As a student at Ï㽶ÊÓƵ, I am pursuing an Honors in International Development studies (IDS) and a major in Psychology. My main interests lie in sustainability and environmental governance, and as I explored the various IDS courses McGill had to offer, I found myself more passionate about these topics. Especially considering the dire state of the planet, I knew sustainability is incredibly important in every field. I also had previous work experience in communications and social media through my various work study jobs. Thus, considering my interests in sustainability and the environment, and my experience in communications, I applied for the public information intern position at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). I contributed to the digital strategy for the Stockholm+50 conference.
I pursued this internship mainly because I hoped to better understand sustainability management and practices; and learn the best steps member states and other organizations can take so we achieve our global goals and achieve a healthy future for the prosperity of all. My personal goals for this internship were also to better understand how the UN system promotes sustainable development and implements environmental policies. I hope to someday pursue a Masters in Sustainability management and hopefully work with organizations in the public and private sector as a sustainability and/or environment consultant. Through this internship with UNEP, I hope to gain insight into how to best accelerate multilateral environment action and how to engage policy building bodies to prioritize sustainability.
My host organization UNEP promotes the implementation and prioritization of environmental sustainability within the United Nations system and globally. They are an authoritative advocate for the global environment as they provide leadership and encourage partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations. UNEP works closely with its 193 Member States and representatives from civil society, businesses, and other major groups and stakeholders to address environmental challenges through the UN Environment Assembly, the world’s highest-level decision-making body on the environment. UNEP categorizes its work into seven broad thematic areas: climate change, disasters and conflicts, ecosystem management, environmental governance, chemicals and waste, resource efficiency, and environment under review.
As a digital strategy intern, for the communication Division of UNEP, my main goal was to promote the goals of the Stockholm+50 conference, a commemoration of the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Environment and celebration of 50 years of global environmental action. I have created written content for various audience engagement platforms, primarily the Stockholm+50 website and the main social media sites used: Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. I have also assisted various member states and NGOs with their participation inside events, associated events and the preparatory meeting leading up to the main event on June 2nd and 3rd. Post conference, my main responsibility was to continue the Stockholm+50 momentum through our social media. I created campaigns and posts to engage audiences to prioritize planetary health in their everyday lives. I also assisted other colleagues on their various projects. Another main responsibility or task I had was to aid in the production of the Stockholm+50 social media analytics report which tracked our engagement across various social media platforms and assessed the success of different campaigns. Additionally, as part of the team, I was exposed to high-profile conferences and participated in meetings with different colleagues.
Some highlights of the internship were meeting all my colleagues across various UNEP departments. Working directly with outstanding and inspiring career professionals and senior management, I was able to network and learn more about their career paths. This has greatly helped me grow and better understand what I may wish to do in the future and helped shape my career and educational goals. Another highlight was the actual days of the conferences where I felt very fulfilled in communicating the outcomes and outputs during the speeches and meetings taking place at Stockholm+50. I felt part of a larger mission and team and it was an incredible feeling knowing that I was contributing to this conference, even if my roles and responsibilities were not vast.
The main challenge I encountered was balance. Sometimes I worked overtime, and my work life transferred over to my personal life. However, I overcame this by communicating my needs to my supervisor, and by balancing my work over weeks. I became more productive during regular work hours so that I was not having to work afterwards.
I would like to thank George Currie for establishing the McDonald, Currie Fund for International Management and Development. I was able to fund my experience through this award. I was able to focus on learning rather than worrying about finances. As a low-income student, this award helped me to use my voice and contribute to the UN, even though the internships are unpaid. I was also able to have an incredible summer in Nairobi, Kenya because of this award. Thank you again!
