Year in Review The Internships During the COVID pandemic and in the fall, the work of U.N. agencies and government missions surely did not stop. States continued to negotiate policy. The General Assembly rolled on, with its component committee meetings and geopolitical idiosyncrasies. In some ways there were few changes, and, of course, in other ways, the entire period was new and unprecedented. The College made a decision to suspend the in-person component of the program in late July/early August, when it became clear that Oxy could provide less security for students and faculty. Concurrently, U.N. headquarters suspended much of its on-site operations and generally shifted to remote format. Agency and government mission staff took cues both from the U.N. and from New York City and state public health regulations. In short, Oxy held on as long as it could before closing the door to an in-person experience. When it became clear that there was no safe option on a few fronts, the decision was made to alter the plan. Of course, this was deeply disappointing for all involved. However, our group of 18 students–the G’20, as they came to be known–dove into their professional experiences with maturity and deep commitment. Many of the students monitored meetings that started at 6 a.m. in California; one student completed her internship from six hours ahead of New York time, working until after midnight each night. COVID provided, for at least some of the students, an accidental theme across their work. One student designed the official General Assembly face mask for the U.K. mission. Another analyzed data for the United Nations Development Programme’s first publication on COVID and development. Still another reviewed rights of young people in the context of the pandemic for UNICEF. For some, though, the work remained all about “the regular things” of the General Assembly. They reviewed U.N. budgets, helped craft statements on resolutions, and researched current pressing topics including gender-based violence, the war in Syria and reducing threats in outer space. One student working for the Costa Rican mission supported a campaign for that country’s candidate to the International Criminal Court.
Pictured above: Part of the G’20 cohort.
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