees in her home country, Bulgaria.
ILO Voices | Disability inclusion
Give people with disabilities a chance to work
Despite years of study, it was difficult for Elena Epuri to find a job. Elena has cerebral palsy and uses a walker to help with her mobility. Becoming a mother motivated her to continue her job search and two years ago she was hired by a company...
ILO Voices | Women in management
I want to be a leader for Gambian youth
At the age of 22, Sainabou Jammeh is one of the first women in The Gambia to be managing Director of a construction company. She co-founded the company after participating in the ILO’s Employment-Intensive Investment Programme (EIIP).
ILO Voices | Social dialogue
I am a champion for migrant workers
ILO Voices | COVID-19 Response
New skills helped my business recover from pandemic
Juanda Badaru, who lives with a disability, saw his small business income halved due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Then his business expanded after he took entrepreneurship and small boat engine maintenance training.
ILO Voices | Labour migration
We stand up for our labour rights
Sai Sai is a migrant construction worker in Chiang Mai, a city in Northern Thailand. Under Thai legislation, migrant workers were not allowed to do skilled construction work. Sai Sai along with other migrant workers and local organizations worked...
ILO Voices | Disability inclusion
I will not let blindness define me
Bi Qiting, known as ‘Small Wolf’, lost her sight aged 14. Overcoming many obstacles, she is now training to become a swimming instructor in Guangzhou, in the south of China.
ILO Voices | Discrimination in the workplace
I am living with HIV and I have a right to work
On World AIDS Day, Wu Mengnan explains how, in the 15 years since testing positive for HIV, she has been widowed and raised her child alone while going from job to job because of persistent stigma and discrimination around AIDS.
ILO Voices | Environment
Poisoned by pollution, so I fight for climate justice
It wasn’t until he was an adult that Bryan Parras made the connection between his asthma and the polluted air in Houston Texas, where he grew up. This realization has shaped his work today as an environmental justice advocate.
ILO Voices | Skills for Youth
From war to peace: A refugee’s journey to a new life with new skills
Morshed Ali, 24 arrived in Turkey seven years ago after fleeing the war in Syria. He had to learn a new language, new skills and adapt to life in a foreign country. Yet he overcame the odds and graduated as an architect four years later.
ILO Voices | Rural women
A small dam brings a village back to life
Saida Zouaoui, who lives in Tunisia, has always wanted to carry on her father's legacy, building dams in the Berber tradition. With courage and determination, she convinced the local authorities to support her idea. Today, the municipality of...
ILO Voices | Digital labour
From refugee to digital worker
For Thon Mabior Jok, a young refugee from Kakuma camp in Kenya, working on a digital platform has meant some extra income but there are many challenges.
ILO Voices | Social protection
COVID-19 and my disability won’t stop my search for work
ILO Voices | Communication for development
A rap to raise awareness of the dangers of COVID-19
Find out about a music initiative to raise awareness among young Mauritanians and refugees on the dangers of COVID-19 and its impact on the world of work.
ILO Voices | Youth entrepreneurship
A blooming business for a young entrepreneur
Taking every business training opportunity she could find, 25-year-old Mariam Kobalia has developed a thriving business in Georgia running a flower shop and growing roses in her own greenhouses.
ILO Voices | Social protection
Artists need social protection benefits adapted to their occupations
The COVID-19 pandemic has been particularly hard on performing artists, who feel that they haven’t received adequate support. Antonio Perujo, a flamenco dancer from Geneva, Switzerland tells how he’s coped over the past year while unable to work.
ILO Voices | Child labour
It takes a community to end child labour
Meet Peace Okebugwu, a project manager at the Beulah Future Leaders Foundation. She is using community education to help end child labour in Nigeria.
ILO Voices | Women in management
I reinvented my businesses to survive the pandemic
Despite the adversities of the COVID-19 pandemic, a Peruvian businesswoman is using her leadership and ingenuity to drive her business forward by prioritising the job stability of her workers and strict compliance with occupational health and safety...
ILO Voices | Digital labour
Time to deliver: Decent work in digital labour platforms
For digital platform workers, considered to be essential in many countries, the COVID-19 outbreak increased their vulnerability and lack of protection. The silver lining: with decent work, the pandemic could drive a positive digital transformation.