Luca Loggia's Internship at UNODC Myanmar
Written by Luca Loggia
Luca Loggia's Internship at UNODC Myanmar
Written by Luca Loggia
It is hard to
imagine that four months has passed since I capped my final year of my
undergraduate studies at McGill University. It is even more difficult to imagine
that 3 months have gone by since I boarded a plane to Yangon, Myanmar, to start
my internship with the United Nations Office on Drugs & Crime (UNODC) as a
junior professional consultant. Time flies!
As a junior professional consultant, I have been
tasked with carrying out research on gender-mainstreaming security sector
reform, and drafting overviews of our activities in different areas:
transnational crime, anti-corruption, criminal justice reform, drugs and
health, and alternative development. More recently, my responsibilities have included
creating a project proposal to enhance anti-corruption awareness among youth,
and drafting an office sustainability plan.
High-level Forums: Nay Pyi Taw & Yangon
During my internship, I had the opportunity to join
UNODC’s delegation to two separate high-level events attended by policy-makers,
UN officials, media and civil society. In early July, I was asked to join the
delegation in Nay Pyi Taw to takes notes for the agency during the day-long
symposium on justice sector responses to violence against women and children.
It was a unique experience insofar as I was not only responsible for
note-taking, but I also drafted the UNODC representative’s speech presented to
the 100 attendees. Later that month, I also had the opportunity to attend a
workshop organised by the UNODC for the Ministry of Border Affairs on
understanding gender-based violence.
The IDDIP: Helping me Pave a way Forward
When I first arrived in Yangon in April, I was confident that
I would be able to gain a lot from my experience. Three months in, thanks to my
supervisor’s mentorship, not only have I honed my multi-tasking and research
skills; I have also improved my ability to quickly problem-solve and
effectively manage my time (as a notorious procrastinator in Montreal, that is
saying a lot). Being an aspiring academic and diplomat, I have no doubt this
experience provided by UNAC’s IDDIP will help me in my future projects for
years to come.
I look forward to sharing more about my experience in the
short future. Until then, kayo sé-bi twa (farewell).
