It is a rare opportunity to have a casual conversation with a government official from Rwanda about what he thinks the main barriers to his country's development are, or to receive practical advice about how best to be a culturally sensitive “change agent” when working with officials from different developing countries from a woman who makes that her daily business. The Duke in Geneva program gave me a unique opportunity to do just that.
As someone who plans to pursue a career in international development, it was important to me to not only gain more international work experience during my internship, but to also learn as much as I could from professionals already in the field.
My summer in Geneva was spent interning with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) with the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) Part of the Design, Evaluation, and Documentation Department of IPEC, my role was to review evaluation reports from completed projects, extract lessons learned and concerns raised in those reports, and then use that information to prepare summaries for the project design staff to take into consideration as they worked to either design the next phase of those projects, or to design new projects addressing similar issues in other regions. During the internship, my work concentrated on
projects in Africa. I was able to draw from my 2-year experience as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ghana giving my supervisor confidence in my ability to contribute a “value-added” component to the documents that I was preparing. My work at the ILO exposed me to the essential field of monitoring and evaluation, and allowed me to broaden my skills base in technical writing.Complementing the internship experience, the program used a week-long course on Global Trade Policy to introduce me to a number of professionals from different agencies in Geneva to share their perspectives on trade and its role in development. We were encouraged to cultivate relationships with these professionals as a way of networking and enhancing our experience. One of the things I found to be most valuable about the program was the opportunity to sit down and talk with people about their experiences as well as ask them questions about their professional background. I was fortunate enough to secure interviews with people from the United Nations Development Programme, the South Centre, the United Nations Environment Programme, the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development, and the Permanent Mission of Rwanda. These interviews turned out to be extremely fruitful, not only in terms of learning more about how the work of these individuals and their organizations affect development efforts around the world, but also in terms of gaining career advice and suggestions for “next steps” for my own professional development.
My time in Geneva also provided a great chance to network within an environment of intense cultural exchange. I met people from nearly 50 different countries, all from different walks of life and all willing to share their stories and teach me a bit about their corner of the world. As a result, my networking skills were sharpened with every conversation, whether casual or professional, and I was able to gain a broader perspective about how people around the globe view and interact with my own country. Such awareness is extremely important to me as I continue my graduate studies and prepare to enter the international development sector as a professional.The Duke in Geneva program is a wonderful experience that offers unique opportunities for anyone interested in public policy issues and I highly recommend it for anyone interested in international development.
Donna Daniels is in her second year in the Master's in International Development Policy at the Duke Sanford School of Public Policy. She participate in the Duke Program in Geneva in the Global Economic Governance and Trade track.
