Xie Yuan
MJ, the University of Hong Kong


My internship at UNDP China was from June to Mid-November. During the five and half months, I have seen a tremendous growth and development of my abilities.

I had two major responsibilities at UNDP China. One was to assist the Communications Officer, Ms. Zhang Wei, in drafting press releases; conducting basic research, compiling background materials, statistical data and briefing notes for media events and advocacy activities; and organizing media events such as press briefings, conferences and other media events. The other was to assist the Website Manager, Mr. Su Yan, in managing UN China website.

All my work was related to what I have learned in my Master of Journalism Program at the University of Hong Kong. It is a position where my strong writing, analytical, and communication skills, eye for detail and knowledge in new media could be put to very productive use. In the very beginning, I thought of drafting press release would be easy for me. But my first article on UNDPˇs response to Wenchuan Earthquake and the script for animation on the website have few trails of my writing after being proofread by the former Deputy Country Director of UNDP China, Mr. Renaud Meyer. It was till that moment I realized that the writing style of UNDPˇs press release should be similar to journalistic writing, but somehow not the same. It has its own rules of diction and manner. Fortunately, Ms. Zhang Wei, who has been nice and patient all the time, supported me by sharing her experiences and suggestions with me. Later I became more conscious in work, and published six press releases on the UNDP and UN China websites.

One of the most exciting attributes of interning at UNDP is to meet people from around the world. I have met the Secretary-General Mr. Ban Ki-moon, four Under Secretary-General, ambassadors, and many renowned scholars and experts as well. During Mr. Ban Ki-moonˇs visit to China from July 1 to 3, the Communications Office of UNDP China was responsible of facilitating some media events. I, with another intern Miss Chi Bin, was assigned to support the media workflow of SGˇs visit to China Foreign Affairs University. Facilitating such a huge event was mind-blowing, yet it is one-of-a-kind experience for me to grow.

The versatile nature of working in Communications Office made my work a continual challenge and valuable learning experience. This year, UNDP has involved itself in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Wenchuan Earthquake relief and recovery, carbon neutral initiative, food safety, launching the 2007/08 China Human Development Report, and etc. To assist the Communications Officer in organizing media events on different topics, I worked within a team as well as cross-team. I had the chance to know a variety of industries and business. I also found the orientation workshops organized by the HR Office very helpful in quickly familiarizing with UNDPˇs practice areas and staff from different teams.

Working with the Website Manager also provided me with the chance to learn more about website management. Besides content management and update, I also made time for translating the contents of the UN China Website and helped build the Chinese version of the website.

I was fortunate to work for the UNDP Country Office, as all staff were a joy to work with. I am particularly thankful for the supervision of Ms. Zhang Wei and Mr. Su Yan, and assistance of staff from different agencies, programmes, teams and task forces. Their help has made my experience at UNDP much more rewarding. They are my friends now. As I stay in Beijing after graduation, we sometimes hang out and have a great time together.

Last but not least, I feel truly grateful to the Peace and Development Foundation for offering me the great opportunity and sponsoring my internship.