2023 Internship Report - MIN Rui, Ray

Name: MIN Rui, Ray

Degree: Master of Public Administration (2023 - still enrolled in when writing), Master of Arts in Ethics and Public Aairs (2022-2023), Bachelor of Arts in Religion, Philosophy and Ethics (2018-2022)

University: Hong Kong Baptist University

Position: Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) and Gender Intern

UN Host Agency: United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)

Duration: 31 August 2023 - 31 January 2024 (6 months)

Sponsorship: United Nations Peace and Development Foundation (UNPDF) Supervisor: WEN Hua (Main, SRHR team), REN Yanan (Gender team)

Assignment:

• Supporting SRHR programme implementation and coordination

• Supporting Gender programme implementation and coordination

• Supporting Communication programme implementation and coordination

• Supporting the other tasks

(UN ﬂag at UN compound, Beijing, 2023)

This six-month internship experience sponsored by UNPDF has been the most amazing and precious journey of my life (at least so far XD). To put it bluntly, I love the United

Nations very much. But before that, the UN seemed to me just a star in the night sky. Its story, history, mission, and spirit inspired and guided me, but I never thought that I would have the opportunity to be a part of the UN.

Everything changed on 5 April 2023. On that day, I received an email from the Career Centre introducing internship opportunities sponsored by UNPDF. I just applied with the mentality of giving it a try. I was nervous during the interview, but it went through without a hitch. A month later, I got an o er to join the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

Working at UNFPA is exciting. In addition to some routine work involving translation, information collection, document preparation, etc., I mainly supported the following programmes at UNFPA:

Beijing-Nanning South-South Cooperation in Maternal and Child Health Workshop: This international event was the largest SRHR programme I was involved in during the internship. I comprehensively supported the preparation and conduction. It was a rare opportunity to observe how an international conference and exchange event can be planned, prepared and conducted at a very close distance.
Revision of the “Guidelines for Medical Intervention Services Responding to Violence Against Women”: Policy and research, principle and operation, international and domestic, expert and frontline, all of these are considerations when reviewing a technical guideline. Facing complexity, staying diverse and maintaining discretion are the things I learned during this process. This Gender programme was also a chance for me to connect the academics I learned before with the practices there are.
Interviews Programmes: It was out of my expectations that I participated in many things for the communication team. It was a special experience to witness other's lives by hosting interviews. It also helped me to train myself to socialise with various people.

(Night view at UNFPA China oice, Beijing, 2023)

Beyond that, what must never be left out are the people I met. My two supervisors, Wen Hua and Ren Yanan, are not only pioneers and key ﬁgures in the ﬁeld of SRHR and Gender in China, but also excellent mentors. I have learned a lot with their support. The Representative, Deputy Representative and all other oicials not only provide me with personal support, but also create an inclusive and friendly workplace at UNFPA China.

I would like to especially mention the young people I met during this internship, including interns, UN volunteers and consultants from UNFPA China and other UN agencies. The encounter with these young people from di erent places and backgrounds is an irreplaceable part of this internship. It is not only related to personal network and career development, but also brings personality growth and lifelong friendship.

(I'm the second one from the right in the photo, at the UNFPA China oice, Beijing, 2023)

(I'm the ﬁrst one from the left in the photo, at the UNICEF China oice, Beijing, 2023)

How would I summarise my internship experience? Back to the beginning of this article, "amazing and precious". This internship allowed me to practice my knowledge, gain professional experience, establish my interest in international organisations, and build connections and friendships. Even though this job has ended, its inspiration and support will be long-lasting.

Last but not least, many thanks to UNPDF for sponsoring and supporting this internship. Without them, none of this would be possible. I would like to express my special gratitude for their work and invite more young people to learn about and participate in UNPDF’s internship-sponsoring program.