So what exactly am I doing in New York?

So what exactly am I doing in New York?

Here is a brief answer:

I am working for the Mennonite Central Committee’s United Nations Liaison Office. In which there is the director, a program associate, and myself. Together we attempt to act as intermediaries between MCC’s personnel in the “field” and those creating the policies at the UN.

So what that looks like on a day-to-day basis?

For me it has looked like skimming about a hundred news articles a day, mainly focusing on Africa as well as the highlights from the rest of the world. Knowing the contexts, the relevant developing events, and the limitations of the countries/governments where MCC is working.

It also looks like skype calls with MCC personnel, getting updates on the local perspective.

It looks like working with  missions to the UN from various countries, and their Ambassadors; editing, critiquing, and advocating for changes in upcoming UN resolutions.

It looks like participating in a food-security working group, made up of representatives from other NGOs, which lobbies for agricultural practices that are environmentally sustainable, small scale, local market, enabling women, and productive.

It looks like attending briefings, hearing directly from Special Representatives to the Secretary General or Ambassadors from various countries. Getting the inside scoop on various world issues.

Highlights so far:

After a skype call with MCC Haiti, Kayon (the program associate) and I met with Ambassador Noel Sinclair of the Caribbean Community - Caricom. We discussed talking points he would bring to his evening dinner the next day. By the end of the meeting, he was taking seriously the integral human capital and knowledge that Caribbean countries could offer Haiti, which large western counties are unable to offer.

Sitting in an off-the-record meeting with the Ambassador France.

Two lunch briefing with the Special Representatives of the Secretary General - Burundi and Libya.

Beyond that, I have a few projects I am working on:

I am working on compiling a short paper that will be given to college students who are coming to visit MCC UN in October. The topic of this year’s conference is, “Where do we go from here? Refugees, Internally Displaced Persons, and Migrants”.

I also am editing, adding to, and fact checking a paper that will be presented in Winnipeg in October. It is on the how human rights, specifically the responsibility to protect, has become a new justification for war.

I am also writing an article for Global Scholarly Journal called, “A Mennonite Vision for Tolerance and Global Peace”. Global Scholarly Journal is a publication that focuses on the globalization of knowledge, bringing together eastern and western thought. It  is putting together a journal in honour of an Islamic Shia scholar, in which the essay I am working on will be a part.

Just for fun, here are three of my favourite New York songs.