Internship Report for the

Peace and Development Foundation

by FONG Yiu Tung James

First of all, I am very pleased to be offered a summer internship in the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Beijing. I would like to thank the Peace and Development Foundation (PDF) for granting me sponsorship, including return air tickets. What I am going to talk about in this report is to let the foundation feel rewarded for its investment by demonstrating how the UNDP and I benefited on the one hand; and how much I appreciate for the support from the foundation and my university on the other.

The United Nations offices around the world do not provide paid internships, but with PDF’s generosity, I was able to take advantage of this internship opportunity. Frankly it is wonderful that the foundation developed grants to support Hong Kong postgraduate students to work in the United Nations system in China. I feel privileged to have this precious opportunity.

I spent the summer working for the Social and Economic Development Team of UNDP China. I specialised in the area of government leadership capacity development in the Northeast and Western parts of China. I assisted my team in the compilation of project briefs, Chinese-English translation of documents, conducting research on human resources development and the offering of clerical support. Indeed, the internship offered me so many things. My experience helped me understand more about the everyday operation of the United Nations China and the importance of human resources development to attain more balanced social and economic development of China.

I appreciate all the guidance Ms. Grace Wang, my internship supervisor, gave me. The internship is an excellent match with my interests. Working in UNDP was my first experience seeing the hands-on work which takes place in the team I worked for. I learnt a great deal. I was very glad to be a member of the team because I equipped me with the knowledge of how government capacity development helps contribute the development of a Xiaokang (i.e. well-off) society in China.

I cultivated good working relationships with my colleagues, including my supervisor, fellow interns, support staff and professionals not only from UNDP, but also from other UN agencies like the United Nations Development Fund of Women. Let me share the experience with you. One Sunday in August, the fellow interns and I went to the Great Wall. The relationships we built up through working in the UN office became even more solid after the visit. This did make our stay in Beijing more enjoyable and memorable.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Office of Student Affairs of my university for nominating me as the only candidate from the university to compete for the internship with candidates from other universities. I would also like to thank Professor Tony Hung and Dr. Suying Yang of the Arts Faculty for their recommendations for the internship. I have to thank them for their confidence in my ability to work for the UNDP. I am certain that this internship formed an important part of my Master’s degree studies and will help me prepare for the challenges ahead.

My special thanks also go to Dr. Josie Zhou who coordinated the internship application procedure from the beginning to the end. She was never tired of hearing my preference for the commencement date of the internship. Her patience and understanding are greatly appreciated. I owe a great debt of thanks to her.

Though this report is not lengthy, it should have captured what I did and my general thoughts on my work. I am so glad that I was part of the United Nations China because the training and support from the staff and fellow interns from different teams of UNDP and other UN China agencies are so valuable. I am deeply grateful to the Peace and Development Foundation and the United Nations China for making this internship programme possible. Once again, thank you so much for the people who support my internship.

FONG Yiu Tung James

Master of Arts in Language Studies

Hong Kong Baptist University

28 August 2006