Jimmy, Master's degree in political science,
United Nations Association in Canada,
Kenya,
UN Habitat Kenya
Since I didn't have enough information about this agency, I immediately started a thorough research to understand the mandate and mission of this UN agency. I had never worked for the UN or an international development organization before. During my first orientation session with my supervisor, she explained the tasks I would be expected to perform. In a nutshell, she explained the type of work I would be doing with a group of three people. From this perspective, I had the opportunity to ask questions to better understand my responsibility as an intern.
Over the following week, I was introduced to the different groups working on the various projects, so that I could get to know the others. I was also given several documents to read to familiarize myself with UN Habitat. My group is called Jeunesse 2030 Groupe Logistique (Youth 2030 Logistics Team). Where I play the role of assistant to the coordinator. The countries for which I am responsible for reconciling payment receipts are: Senegal and Ghana. The task is to classify the expenses to be reimbursed to UN Habitat Senegal during the Youth 2030 training which took place in February this year. After completing my first task, I received excellent feedback from my supervisor because when she presented this document to her superiors, she also got positive feedback. I'm also responsible for translating available documents into French, whenever she receives them from Senegal.
I also work with other groups on various projects. These projects are: Youth HRSI Crowdfunding, Youth HRSI (Human Rights and Social Inclusion) Community of Practice. My current internship allows me to work in different countries and continents. This gives me knowledge of the partnership between UN agencies and the countries of the world in international development. I'm happy to be able to apply the knowledge I gained at the University of Ottawa on the International Development Goals from an intersectional perspective. My agency plays the role of international development through the rapid urbanization of cities. I often find that you learn concepts in depth at university, which makes it easier for me to do my internship at the UN.