UN Intern Reflection: Erin Oppel, UNA-USA Fellow

Erin Oppel serves as Intern at the Regional Commissions New York Office at the UN Secretariat in New York, NY. Erin is supported by a grant from the UNA-USA Fellowship Initiative.

 

For the last three months I have had the opportunity to serve as an intern for the Regional Commissions New York Office (RCNYO) in New York City. In this role, I have helped serve as a liaison for all the five United Nations regional commissions, the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, (ECLAC) and the UN Economic Commission for Europe (ECE).

Before coming to this position, I had little knowledge of the role of the Economic Commissions in the United Nations development system and how they bridge the gap between international and national development priorities. In just a short amount of time, this internship has opened my eyes to all the work being done across the UN system on development.

Despite being a little known and small office in the UN, as an intern at RCNYO I had a firsthand view into the economic and development work of the United Nations at both a regional and an international level. I was able to participate in discussions about policies and economic priorities for upcoming big processes at the UN such as the upcoming Summit of the Future, World Social Summit, and the Financing for Development 4 Conference and Preparatory Conferences. I have been able to attend meetings on large and small scales, interact with UN member states and other UN entities to discuss how to achieve mutual economic goals.

I have participated in many exciting activities throughout the summer, but my highlight was participating in the UN’s annual High-level Political Forum (HLPF) on development where high-level UN employees and government officials come from all over the world to discuss sustainable development. During this period, the Executive Secretaries from all five of the Regional Commissions and staff from each Commission came to New York. With everyone in town, I saw up close and personal how the Regional Commissions work with UN Member States in their region to promote sustainable development and get the SDGs back on track. During these two weeks, I attended numerous sessions focusing on the individual Sustainable Development Goals and even wrote statements for the Director of our office to give during her interactions and panel events. I learned so much throughout the week from the numerous side events and official events held at the UN as well as from staff members from the Regional Commissions. The two weeks of the HLPF were the busiest, but also the most enriching time at RCNYO thus far.

As the UN gears up for High-level week, the opening of the new session of the General Assembly, and the Summit of the Future which will be held this year during High-Level week, I have been fortunate enough to get a look behind the curtain as to how the UN bureaucracy aims to achieve its development and economic goals and looks toward not only universally ramping up the SDGs but considers each region’s special economic needs and tailors its policies to fit those needs. I look forward to seeing the outcomes of the Summit of the Future having followed its process and negotiations closely all summer.

I am very lucky to have had great mentors in my office at RCNYO that make it easy for me to learn about the internal work of the UN. Additionally, this internship and all my learning experiences would not have been possible without UNUSA. UNUSA made it possible for me to achieve my lifelong dream of working in the UN. This learning experience will drive me in my academic experiences as I consider a career in multilateral organizations and spaces. For that I will forever be grateful for RCNYO and the UNUSA organization.