Today I do want to work for the UN

I was never prepared to say that I dreamed of working for the UN. Everybody I knew had had an internship at the UN at one point in their life. It simply seemed so mundane and predictable. And popular assumption around friends and class-mates promoted the notion that working for the UN was like living Goya’s nightmares gone bureaucracy. However, the last two months of my life as an intern at UNICEF has the greatest shift in my professional development to date, and I am starting to change my mind about how I feel about a lifetime commitment to the UN.

I came to UNICEF in January of 2007 on a last minute connection made by an advisor at my university Columbia University School of Social Work. I rushed in for an interview and was luckily offered the place that same night. I had been accepted to work in the Child Protection Division on two separate projects. I was elated to have a placement, but doubtful about the substance of the work I would be involved in. The rumors of glorified secretaries were numerous. My worries were fortunately not confirmed. Within 30 minutes of my first day however I was on then phone to Vienna on a conference call planning a conference training session on Survivor Services to women and children who have been victim to sexual violence in conflict. I was hooked immediately.

The work I have been devoted to in the last couple of weeks to has been engaging and challenging. My supervisors have given me ample freedom to demonstrate my skills and narrow down my interests. I have participated in the planning process for an event for the 51st Commission on the Status of Women. I have been the primary point person in creating a common resources document for field offices on new policy guidelines on working with women and children in conflict. I spent countless hours discussing program interventions in refugee camps with colleagues and took lunch breaks to attend brown bag meetings on cutting edge research studies.

Interning for the UN should not be approached with any romanticism. Bureaucracy dominates most activities and innovative alternatives to development are few and fare in between. As an intern you will be asked to move desks the minute a consultant arrives. You will be asked to make photo copies and take meeting notes. You will feel lost in the immense system of acronyms, which stand for different things whether you are at UNICEF or Department of Peacekeeping Operations or the Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

While I was fortunate enough to intern in New York, there are numerous possibilities around the globe to work within the various organizations of the UN. It is worthwhile checking out this link to the UN Website to see where their offices are located. Generally speaking, one can find internships in every office - but one should not expect payment. One should get along with dry-office work and bureaucracy while being ready to take over suddenly arising responsibilities when something simply has to be done. Of course the nature of the internships varies depending on the interns qualifications. However, interning at the UN will allow you to surround yourself with some of the greatest and most inspiring people you will ever work with. It will allow you to immerse yourself in the things that you care about the most. It can even change the way you think about your future.

Today I think I do want to work for the UN.

For those interested in interning in the UN Headquarter in New York, the application deadline for the fall 2007 program is May,16th.

by Julia Schipper

Artikel: Today I do want to work for the UN · Autor: Malte · Kategorie: Artikel
Datum: Mittwoch, 18. April 2007, 10:47 Uhr
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