This week, by popular demand, I bring you...
A day at the office
DISCLAIMER: For those of you who actually want to know what I do all day, this post is for you. Those of you who would prefer to stick to fun pictures of mountains and cows decorated with bells and flowers, you'll have to wait just a little longer to be entertained. I do promise to deliver next week though, since I'll be visiting the Les Alps festival where there will be cows and mountains galore. For now, feel free to skip ahead!
My work: I spend my days in an office pretty much like any other, except with slightly higher security and many many more acronyms. I'm working with UNITAR, which is the training and research divison of the United Nations. It's actually a pretty interesting organization because it address some really diverse and cross-cutting issues, from diplomacy & peacemaking to biodiversity to women in conflict. The common goal of all the different departments is to build the capacity of governments, institutions and individuals to take action in these areas.
Luckily, UNITAR is quite small for a UN organization, so I'm not faced with the heavy bureaucracy of some of the larger UN bodies. In fact, my department- the Climate Change Programme- only has a handful of staff members, most of whom work part time. Myself and my supervisor are the only current full-time climate change staff at UNITAR.
The Climate Change Programme's purpose is to build the capacity of least developed countries to help stop climate change and adapt to its impacts. Because many developing countries are already feeling the impacts of climate change (such as crop failure, increased flooding, drought, and the spread of diseases like malaria), it's important that they measure where they're most vulnerable and create plans to adapt to a changing climate. However, developing countries also have the greatest difficulty with adaptation, as they often lack financial resources and expertise. So this is where my work comes in- we help build capacity within developing countries so that they are better able to assess their vulnerabilities to climate change & adapt to its impacts.
We also have a project which supports regional organizations which are working to help stop climate change (commonly known as mitigation). The regional organizations help build local expertise by developing "train the trainers" programs in different areas of climate change and sustainable development Right now, project partners are in Senegal, South Africa & Sri Lanka, although this will likely expand more in the future.
As of yet, I don't have a specific project or role, since my supervisor is quite busy and is often out of the office. Instead, I take care of whatever is needed from day to day, which varies quite a bit. For the first two weeks I was here, I spent most of my time getting up to speed on the different projects and learning how the office works. Now I have more concrete work to do, although I'm still settling in and learning the ropes.
And that's why I'm here, in a nutshell!
A day at the office
DISCLAIMER: For those of you who actually want to know what I do all day, this post is for you. Those of you who would prefer to stick to fun pictures of mountains and cows decorated with bells and flowers, you'll have to wait just a little longer to be entertained. I do promise to deliver next week though, since I'll be visiting the Les Alps festival where there will be cows and mountains galore. For now, feel free to skip ahead!
My work: I spend my days in an office pretty much like any other, except with slightly higher security and many many more acronyms. I'm working with UNITAR, which is the training and research divison of the United Nations. It's actually a pretty interesting organization because it address some really diverse and cross-cutting issues, from diplomacy & peacemaking to biodiversity to women in conflict. The common goal of all the different departments is to build the capacity of governments, institutions and individuals to take action in these areas.Luckily, UNITAR is quite small for a UN organization, so I'm not faced with the heavy bureaucracy of some of the larger UN bodies. In fact, my department- the Climate Change Programme- only has a handful of staff members, most of whom work part time. Myself and my supervisor are the only current full-time climate change staff at UNITAR.
The Climate Change Programme's purpose is to build the capacity of least developed countries to help stop climate change and adapt to its impacts. Because many developing countries are already feeling the impacts of climate change (such as crop failure, increased flooding, drought, and the spread of diseases like malaria), it's important that they measure where they're most vulnerable and create plans to adapt to a changing climate. However, developing countries also have the greatest difficulty with adaptation, as they often lack financial resources and expertise. So this is where my work comes in- we help build capacity within developing countries so that they are better able to assess their vulnerabilities to climate change & adapt to its impacts.
We also have a project which supports regional organizations which are working to help stop climate change (commonly known as mitigation). The regional organizations help build local expertise by developing "train the trainers" programs in different areas of climate change and sustainable development Right now, project partners are in Senegal, South Africa & Sri Lanka, although this will likely expand more in the future.
As of yet, I don't have a specific project or role, since my supervisor is quite busy and is often out of the office. Instead, I take care of whatever is needed from day to day, which varies quite a bit. For the first two weeks I was here, I spent most of my time getting up to speed on the different projects and learning how the office works. Now I have more concrete work to do, although I'm still settling in and learning the ropes.
And that's why I'm here, in a nutshell!
Labels: Geneva life, work
posted by Liz McDowell at
10:21 PM
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