2019 Internship Report - Christine WONG

Name: Christine Wong

Postgraduate Certificate in Laws

The University of Hong Kong

Position: UN Coordination Intern, UN Resident Coordinator’s Office in China (RCO)

Duration: May 2019 – August 2019 (3 months)

Sponsorship: United Nations Peace Development Foundation

Supervisor: Ms. Elin Bergman

It is my pleasure to have worked in the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office in China this summer. The office takes a unique position in the UN system which provides support to the Resident Coordinator and the UN Country Team in China to improve the overall effectiveness and efficiency of the UN system in China. The internship in this office was definitely a fruitful experience in my university life.

My job duties were extensive and covered various areas including inter-agency coordination, preparation for Resident Coordinator’s visits and speeches, partnership and project implementation agreement review and communications. My first challenging task was to prepare for the UN Country Team meeting and draft minutes for it. The meeting held regularly was an occasion where the heads of agencies gathered to discuss the inter-agency cooperation works as well as the priorities and initiatives of the UN system in China. It was a great opportunity for me to learn from the discussions how the over 20 UN agencies work together on UN reform, setting clear targets and taking real actions to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

In addition to the works for the UN Country Team, I also prepared briefing package and drafted talking points for the Resident Coordinator for his visits to various cities and events. Preparing remarks on a variety of topics like UN-China-Africa collaboration and food security has enabled me to have a deeper understanding on these issues and the role of UN in helping with the country’s national development and global engagement.

As regards to the communications, I was fortunate to be able to offer assistance to activities and events for the 40th Anniversary of UN in China as well as the 75th Anniversary of UN, such as the special TV programme, photo exhibition, UN Night in October, booklet publishing and press event. Working on these projects has allowed me to know about the joint works done by the UN agencies on a number of areas like poverty alleviation, education and food security in China in the past 40 years, which made my works more meaningful and enjoyable.

Last but not least, I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to my supervisor, Ms. Elin Bergman, and all the colleagues in the office for their guidance. I am also thankful for the generous supports provided by the United Nations Peace Development Foundation throughout the internship. Spending the past few months in the UN office in China is certainly one of the most rewarding and memorable experience in my university life.