IO/UNS Newsletter [10/26]

Dear  IO/UNS  Community, 

Happy Halloween week! We hope everyone is making it through their midterms with energy left to enjoy the upcoming long-weekend. It was great to see many of you last week at our UN Day Festival where we discussed multilateralism over sweets, coffee, and raffle prizes (see photos below). For those of you who have not yet responded to our survey, we would love to hear your thoughts about components for an ideal IO/UNS program and what you think about the possibility of having substantive discussions or classes in foreign languages. Please fill out the survey here.

Additionally, as you many of you know, last week we launch our new blog, Multilateralism in Action, a plaform for cutting-edge think pieces on multilaterism by expert practitioners and researchers alike alongside select student publications. You can join the mailing list for the blog here to stay attuned to new publications and read our first three exciting essays on

• Multilateralism & Global Health Diplomacy by Ibrahim Mayaki
• Youth Engagement by Jayathma Wickramanayake, Bianca Liu Herzog & Maanishaa Jessani
• The UN’s Role in Combating Racism by Minji Ko, Sanskruti Majmudar, Laura McCreedy & Amanda Waldron

Today, Tuesday, October 26th at 1pm we will be hosting Paul Ladd, Director of the UN Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) for a discussion with IO/UNS interim director Daniel Naujoks on "Overcoming Inequalities in Times of Crisis: Towards a New Eco-Social Contract". If you would like to attend, please sign up here.

In this newsletter, you will find: 

• What We’re Listening To
• IO/UNS Student Spotlight
• Event Recap: UN Day Festival
• Events at SIPA and Beyond
• Internship Opportunities

Once again, please feel free to join our WhatsApp group for SIPA's IO/UNS community. Lastly, as always, watch out for the "clipped message" notice and make sure to read the entire email.

Cheers,
Daniel, Nate & Yun
IO/UNS Specialization Team

Event Recap: UN Day Festival 

This past Sunday was United Nations Day and to celebrate, we hosted a UN Day Festival on Friday, October 22nd. Students came to the International Affairs Building's Fishbowl for grab&go pastries and coffee and conversation with fellow classmates. We also had a raffle entry and shared boxes of IO/UNs swag. Some students picked out their favorite Sustainable Development Goals and took a photo in our IO/UNS photobooth. Others offered program feedback through our survey (which you can still answer here). Some even engaged with our new blog, Multilateralism in Action, online and shared it through their Twitter accounts. We enjoyed seeing many of you there and appreciate your engagement with the specialization. We hope to see you at our next event!

Join Paul Ladd, Director of the UN Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD), in this talk about the forthcoming UNRISD Flagship report "Overcoming Inequalities in Times of Crises: Towards a New Eco-Social Contract."

Seven years into the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the report comes out at a moment when the context for achieving it has never been more daunting:

• The unprecedented concentration of wealth and income and the elite capture of political processes and institutions;
• The rise of austerity, nationalism, and right-wing extremism as well as backlash against egalitarian and human rights discourses and movements; 
• Evolving technology creating new divides both within and between countries; and
• The climate crisis and biodiversity loss threatening our very existence.

The COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated the corrosive effects of the current system and the inequality it has wrought, revealing its lack of resilience to shocks. The result is a world in a state of fracture, and at its heart is inequality. Inequality has been both a root cause and an amplifier of multiple crises—economic, social, political, cultural, and ecological. 

The speaker will break down inequality into three interlinked and reinforcing forms - economic, social and political - and analyze their causes, dynamics and impacts. Based on the UNRISD’s research, the age of neoliberal globalization, and related policy choices, are at the root of the present challenges, having prepared the way for the current model of unsustainable hyper-globalization which creates an inescapable gravity towards inequality and crises.

The talk will be moderated by Professor Daniel Naujoks, director a.i., IO/UNS specialization at SIPA. The speaker will join virtually - SIPA students can opt to join the in-person joint viewing or to join virtually. Please see the separate registration options. 

Find more information and register here.

This online event featuring gender and social protection experts’ discussion panels marks a milestone towards further assessing the UN Joint SDG Fund’s contribution to integrated social protection to leave no one behind (LNOB) as an effective means to contribute to the acceleration of the progress on multiple SDGs and producing catalytic results at scale within reduced timeframes. Three select Joint Programmes’ best practices, innovations and results achieved thus far will be highlighted. Special emphasis is put on gender, which is an essential aspect of all joint programmes in the LNOB portfolio. The event will be moderated by Silke Staab, Research Specialist at UN Women, and with opening remarks from Lisa Kurbiel, Head of Secretariat at the Joint SDG Fund. 

Opening panel:

• Maria-Noel Vaeza, Regional Director for the Americas and the Caribbean, UN Women
• Shahra Razavi, Director of the Social Protection Department, ILO
• Natalia Winder-Rossi, Director of Social Policy and Social Protection, UNICEF
• Mansour Ndiaye, Head of Inclusive Growth, UNDP

Closing panel:

• Raquel Coello, Regional Economic Empowerment Policy Specialist, UN Women Regional Office for the Americas and the Caribbean
• Veronika Wodsak, Social Protection Policy Specialist, ILO
• Shivani Nayyar, Policy Specialist, Social Protection, UNDP
• Ruth Graham Goulder, Social Protection and Gender Adviser, UNICEF

Join the book lauch for the edited volume Creating Resilient Futures that critically examines the coherence building opportunity between Climate Change Adaptation, the Sustainable Development Goals and Disaster Risk Reduction agendas. The authors consider opportunities to address the global challenge of developing resilience, as an integrated development continuum instead of through independent and siloed agendas. 

Find more information and register here.

Download the entire book here, which is open access.

For the year 2021, Global Perspectives focuses on civil society sector approaches, opportunities and challenges of New Power. We increasingly see New Power at work in demonstrating the strength of communities around the world in creating organic networks aiming at making a positive change. What does this mean for members of the more formalised international civil society sector? To explore this, Global Perspectives 2021 will bring together some of the international and local organisations and civil society networks from around the world who are focusing on new, innovative and fresh approaches to New Power. The conference will be a space for new and existing conversations and workstreams to happen. We are putting you, our participants and partners, at the heart of the discussions.

­ƒôî Hybrid, with in-person regional hub meetings in Africa, Asia and Latin America, and online.

Themes

This hybrid experience will feature three pillars of exploration and discussion:

• De-concentrating Data and Digitalisation,
• Decolonising Aid and Organisational Structures, and
• Embracing New Power. 

For each pillar, the event will share innovative and future-facing approaches on how we might best align with New Power for sustained futures, better knowledge management, and community-led networks.

Ford Foundation  implements a pioneering, cross-cutting program called Building Institutions and Networks (BUILD), which aims to support and develop robust, effective and sustainable organizations addressing inequality around the world. In the course of a 6-year period, the Foundation will invest approximately $1 billion in a limited number of organizations, providing them with flexible operational and organizational strengthening support. By strengthening organizations that are core to the social justice infrastructure, the Foundation aims to ensure BUILD organizations have the stability it takes to drive change over the long term and in turn achieve greater impact. 

The Program Assistant (PA) will provide administrative and logistical support to two Program Officers from the BUILD team. As such, the PA will contribute to the Foundation’s grant making and grant oversight processes, as well as support special events and projects that advance the BUILD  strategies. This is a unique opportunity to work across the Foundation’s thematic areas and regions and learn more about capacity building in the non-profit sector. 

To apply, please visit the job posting here.

The UNCDF strategy ‘Leaving no one behind in the digital era’ is based on over a decade of experience in digital financial inclusion in Africa, Asia and the Pacific. UNCDF leverages digital finance in support of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to achieve the vision of promoting digital economies that leave no one behind. The goal of UNCDF is to empower millions of people by 2024 to use services daily that leverage innovation and technology and contribute to the SDGs. To achieve this vision UNCDF uses a market development approach and continuously seeks to address underlying market dysfunctions that exclude people living in the last mile.
UNCDF is looking for qualified interns to support its different activities related to the following functional areas in its Regional Hub/Country office located in Thailand, Myanmar, Nepal, Bangladesh, Fiji and Samoa:

• Innovation Fund
• Data Analytics
• Partnership and Programme Expansion
• Monitoring & Evaluation and Operation
• Communications and Knowledge Management

To apply, please visit the job posting here.

The position is located in the Africa Section of the Communications Campaigns Service in the Strategic Communications Division, and is for a period of three (3) months with an opportunity for extension for an additional three (3) months depending on the needs of the department.

Through its Africa Renewal platforms, the Section is focused on providing solutions-oriented content about Africa, taking advantage of the continent's evolving digital communications landscape for maximum reach, in line with the UN's global communications strategy. We also disseminate Africa and UN-related content for publication at no cost to hundreds of media outlets around the world.

We provide external communications support to our designated clients, namely the UN Office of the Special Adviser on Africa (OSAA), the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), and the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), and collaborate with other UN and external entities to advance a factual, balanced and non-stereotypical narrative of Africa.

The internship is UNPAID and full-time. Interns work five days per week (35 hours) under the supervision of a staff member in the office to which they are assigned.

Due to COVID-19 and travel restrictions the internship may be conducted remotely.
 

To apply, please visit the job posting here.

The United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) is seeking for qualified interns for a maximum internship of 6 months, depending on the needs of UNODA and the willingness of applicant.

UNODA advises and assists the Secretary-General in the discharge of his responsibilities under the Charter of the United Nations and the implements mandates given by the General Assembly, the Security Council and other organs of the United Nations system, in the area of disarmament and related security. For more information, please refer to: https:www.un.org/disarmament.

The internship is unpaid and full-time opportunity. Interns will be assigned to a primary supervisor and must adhere to the established official working hours five days per week with one hour for lunch break.

Daily responsibilities will depend on the individual’s background; the intern’s assigned Branch within UNODA as well as the internship period. Interns shall undertake the following duties which may include, but are not limited to:

• Assistance in drafting and preparing official documents, summaries, talking points, speeches, remarks and web content.
• Document, media and internet research.
• Assistance during conferences and meetings.

To apply, please visit the job posting here.

This internship position is located in the Budget, Financial Management and Reporting Section of United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS), Office of Rule of Law and Security Institutions (OROLSI) within the Department of Peace Operations (DPO) in New York.

Established in 1997, the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) works to eliminate the threat posed by mines, explosive remnants of war and improvised explosive devices by coordinating United Nations mine action, leading operational responses at the country level, and supporting the development of standards, policies and norms.

As a specialized service of the United Nations located within the Department of Peace Operations, UNMAS operates under UN legislative mandates of both the General Assembly and the Security Council. UNMAS also responds to specific requests for support from the UN Secretary-General or designated official.

For more information on UNMAS please visit www.mineaction.org/unmas.
 

To apply, please visit the job posting here.

The United Nations Forum on Forests Secretariat (UNFFS), Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) is accepting applications for internships.
The UNFFS provides leadership in promoting the implementation of the United Nations Strategic Plan for Forests (UNSPF) and the achievement of its Global Forest Goals, and the effective implementation of the UN Forest Instrument. It provides substantive secretariat support to the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF), which is composed of all Member States of the United Nations and specialized agencies.

In 2015, the UNFF established the Global Forest Financing Facilitation Network under the UNFFS to facilitate access to and effective use of funding for forests, sharing data and best practices on forest financing and contributing to the achievement of the Global Forest Goals of the UN Strategic Plan for Forests 2030. More information on the UNFFS and the GFFFN can be found at www.un.org/esa/forests.

The prospective intern should have a background in economics, environmental issues, data science, or computer science-related areas. Experience or knowledge of IT-related work is desirable. The internship is for three months, with an opportunity for extension up to a maximum of six (6) months, depending on the needs of the Office.

To apply, please visit the job posting here.

Follow the IO/UNS Specialization on
CampusGroups, Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp.

Feel free to reach out to us:
Daniel Naujoks, Interim Director, daniel.naujoks@columbia.edu
To book office hours, click here.

Yun Liang, Program Assistant, yun.liang@columbia.edu
Nate Edwards, Program Assistant, nke2113@columbia.edu