Officially UNed!

The 5th of June was my first day at work. After getting my United Nations Ground Pass ID I am now able to access what was previously restricted. Every day now, I walk through a metal detector, push my laptop into an X-Ray belt and show my UN ID to a security guard. It's like a ritual... A ritual that makes me feel that I am part of something important.

The UN headquarters is a very singular place. It is marked as international territory and there is over 150 nationalities represented in the same space. Being in a place like this is unique, and although I have double citizenship, I still feel like a tourist.


The office that I work in is called News and Media Division of the UN. This department is responsible for getting the UN message out into the world via different types of media, such as: Internet, Radio, Television & Video, News... and further types of communication vehicles that help promote and distribute the UN outside and inside.
During the first week I attended my first meeting where I was introduced to the team that I'll be working with for the rest of this fellowship. Everyone in it is from a different part of the globe: Belgium, Japan, the Philipnes, Jamaica, Russia... I am very pleased to be part of such an international mix.