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A Duty to Shout? A debate on what it means to be an international civil servant in today’s world

Young UN and the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation are teaming up for a ‘Young UN Talks’ series to spark an honest debate within the UN system on what it means to be an international civil servant in today’s turbulent world and political landscape. This is the first of the three-part series, to be held on Wednesday, 2 September 2020 at 12pm EST.

This topic has recently been brought into focus in the context of the #BlackLivesMatter, Fridays for Future, #MeToo protests, strikes and social movements when different UN entities and offices have conveyed mixed messages regarding how personnel should balance the responsibility to uphold the Organization’s values with the duty to remain impartial in the face of controversial matters.

The open-debate style discussion aims to highlight new tools and ideas that could guide UN senior leadership in designing and implementing policies (at institutional level) and UN personnel in assessing their application (at individual level). The event will be interactive, bringing the voices of multiple stakeholders, including members of Young UN network.

About the co-hosts:

Working towards a vision of a UN that fully embodies the principles for which it stands, Young UN recognizes the need for genuine change in order for the UN to effectively meet the challenges of this century.

The Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation works on ethical leadership and the integrity of the international civil service builds on Hammarskjöld’s legacy with an aim to ensure the UN’s continued relevance and effectiveness in the face of contemporary global challenges.

The event will be held under the Chatham House rules and will not be recorded. A summary of the event will be published on this web page.

Mark your calendar, register below and share your participation in social media by using hashtags: #YoungUNTalks #YoungUN

Concept Note

Inspirational Speakers

Registration Link

Flyer and social media contents

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Since 2017, colleagues and offices in Vienna have been supporting and working with the Young UN Vienna hub. In the year of the 75th anniversary of the United Nations, Miwa Kato, Director of Division for Operations at UNODC, shared with us her thoughts on different aspects of the work of the organization, and how the Young UN initiative ties in.

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Day of the African Child: Access to child-friendly justice system

Every year, the Day of the African Child is celebrated annually on 16 June and commemorates the thousands of courageous children in Soweto, South Africa who marched in 1976 to protest apartheid and to demand equal education. The children’s legacy – hundreds of whom were wounded or killed – continues to build a better future for African children.

Ms. Margaret Akullo, Representative a.i. for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Programme Office in Ethiopia shared with the Young UN Talks her reflections on this day and the numerous challenges faced by children on the African continent.

Written by Ms. Margaret Akullo. Photo: UNICEF

All opinions expressed in this piece are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Young UN or the United Nations.

When I reflect on the Day of the African Child, my memory takes me back to 1975 when I lived in my country of birth, Uganda. It was towards the end of July 1975 when Uganda hosted the Organisation of African Unity (OAU*) Heads of State summit.  Although it has been over four decades since the OAU summit, I vividly recall standing on the streets of Entebbe with other school children, cheerfully waving the Ugandan flag as delegates of the OAU passed in a convoy of official vehicles heading towards the capital city Kampala.  It was then that a clear vision formed in my mind - that one day I would also like to be an international delegate contributing to Africa’s development.  

In February 1976, our family moved from Uganda to Ghana to join my late father who had started work with the United Nations. It was also the same year that black high school students protested for their right to education on 16 June in Soweto, South Africa.  My memory of that day was sitting with my parents and siblings watching the news coverage of the protests and being incredibly sad at seeing children who looked like me, either injured or being shot by riot police.  We talked about the protests, with me asking, “Why are they hurting children?”   I vaguely remember my father saying in response, “I don’t know why they are hurting the children but the children want their voices to be heard.”  Years later, I understood the significance of my late father’s statement – the importance of the rights of marginalized and vulnerable children.  

In commemoration of that day of protests in Soweto, the world observes the Day of the African Child every year since 1991 with calls for addressing the numerous challenges faced by children on the continent.  This year’s theme of the international observance is ‘Access to a Child-Friendly Justice System in Africa’. When the theme is unpacked, it emphasizes that children in contact with the law (as alleged offenders, victims and/or witnesses of crime), are entitled to have their best interests taken into consideration in all criminal justice processes.  This is because children may be deprived of their liberty and rights as children when in contact with the justice system.

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child provides the framework covering all aspects of a child’s life and sets out the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights that all children everywhere are entitled to. It also explains how adults and governments must work together to make sure all children enjoy their rights which includes access to a child-friendly justice system.  

On this Day of the African Child, it is important to acknowledge the numerous opportunities that exists by harnessing the potential of young people living in Africa.  There is a growing number of young people who potentially are able to significantly contribute to the economic development of their countries. However, to harness their potential, it is essential to invest in these young people by building their capabilities and ensuring their rights and freedoms. I believe, we must listen to their voices and respond to their particular needs so that they can be empowered to shape their lives, their future, their continent.  We all have a role to play in ensuring that children are better served and protected by justice systems.

Please join me in celebrating the Day of the African Child. More info here.

* The Organisation of African Unity (OAU) is now the AU (African Union)

About the author: 

Ms Margaret Akullo, is the Representative a.i. for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Programme Office in Ethiopia.  Ms. Akullo has worked across Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America with various international organisations, regional bodies, civil society organisations, private sector, and law enforcement agencies. 

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Do you have urgent project needs for COVID-19 response or recovery but not enough support? conecta4covid is here to help! It’s a platform matching colleagues across the UN system in need for help with those offering their skills and time to volunteer. Simply register a project and/or become a volunteer. This is one small step towards the bigger conecta vision and collectively journeying to the Next UN. Curious? Click here to find out!

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Global Conference

The Young UN Global Conference will provide a venue for Young UN members to learn from each other, exchange with current and former UN staff, and develop a vision and plan for the future.

The Young UN Global Conference aims to:

Stimulate reflexion among Young UN members about a more effective UN organization;

Share experiences, knowledge and ideas among Young UN members about UN reform;

Engage with current and former UN staff about new and old UN reform proposals;

Strengthen Young UN’s organisation as a global movement for UN reform;

Adopt a Young UN manifesto, strategy and action plan for UN reform.

The Young UN Global Conference will rely on its members to develop the content of the Conference. Young UN members will be encouraged to showcase the initiatives they have launched in their respective duty stations. Members will also hold small workshops on specific themes to delve into existing policy proposals and to come up with fresh ideas for UN reform proposals or initiatives.

The Conference is expected to increase knowledge of each other and each other’s initiatives, develop the global team spirit among Young UN members, generate new ideas, establish shared principles for Young UN, as well as Young UN policy proposals for UN reform. In preparation of the Conference, Young UN members from around the world will be invited to join the working group responsible for organizing the Conference and regular VTCs will be set up to facilitate cooperation.

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Talent Management

In the same way as 2030 agenda has been introduced as integrated platform to assist the Member States in attainment of 17 SDGs, in the similar way UN Secretariat and UN system needs to address various degrees of organisational myopia, simplify rigid bureaucracy and hierarchy, break down artificially created boundaries and operational and mental silos, and as a whole needs to be more united in itself.

In alignment with the Secretary-General’s management reform and upcoming roll-out of the GSDM, the aim of the Talent Management initiative is to create dynamic, adaptable and (functionally) mobile global workforce that share knowledge and expertise, can quickly utilise more strategic and holistic approach towards delivery on increasingly complex mandates and breaks the existing operational silos demonstrating that change is possible and is effective and beneficial for all.

The initiative proposes targeted managed functional mobility (lateral job swapping within duty station for cost-free approach), through opt-in compendium and matching exercise for compatibility for placement, utilisation of buddy approach of the ‘swap couple’ to learn and develop new skills and train each other as well as oversee each other’s work during the swap (e.i. simultaneously development of leadership and supervision skills on the job).

This would be applied to general staff, professional staff to begin with and could be applied to consultants, interns (depending on the length and functional expertise requirements) and moving forward to national professional officers, temporary appointments and eventually to mobility across organisations through systematically targeted secondments aiming for attainment of united One UN.

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Young UN Talks

(We the people, for the people…) bringing the UN closer to the people and its staff.

Enhancing the image of the United Nations and ensuring better, and more effective performance by UN staff are essential to the UN’s ability to deliver in all its mandated areas.

Young UN Talks is a Vienna-born project that supports and complements existing UN public information and communication work by providing a direct platform for UN staff to share the organization’s policies, work, positive stories, personal experiences and the impact of their work, as well as the challenges the organization faces.

In 2017, Young UN Talks met with an independent project “Humans of the UN” that was capturing the real people who work within the UN system, with stories about their experiences, work routines, and daily life.

The two initiatives joined efforts to humanize the image of the United Nations for the outside world; to pull back the veil of mystery and reveal the diverse cultures that make up this unique human environment; and to portray the very real and varied faces that gather here from all corners of the world.

As part of the Young UN initiative, Young UN Talks contributes to a better image of the United Nations, which is otherwise sometimes seen through the lens of its shortcomings. The project gives more visibility and appreciation to the every-day work of hard-working UN staff in Headquarters and in the field. It also contributes to higher morale among UN staff, which in turn can encourage better performance. The initiative also aims to increase UN staff knowledge and understanding of the impact of the work of their colleagues in different duty stations.

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Collaboration: UN Envoy On Youth

In January 2018 the UN Envoy on Youth, Jayathma Wickramanayake, hosted a global and virtual joint workshop with Young UN. The workshop served to discuss key findings of Young UN’s Global Ideas Survey and to come up with proposals for making the UN system an employer of choice for young talent in terms of recruitment, career development and retention. 

As a result, five key priorities for HR reform were identified:

More career development support;

Cross-UN talent-management approach;

Longer and more secure contracts;

Better middle management;

Better collaboration within the UN system.

Since then, several proposals were submitted by the Young UN network to address these key priorities. A common thread throughout all of them was a need for more system-wide inter-agency collaboration, coherence and information sharing in order to better meet the SDGs and the complex needs of the 21st century.

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Young UN Vienna Hub

Young UN Vienna was established in December 2017. The hub is already working on initiatives such as the Young UN Impact Talks, Talent Management, and the Young UN Global Conference.

On 11 July 2018, representatives of Young UN Vienna met with Yury Fedotov, Director-General of the UN Office at Vienna and Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Mr. Fedotov expressed his support to Young UN and praised the network for its vision to promote positive change and work together to support the Secretary-General’s reforms and the 2030 Agenda.

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About

(We the people, for the people…) bringing the UN closer to the people and its staff.

Enhancing the image of the United Nations and ensuring better, and more effective performance by UN staff are essential to the UN’s ability to deliver in all its mandated areas.

Young UN Talks is a Vienna-born project that supports and complements existing UN public information and communication work by providing a direct platform for UN staff to share the organization’s policies, work, positive stories, personal experiences and the impact of their work, as well as the challenges the organization faces.

In 2017, Young UN Talks met with an independent project “Humans of the UN” that was capturing the real people who work within the UN system, with stories about their experiences, work routines, and daily life. 

The two initiatives joined efforts to humanize the image of the United Nations for the outside world; to pull back the veil of mystery and reveal the diverse cultures that make up this unique human environment; and to portray the very real and varied faces that gather here from all corners of the world. 

As part of the Young UN initiative, Young UN Talks contributes to a better image of the United Nations, which is otherwise sometimes seen through the lens of its shortcomings. The project gives more visibility and appreciation to the every-day work of hard-working UN staff in Headquarters and in the field. It also contributes to higher morale among UN staff, which in turn can encourage better performance. The initiative also aims to increase UN staff knowledge and understanding of the impact of the work of their colleagues in different duty stations.

The Young UN: Agents for Change initiative 

 A UN that fully embodies the principles it stands for.

Started in 2016 with a handful of members, the Young UN initiative has grown into a global network of more than 2000 change-makers in 80+ countries across the UN system in diverse duty stations and job areas.

The network, operating under the vision of UN that fully embodies the principles it stands for, is a positive, constructive, and solution-oriented initiative that functions on the principle of inclusiveness in support of the UN reform agenda, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and innovation.

While most members are under 35 years, everyone with an open, positive and fresh mindset is welcome, there is no cap on age or contract type.

Our aim is to catalyse, amplify and accelerate change in each of these areas – including by triggering a change in mindsets from siloed and sectoral approaches towards a culture of collaboration and integrated thinking.

Young UN aims to be an engaged, optimistic and constructive voice, bringing creativity, crowdsourcing and innovative solutions. Young UN members across the world coordinate online on a global platform called Slack with like-minded colleagues from the entire UNiverse.

Since the initiative began, the UN Secretary-General, Deputy Secretary-General, President of General Assembly, UN Youth Envoy and many others have voiced strong support for the initiative and promised to work together towards its vision.

Why?

As recognised in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the ECOSOC Dialogue on the longer-term positioning of the UN development system, an effective UN will be essential to address twenty-first-century challenges but it first needs to change itself. The election of a new UN Secretary-General provides an opportunity to implement reform.

We, as young professionals working in the UN, have the potential to play an important role in these reform efforts, drawing on our creativity and bringing fresh perspectives and long-term commitment to the organization. But we lack a way to share, develop and channel our ideas in a strategic and coordinated way. This initiative provides a platform to do so.

How?

We have diverse ideas to offer – from introducing a cross-UN talent management programme to starting food gardens at UN sites all over the world. We work at three levels to contribute to change:

Starting a conversation: By providing a forum for open and frank discussion regarding the challenges the UN faces and by encouraging such conversations more widely in the UN, we will support the cultural changes necessary to deliver reform and empower each other to demand more of ourselves, our colleagues and our shared institution;

Leading by example: We embrace change, contributing to change in a constructive and solution-oriented way. We pilot practical changes and share our experiences so that successes can be applied in new contexts;

Advocating change: Drawing from our experience from across the UN system and beyond, we develop and propose solutions to key decision-makers to address challenges identified.

Want to get involved?

Great! If you are currently working at the UN (any part of the UN system, any duty station), please join us on slack, sign up to our mailing list, on LinkedIn and start meeting with other young professionals in your duty station.  As a basic guide, projects should be solutions-oriented, cross-UN and in the interests of the charter and principles, the UN stands for. For anyone who would like to know more, please contact us at (young.un.info@gmail.com)

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GENEVA (Reuters) - Close to 2,000 United Nations employees have called for the global body to reduce its carbon footprint, including through curbs on their own diplomatic perks like business-class flights and travel handouts, a letter obtained by Reuters showed. 

The United Nations calls climate change the “defining issue of our time” and is hosting a New York summit on it next week. But reformers within say in the letter addressed to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that it needs more radical change to get its own house in order.

“Our commitments need to be more ambitious and at least as concrete as those of the UN Member States and non-party stakeholders attending the UN Climate Action Summit,” said the letter, signed by at least 1,950 employees. It was organized by a group called Young UN, an internal network committed to ensuring the organization embodies the principles it stands for.

“As Greta Thunberg just sailed across the Atlantic Ocean and young people across the world continue to strike every Friday, let us look at our own impact and take bold steps to address the climate emergency,” the letter said, referring to the Swedish teenager who has inspired global climate strikes.

The United Nations emitted 2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2018, according to its own data which includes both the 44,000 secretariat staff present in more than 60 countries as well as tens of thousands of interns, contractors and peacekeeping troops deployed worldwide.

That equates to a carbon footprint larger than several of its member states, including Malta and Liberia, according to statistics from the Global Carbon Atlas for 2017.

Among 10 issues identified by Young UN are travel allowances, which the letter said needed to be cut or scrapped “in order to disincentivize travel by UN employees and UN meeting participants motivated by financial gain”.

Allowances, or per diems as they are known internally, are intended to cover travel costs including food and accommodation, and can exceed $400 a day for some locations such as New York, according to the International Civil Service Commission website.

The letter also suggested that staff should be rewarded for downgrading from business class, where a spacious seat generates several times the emissions of an economy class ticket.

Travel accounts for nearly half the United Nations’ emissions, its data show. Last year, under pressure from member states, the head of the U.N. Environment Programme, Erik Solheim, stepped down amid criticism of his travels.

Other reforms recommended in the letter include a complete divestment of the more than $60 billion U.N. pension fund from fossil fuels and creating offices run entirely on renewable energy. Young UN did not respond to requests for comment.

‘U.N. NEEDS TO LEAD’

Guterres is seeking to combat climate change from within in order to boost sustainability.

“The Secretary-General welcomes the initiative of Young UN on climate action in the UN system,” Guterres’ office said in a statement to Reuters on Friday.

“The Secretary-General is committed to lead by example and calls for transformative action to address the climate crisis, including on the part of the UN system and Secretariat itself,” it continued.

The employees’ letter welcomed Guterres’ internal strategy but said it “misses the urgency of the crisis we are facing”.

The United Nations has also launched a “Greening the Blue” initiative which measures the U.N. system’s greenhouse gas emissions, waste disposal, fresh-water use, and environmental management. According to its latest report issued on Friday, 55 of its entities, or 95 percent, including the Secretariat, were climate neutral in 2018, against just over a third the previous year.

But the letter raises doubts about U.N. offset mechanisms, a method that works through purchases of U.N.-certified carbon credits from approved green projects and is widely used by organizations and businesses to tout their green credentials.

This echoes criticism from NGOs about the contribution of offsets to sustainable development.

Isabella Marras, Sustainable UN Coordinator, whose team produces the Greening the Blue report and was a signatory to the letter, said she saw scope for the United Nations to give even greater attention to environmental considerations.

“What we are missing is the aggressive integration of environmental issues into our programs like the UN has done for women,” she told Reuters. But she stressed some of the pragmatic challenges in regions where environmental standards are less strong than in Western countries.

Marie-Claire Graf, a 23-year-old Swiss climate activist visiting the U.N. European headquarters in Geneva, said the number of U.N. vehicles in vast carparks overlooking the lake and mountains was surprising.

“The UN is doing some amazing things on environment but I am shocked by so many SUVs and the amount of travel,” said Graf, who was selected along with 100 young climate leaders to attend the U.N. Youth Climate Summit on 21 September.

“The UN needs to lead on this transformation.”

Additional reporting by Maggie Fick in Nairobi; Editing by Stephanie Nebehay, Catherine Evans and Mark Potter

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In this first of a series of blogs, the recently established Young UN network explain their purpose and call for a UN fit for the future.

We, the Young UN network, are a group of committed, engaged, and enthusiastic young professionals brought together by our drive to make the United Nations ready for the future. Since the inception of our network, we have managed to rally more than 800 young professionals from around 80 countries and more than 50 funds, programmes, agencies and departments of the UN.

Our vision is that of a UN that fully embodies the principles and values it stands for, and empowers its people and those it serves. Our shared aim is to identify, promote and implement innovative ideas to achieve this vision. We believe that this can only be done if we operate in an open, inclusive and consultative manner. This is why anyone willing to work towards positive change within the UN system can join our network, ensuring we draw our inspiration and strength from the diversity and plurality of our members.

With relentless energy and optimism, we work in a collaborative spirit towards a different UN, guided by its Charter. We strive to demonstrate commitment to the organisation through our efforts, conducted alongside of our professional duties, out of a sheer will to serve to the full extent of our potential.

But most importantly, we demonstrate a true ability to collaborate across UN agencies, geographies, ages, genders and professional grades, in an agile and solutions driven manner. This is how we lead by example: if we are capable of such coordination, even without a mandate, then who isn’t?

The birth of Young UN

For some time Young UN was just an idea floating around the collective mind of younger UN staff that would come up in conversations in the corridors of the UN HQ in New York and other duty stations. It was only a matter of time before somebody would have the courage and determination to materialise this concept and bring together those that were willing to take it forward and make it a reality.

Following the example of recent social movements, we decided that this should be a flat, open, agile and distributed network of change-makers. All those willing to contribute to a better UN are welcome. An initial key milestone was the open workshop organised in July 2016, where more than 50 people gathered in New York and identified collectively a number of issues Young UN would deal with.

We also affirmed our goal to become a full-fledged advisory network and a generator of innovative ideas space for UN as a system. We aim to be a sounding board for senior management, as well as an implementing partner for reform. So far, we have in fact contributed our ideas to all three UN reforms streams: the management reform, development reform, and peace and security reform.

We also serve as a platform that connects people across the system and provides a voice for young professionals, because we wish for a UN that fully harnesses the potential of all of its human capital. A UN that is leaving no one behind. A UN that is strong and agile.

An agile approach based on results and rooted in principles

The strength of the UN is its global presence. As the Young UN, we believe that many solutions are and should be locally driven. This this why as a first step, we structured the initiative and expanded it to a global network by reaching out to regional and field based duty stations. This outreach coincided with the election of the new Secretary-General, to whom we sent a consolidated letter outlining the ways we would help further his mandate.

Since the inception of the network, the Young UN has been involved in various activities and strategic workstreams across the system. We have produced proposals related to human resource practices, frontier technologies, and other critical issues. Beyond the initial Focus Groups, we have organised workshops on diverse topics, such as value-based leadership and the integrity of the UN civil servant. We have also organised discussions on key topics such as the Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review (QCPR) and maintained dialogue with relevant partners both within and outside of the UN System.

Our work and the results from our dialogues, have fed into proposals submitted to UN senior management who have expressed a clear willingness to work with us. But these initiatives are just a few among many. Our goal is to spark the spirit of activism and out-of-the box thinking at all levels of the system as we move forward in making the UN fit for the future.

Addressing the paradoxes of the international civil servant

Our journey, however, has not always been an easy one. The practice of our daily work and the discussions held among our members not only unleashed creative ideas, but also revealed struggles through which we have to navigate.

One issue that arose was the necessity for the UN and its staff to adapt to a radically new international political environment while remaining faithful to the Charter (something that Dag Hammarskjöld also dealt with throughout his years in the UN). Other central questions that came up were: How can international civil servants uphold the values of the UN Charter when political pressure can prevent them from doing so? How can we act in an impartial manner, while not allowing ourselves to remain neutral to injustices? What should be the UN’s position in a conflict-ravaged country, where support is needed for humanitarian access, but the human rights record is poor?

As we develop and grow as a young spirited network, we will draw on our enthusiasm to come up with innovative ways of modelling a UN that we can identify with, a UN that starts working today on solutions for tomorrow’s problems. There is no pre-established plan on how to do so, but by creating greater space and visibility for young ideas, and by tackling some of the paradoxes inherent in the current system, we believe we have already started working towards a more progressive and modern UN.

This is but the first in a series of blogs we will write over the coming months so stay tuned for more words and ideas from us, which we hope will contribute to generating some solutions for the big challenges ahead.

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“Young UN Aims To Change The UN System From Within”

Following the creation of the Young UN Global Network and embracing its decentralized and inclusive approach, the Network’s Vienna hub was established in December 2017. But who is behind it? We recently caught up with two active members of the Young UN Vienna group – Samuel De Jaegere (UNODC) and Billy Batware (UNODC), for an interview in which they shed light on some basic facts about this network.

What is Young UN?

Billy: Young UN is a network of young minds across the entire UN system, with the aim to inject fresh ideas, to bring out-of-the-box approaches in support of the existing structures within the organization, with one main objective – achieve a UN that fully embodies the principles it stands for. The network formally started in 2016 in UN HQ in New York and has since reached most of the duty stations, funds, and programmes in more than 80 countries, with a membership of nearly 1000 people and still growing each day. Our vision to see genuine change in the UN has resonated at the highest level of the UN, with the support coming from the Office of the Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, and his senior management across the UN. Through its work, Young UN supports the Secretary-General’s reform agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals, as well works hand in hand with the management throughout the UN system to identify, pilot and implement innovative initiatives through crowd-sourcing ideas and knowledge.

What are some of the achievements of Young UN Vienna Hub in 2018 in a nutshell?

Samuel:  Our first achievement is to exist and to foster internal cooperation. The Young UN Vienna Hub was established in December 2017 and has seen incremental membership growth in 2018. Today, Young UN Vienna counts about 50 members, with a dozen members being very active on a day-to-day basis. Young UN Vienna met with Mr. Yury Fedotov, Director-General of the United Nations Office in Vienna (UNOV) in July 2018. The meeting generated a set of priorities for Young UN Vienna on gender equality, the UNODC funding model and outreach to Austrian citizens. As a follow-up, Young UN shared a four-pager with over twenty proposals to increase UNODC funding, contributed to the UNODC Gender Strategy and Action Plan development, committed to supporting its implementation, and established contact with the City of Vienna to brainstorm on various ways to bring the UN closer to Austrian citizens. For example, in 2019, Young UN Vienna will support a roadshow in Austria to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the UN’s establishment in Austria. Moreover, Young UN Vienna submitted six concrete proposals to UNODC Senior Management to stimulate “innovation” in our office, including creating “innovation time” and “innovation space” for UN staff.

What have you benefited from joining the Young UN activities?

Billy: The main benefit of my engagement with the Young UN is the opportunity to learn and better understand the organizational mechanism. Being an active member of the Young UN has given me access to senior management and allowed me to know and contribute to the decision-making bodies of the organization such as CEB (Chief Executive Board), HLCP (High-Level Committee of Programmes), and HLCM (High-Level Committee of Management), as well as UNODC-specific issues. This enables me to do my job better, knowing the complexities, challenges, and opportunities the organization faces. Therefore, instead of being frustrated by the problems and just complaining about them, I now have the opportunity to act and provide ideas to support the system to overcome them. Small steps as they may be, but it’s something.

How do you see the role of the Young UN in the SG’s Reform Agenda?

Samuel: The Young UN at the core is about reform. It aims to change the UN system from within. When the first discussions took place to establish this network back in 2012 in Bangkok, it was also the moment when the Syrian crisis began. We understood that the UN System would need to change itself to meet the challenges of the 21st century. The Young UN was born to seek possibilities to rejuvenate the UN. It seeks to inspire. As such, the Young UN fully supports the UN SG’s Reform Agenda. It has served this Reform Agenda by crowdsourcing ideas and feeding them into the various reform streams. We cannot wait for a cataclysmic event to occur to reinvent a stronger global governance architecture. We live in a world with a global economy, global communication platforms, and global cultural trends, and we need a more effective and stronger UN to preserve peace, security, human rights, and a sustainable climate.

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“I See The Role Of Young UN As An Active Participant In The Reform Process”

What is Young UN?

Young UN is a network of motivated individuals who are agents of change, individually and collectively. Young UN look for ways to make the UN a more effective, efficient and results-oriented; a UN that is united as One, and a UN that is agile and innovative to achieve the Agenda 2030.

How do you see the role of Young UN in SG’s UN Reform?

I see the role of Young UN as an active participant in the reform process. Not only as a means of temperature checking and crowd-sourcing of ideas, but to be in the driving seat of the UN Reform. The impact of the UN Reform would be seen and felt 10-20 years from now, so it is important that Young UN can shape this reform process in a meaningful way.

What are some of the achievements of Young UN Vienna group in 2018?

I joined Young UN Vienna in July 2018, and since then, Young UN have met with the Director General of UNOV and Executive Director of UNODC and the Executive Secretary of CTBTO; won the award at the Career Development Roundtable held in Lisbon; participated in the UN Strategic Planning Network in Paris; presented the initial proposals on the UNODC funding model to the senior management; participated in UNODC ExCom, and senior management retreat and shared our ideas on innovation; and participated in developing UNOV/UNODC Gender Action plan. In a nutshell, a lot!

What is one of the Young UN Vienna based initiatives that you are involved?

One of the Young UN Vienna based initiatives started from the encouragement of the Executive Director of UNODC.  As UNODC is increasingly funded by tightly earmarked voluntary contributions, Young UN was encouraged to explore innovative ways to improve the funding model of UNODC. Young UN took this opportunity to learn more about the challenges and opportunities faced by senior management, as well as to learn from each other and work cross-functionally. Over the three months, we then set out to understand the complexity of UNODC funding model and shared our initial proposals to the senior management in January 2019.

What have you learned from joining the Young UN activities?

I have learned so much from my fellow colleagues, who I would not have had the chance to work with in my current role; I’ve learned about the work of UNODC, the exciting activities that Young UN carry out globally, the high-level committees work and processes, and the Organization as a whole. It gave me an opportunity to learn about other areas that I am interested in, to share with other colleagues the knowledge I have from my current role, and a means to develop my leadership skills. The friendship and professionalism that we have as a network are invaluable.

One thing happened that touched you?

Given that we do Young UN activities at our “spare time”, it is amazing to see the commitment that all Young UN team members have. The support by the fellow members, the openness for discussion, the commitment to find time and meet up at random hours, to give feedback within such short period of time, the teamwork and leadership demonstrated, and mostly the comradeship! It is motivating and inspirational to be working with Young UN team members.

[younguntalks]

“My First Service To The UN Was In A Refugee Camp When I Was A 12-Year-Old Refugee”

Something about yourself that many people don’t know?

My first service to the UN was in a refugee camp when I was a 12-year-old refugee in the Democratic Republic of Congo. I voluntarily helped UNHCR to register other refugees.

What are some of the Young UN initiatives based in Vienna that you are involved?

One of the initiatives of Young UN Vienna that I’m involved is the Young UN Talks. This initiative aims to amplify the positive image of the UN through Impact Talks on the work of the UN. Young UN Talks features both town-hall discussions for both internal and external audiences, short interviews, and human stories from people working for the UN.

[younguntalks]

Ten Year Challenge

Today 10 years ago, I started my first UN internship in Vienna. In this past decade, I finished my masters, did 5 internships with 5 UN organizations in 3 countries. 4 of them were unpaid.

I did countless consultancies and short term contracts, and moved from Paris to Geneva to Vienna, and will probably continue moving in the future.

The most important lessons I’ve learnt? To give up searching for the comfort zone, instead, search for movement, for the flow of positive growth. Stay prepared for change.

I’ve also learnt about some sad realities, things or people that we can’t change. But more importantly to see them as a self reminder and advance on our own path regardless, sometimes fast sometimes slow.

The reward of life to me is no longer about a place we stand or want to be, but about the journey itself we take to the next uncertainty. And the ultimate success a person can have is to enjoy the ride, dare being herself, dare making different choices from the majority, stick to herself in the development without being distracted from the bigger picture of life which to each person is different, and we will only be able to accept ourselves when we are willing to accept differences, which is the only way to happiness, and the only way to peace.

[younguntalks]

“Our World Is Our Village”

“My family is spread out across the world. Like many modern-day families, my home is in various places. I feel our world is our village.”