#DiplomatInTraining- One Month in New York!
5:55 PMIf you read my last post, you may have noticed that I was being (deliberately) vague on what I was actually doing in New York. Since I had to get a security clearance before starting my internship, I wasn't sure how much I was allowed to talk about, or publish, about where I'm working or what I typically find myself doing day-to-day- especially since I'm *technically* not a full employee ;) But then this past week our digital director stopped by my office and asked me when I was going to blog about my experiences thus far- turns out the (awesome!) communications team actively encourages us to use social media and blogging outlets if we want.
So I'm excited to write a little about my experiences so far interning at.....
....The Permanent Mission of the United Kingdom to the United Nations, also known as UKMis!
A bit of a dream internship for me- combining my love of all things Europe, political, and the UN. Sometimes I still find it hard to believe that I'm here- but I'm very happy to be living my first little piece of diplomatic life.
At the moment, I'm assigned to the UKMis Development and Human Rights Team, an area that I knew I was interested in working within, which means I've gotten to work on projects surrounding issues including modern slavery and humanitarian crises, and events like International Women's Day and the Commission on the Status of Women, which takes place every year at the UN.
International Women's Day with ONE at the UN
On any given day I do a little bit of everything, from helping with events the Mission hosts on a variety of human rights and political issues, to writing reports on an event or council session, or even sitting in on a Security Council debate just to gain experience.
A look at a delegate's view of an ECOSOC session. Even though I was just filling in for a co-worker, sitting in the UK's official "spot" is pretty exciting!
The month of March was a crazy one for UKMis- in addition to all of the usual work within the UN, it was also the UK's turn to hold the Presidency of the Security Council- since this rotates throughout the full council, each country only holds the position once every 15 months, and it definitely multiplies the amount of work and number of events held by that country's Mission! I'm so glad that I happened to start at the same time as the UK Presidency- such a crazy time, but also an big way to start my first real diplomatic experience.
...And of course, it gave me the opportunity to take this picture ;)
For another look into the crazy month of March at the Mission, here's a very quick summary by the Mission's Communications Team- a Security Council Presidency in about 96 seconds! I make a very brief appearance in the group photo at the end ;)
One month in, and still so much to learn- but so far, my little NYC adventure has been successful!
XOXO, Emily
2 comments
This sounds AMAZING! I used to do a lot with Invisible Children and Resolve when both were still around, so focusing on humanitarian efforts with the development team seems so fulfilling. I'm so glad you get to write about what you're doing! I'm going to love following along, I can already tell. :)
ReplyDeleteRandi
Thank you Randi! It's still a little crazy to me that I even got this internship- I wish it was longer! I love working on topics that combine both the political and humanitarian aspects of diplomacy, so getting to do a little of everything has been great! I'm not too happy about leaving the city at the end of the month, haha
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