Author: yipeng

So it has been a bit over one week since my arrival at WHO and it feels as though so much as happened. I have met a lot of new and interesting people, settled into an apartment in Geneva, been a bit of a tourist, worked on some tasks here and there, and constantly learning a lot from everything around me.

Please remember these are simply my observations and reflections on my own experiences thus far, and simply that. I am aware that many interns here experience things so very differently from one another since the working environment, the supervision, the projects, can differ so much. However, some things and thoughts are probably similar. Nevertheless, some of the big things that pop out to me at this point that I want to reflect on are…

Working at WHO

On my first day here at WHO, it definitely felt quite surreal. While a lot of my first day and subsequent days involved getting orientated to the building, the organization, and the department, it was quite the unique experience. It felt very much like the first day of school in September as a student – you try to meet as many people as you can, you try to ask as many questions without disturbing others too much, and you don’t want to forget your lunch money, etc. Everyone is quite friendly and supportive, and it definitely helps that there is a dedicated intern association that looks after and helps welcome new interns.

With my couple days of being an intern so far, on a day to day basis, it feels very much like a relaxed academic institution similar to any other office workplace. But the opportunities to connect with mentors and supervisors and the learning experiences you are able to engage yourself in are unlike any other. There are often lunchtime seminars where staff present their work and share findings, which are great opportunities to hear about things happening in other departments. And I have yet to do this, but the opportunity to connect with senior staff over a cup of coffee is highly accessible and recommended. The experience here is also very much ‘what you put in is what you get out of it’ – the more that I invest myself in seeking opportunities to learn and seek advice from others at WHO, the more learning I will be able to take back with me.

I feel as though I am still trying grasp the gravity of what it means to be a part of this organization. I feel very much a part of something bigger, an institution that is capable of so much, but often can’t help but also feel very removed from the actual impacts that the institution makes.

I knew that I wanted to come to WHO to see it for myself and to understand if what others tell me about the institution are true. I came into the organization understanding little about the actual structure of authority, but soon felt a need to get accustomed the many acronyms that are thrown around to describe a staff position, a department, a project, etc. etc. I suppose I have also been exposed to the particularly complex workings of the institution that make it particularly bureaucratic and political, although what was I to expect for an organization with 194 member states.

Meeting new and interesting people
Being here at WHO, has definitely put me outside of my comfort zone in meeting and interacting with so many different, new, and especially interesting people on a daily basis. And the mindset that I use in approaching these interactions is seeing the learning opportunity and positivity out of every interaction. Interacting with other people, staff, interns, seemingly random strangers in the city, is super interesting – all you need to do is listen and you learn a lot about the way other people think, the way that you think yourself, and the world around you. Let anyone be your teacher, just listen to them with an active- and open-mind. And take every opportunity to learn and try new things. I am pleasantly surprised each and every day by other people and the way they will open up to you, mentor you, give words of wisdom, provide insight, and share a unique story.

Pushing myself outside of my comfort zone by meeting new people and constantly engaging in discussions can be tiring for myself and recognizing that was definitely important for me. I felt quite tired over the past week and a bit because I found myself with a lot less time in solidarity and to reflect on my own, but in making time for myself for this very reason, I was able to recharge and find a routine that I am comfortable and motivated with.

The opportunity to be here
It is an incredible privilege to attend this unpaid internship in Geneva, Switzerland.

I am still unravelling the privilege and opportunity involved with being a part of the internship programme at WHO. It is an opportunity brought upon by many privileges of a young professionals’ socioeconomic background, educational background, merit and talent, nationality, but also networking and connections.

I came across two articles in the UN Special that resonated with me about my feelings towards my experiences so far and the representation of nationalities within the internship program at WHO. Here are two excerpts from the articles:

“Unfortunately, for many bright and highly-qualified young people around the world, especially from least developed and developing countries, living in a city like Geneva is a luxury they cannot afford. Therefore, taking an internship here becomes an exclusionary and elitist process since the selection criteria are not only based on merit and talent but economic means.” “Have you seen the intern?” by Carolina Urrego-Sandoval – Page 34 of June 2016 UN Special

“As the internship programme is administered by WHO, many expect it to be compatible with global health ambitions. However, research has shown that participation of Member State nationals is inconsistent with WHO’s own HRH policy. For example, in 2014 a study showed 50% of interns at the flagship headquarters programme were from just 2 Member States; with less than a quarter from developing countries.” “Bringing WHO’s internship program in line with global health policy” by Ashton Barnett-Vanes and Maziar Jamnejad – Page 20 of May 2016 UN Special

Geneva, the city
The city is quite beautiful. I really haven’t done as much exploring of the city as I would like to after work, but I have made the trip down to the lake and biked around casually after work. I have never been to Europe before, and it may be hard to believe this, but after leaving Canada for almost two weeks now, it still hasn’t quite sunk in. I really enjoy the mountains, the greenery, and the picturesque architecture that you can find just around every corner – it has all felt very surreal, and I will probably feel this way for quite a bit longer.

The city is a very unique hub of international organizations and representations from all around the world. I have heard from others that Geneva as a city is not extraordinarily exciting and definitely more expensive compared to its city counterparts in France or other parts of Switzerland. But I think I disagree, as I feel that there is something truly stimulating and electric about this city for its ability, or rather how it serves as a platform, for bridging international relations and fostering collaboration. An excerpt from another article I found interesting:

“Geneva, with a long history as a hub for international economic and trade relations, is today among the world’s most important centres of international cooperation. It not only hosts the second-largest UN office but also more than 30 international organisations, diplomatic representations of almost all countries, and at least 250 non-governmental organisations. Approximately half of all Geneva’s residents are foreign nationals. Or as Illona Kickbusch, professor at the Graduate Institute in Geneva, puts it in this latest edition of Multilateral Accent: “Here, one doesn’t speak about the others, the others are here.”” “Editorial” by Michael Gerber – Multilateral Accent Issue 20/June 2016 

More personal things
I am living on my own in a different city, many thousands of kilometres away from home, without the comfort of family and friends to rely on. Being on my own has been hard of course, but it’s also been very exciting. It’s been interesting to need to rely on myself fully to remember to make sure all of my everyday living things and personal things are taken care of – such as moving into an apartment, navigating the transportation system, buying groceries, figuring out phone stuff, etc. Nothing out of the ordinary and nothing strenuous, but I do wish I had better French abilities to help me get around and getting lost on the transportation system a few times definitely taught me a few lessons to say the least.

There is also this feeling of how to balance the transient relationships you build with others. Some people that I meet I may encounter quite a few times, but others, maybe much less so, but there seems to be this collective sense that we are on tight schedules and that the time that we spend here will go fairly quickly. And in the relationships that I build in the office, I am aware and acknowledging certain limits and responsibilities as a temporary employee that is here to learn, but also contribute in ways if possible.

Also another lingering thought is this balance of changing your mindset on a frequent basis of feeding the travel bug/wanderlust and switching back to a public/global health mindset and reminding yourself why you are here in the first place. A balance is exactly that. Taking time to relax, enjoy, and smell the roses in Geneva, but also to learn and experience WHO as an intern so you are able to take something out from it that teaches you about the fields of work you are drawn to and helps you question what you understand and perceive about the institution and how it impacts the world.

 

Till next time,

Yipeng

 

 

Preface

I have always wanted to put my thoughts and feelings about global health into words and share them with others but never found the courage to. These reservations are probably due to a discomfort and a lack of confidence in my writing for effectively portraying my ideas in a succinct and eloquent manner, and also thinking that I don’t have anything important to share – which both still holds true very likely. As scary and intimidating as writing this journal may seem, I think it will provide a good learning opportunity making them even more exciting and equally nerve wracking to pursue – at least that’s what I tell myself when faced with intimidating tasks. I’d like to start off by providing a fair warning that my thoughts and reflections here will likely be a bit messy but will be an authentic reflection of my current thoughts, and hopefully I can articulate that in writing.

So why am I doing this now? With my transition out of undergraduate studies and into an exciting new experience as an intern at the World Health Organization (WHO) for two months, I feel compelled to document my thoughts as complex and messy as they may seem in my head, onto paper or technically these pixels that make up words on the digital screen before you.

I will be spending the next two months in Geneva, Switzerland as an intern in the Department of Prevention of Noncommunicable Diseases (PND) at the WHO. It would sound strange to say that it was a difficult decision to choose this path even after strongly wanting to intern and do something interesting the summer after graduating, but it was. In short, it comes down to time and money. As the experience will be an expensive one, one that not many have the means to attend and afford. And it would also take up time that I could spend with friends, family, working, relaxing, etc. I definitely acknowledge this opportunity as one that is particularly privileged for these very reasons.

I am writing these thoughts down to share with you my experiences, my thoughts, and feelings about the opportunity I will embark on soon. I am hopeful that this experience will broaden my perspectives and provide a fruitful learning environment. And that these updates will too provide a valuable snapshot of my learning and observations for others to ponder, regardless of our different paths.

I know documenting will be a particularly valuable exercise for myself as a learner to grow. But this also serves as some insight and a snapshot into my life for my colleagues, mentors, friends, and family. So please don’t hesitate to ask questions or share your thoughts with me about anything.

Intro

So what brought me here? And where is here? I’m interested in health, particularly the health of populations, and also inequity, which is also intimately linked to social conditions. But where I am is actually not all that clear to me. I know that I have many different interests and I’m spending time doing things that intrigue me and I seek to continue to challenge myself in opportunities that often raises more questions about these interests. I often find myself in a place with more questions than answers.

Going back to what brought me here…. I believe it was a lot of chance, a few somewhat important decisions here and there, incredible mentors, supportive friends and family, and more serendipity. And I say chance because of the opportunities and privileges I’ve had are a result of things that I couldn’t control, but benefit me, like my upbringing in Canada and being born into a family with supportive hardworking immigrant parents that strongly value education, etc. etc. I also know that I’m a very indecisive person from small to big decisions alike. From a last minute decision of my undergraduate program to what I would choose to involve myself in soon after didn’t come easily. I like to think that if I chose another path that I would still have found an area of work that suits me and that I really enjoy; but it’s hard to say.

What I do know is that soon after my first year of undergraduate studies, in health sciences, I gained a drive and desire to learn more about health inequities. I found my footing in global health, although the field itself and its definition is not all that clear, but I suppose my understanding and what interests me about this field of study and work is simply the concept of health inequity and asking questions about why things are the way they are and how do we work collectively to address them. I exposed myself to the field by working in population level epidemiological research and learning about indigenous health and community based work and research. I think and strongly believe that I have found myself in this position and path because I’m interested a simple but also at the same time enormously complex concept of inequity. It’s something that makes me incredibly frustrated and angry and often leaves me confused and defeated – possibly reinforcing my motivation and drive for learning more. I’m sure you’ve heard “do what makes you happy”, it’s like that, but rather figure out what lights a fire in you to learn more about something and to do something about it, and go in the direction of that field.

Something that has likely significantly impacted my trajectory would be my parents, but for possibly unexpected reasons. They are supportive but stern at times, caring but quite honest, open minded but also quite hard headed sometimes. My dad grew up in a very rural part of China and simply put, education was the only means out for him to build a better life for himself and his family. His stories of his childhood, his growing up, and his mentality towards education along with my mom’s perspective on happiness and positivity are quite inspirational and impactful on the person and character that I am today.

Having graduated from my undergrad last month I can’t help but think of what closing this chapter in my life means. If I only take one lesson from my studies it would be to think critically and ask questions. But I guess another would be that group work is pretty hard. But somewhere in there is also the lesson of reflection and self awareness. I believe that I do a lot of thinking and reflection and to translate it onto paper is almost therapeutic, yet another reason why I feel like I should be writing this. It’s hard to think four years of school went by that quickly, but I don’t think time will slow down. So many things are seemingly changing in everyone’s lives, or maybe I am just noticing the changes more, and just have to adapt and grow; reminding yourself what you’re passionate about and that it’s okay if it adapts and changes too.

When I think of my dad’s upbringing and my not so distant relatives that aren’t afforded the same privileges and opportunities as I have, ‘just different lives is all’ is what I tell myself. Sometimes I struggle with the concept that I live an incredibly different life with different opportunities from close cousins and relatives. Every time I visit China, I am reminded of the privilege and naivety that I grew up with being in Canada. It is with this different upbringing that has possibly brought me to my ideologies of what at this moment I want to spend my time and efforts in, and what I value. Speaking strictly academically, I value my growth in terms of skills and knowledge in the field of global and public health. A path motivated by a desire for understanding health and social inequities that exist at home and globally.

I find myself facing seemingly different worlds of understanding and approaches to life and careers. Generalizing… In passing conversations with peers and friends, there is often a mutual feeling of uncertainty but optimism and drive to pursue a unique passion or to ponder new questions. While on the other hand, I find myself struggling to put into words and provide a deeper appreciation of my interests to my family members, although it’s probably linked to my poor Chinese abilities. However in speaking with my relatives in China, there is a traditional mindset of finding a job to provide for a current and future family and self.

Why specifically do I want to do this? As someone who is interested in global health, which hopefully came across in the past paragraphs, I want to see it for myself and absorb what the organization is like functioning and performing. A leader in global health research and policy recommendations, thus the exposure is something I want to be immersed in.

I am very thankful to have financial support from the Thinkswiss research scholarship. I have the pleasure of writing a blog post for Thinkswiss, which serves as yet another reason to push me to write this journal. I am also thankful for the many other individuals that have helped me in countless different ways.

This probably seemed like a lot of rambling, so thank you for making it this far. I ensure you that future updates will not be this long-winded and messy. And as I mentioned above, please share your thoughts, ideas, or updates with me as well, I’d love to hear them.

Yipeng