The last two years have seen unprecedented changes as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. One of them being the way we worked as we knew it, changing dramatically and resulting in a more digitalized and remote working environment.
As a result, in spring 2020 the secretariat welcomed its first remote intern, who started with the Nairobi work programme (NWP), with several more following suite. These aspiring professionals worked tirelessly on a range of tasks supporting colleagues from their homes.
The NWP interns’ work typically included supporting the team with the @AdaptXChange twitter account, note taking during NWP events, helping editing the scoping and briefing papers, writing news stories, working on the Adaptation Knowledge Portal (AKP) and the thematic targets of the NWP targeted outreach to potential NWP partners – and more! Below are some details of the ups and downs of this unique experience from four of the NWP interns, Inga Moellers, Xelani Sigauke Mberi, Patricia Da Matta Alvez and Caitlin McDonald (the latter two interns supported the NWP and Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform (LCIPP) teams).
Pros and Cons of a remote internship
Inga, who is currently studying Political Science at the University of Cologne, worked on the Adaptation Knowledge Portal during her internship and felt that all her expectations were exceeded. She learned a lot about climate change adaptation and enjoyed working in the UN system with an international and diverse team. A highlight of Inga’s tasks was that of working at the back-end of the AKP’s website, with a system she never worked before or at least not comparable.. In her own words: “Working in the back-end and especially with HTML were completely new things to me. Sometimes, this was really challenging for me, but each time something worked, and a task was finished, I was glad”. Something that Inga missed in her virtual internship was chatting with colleagues in person. However, she felt that quick online chats made up for it.
Xela
ni is a Doctor candidate of Business Leadership with the University of South Africa and is studying ICT in Climate Change in Sub-Saharan Africa. For Xelani, who is currently working on the AKP as well as in the thematic area on agriculture and food security, a highlight is to learn the linkages between Parties and stakeholders and how they are aligned within the bigger UN picture, driving towards achieving a sustainable climate. Xelani also highlighted that connecting with experts in her area of studies by attending events allowed her to gain insight that are relevant towards her career goals.
She further reflected that “regardless of being remotely, I managed to support the UNFCCC-NWP work where I was required to. I have managed to gain knowledge and experience of the work of NWP, and I have managed to give my contributions towards ensuring the goals and objectives of UNFCCC-NWP to continue being successful.”
The latest intern was Caitlin, who holds a master’s degree in Multimedia Journalism and is currently studying for her diploma from the National Council for the Training of Journalists in the UK. She was involved in the management of the NWP twitter account, in writing articles that were published on our website´s newsroom and in supporting an NWP event at COP 26 in Glasgow in-person. She learned a lot about climate change adaptation, the shared goals of the UNFCCC and the tireless work that is being done, and thoroughly enjoyed working closely with her team – even remotely!
Like Inga, Caitlin missed the in-person interaction and chats that could have happened in an in-person internship. In the same token she felt that there were plenty of opportunities for learning from team members and benefited from connecting with experts from a diverse range of fields.
Patricia was a communications intern for both the LCIPP and NWP teams.
For her, there were challenges with connectivity and time zones, as well as missing the important networking that can be done in-person. However, she stated that considering the circumstances brought by the pandemic, the experience was a positive one. Patricia now works as Communications Manager for The Nature Conservancy and the Nature4Climate coalition.
The importance of working together
In general, the Adapatation division interns felt that collaboration and teamwork was a very important part of their work. “When reaching out to colleagues, I always got replies in a timely manner and my questions were answered quickly. Also, the training at the beginning of the internship and getting to know the tasks and especially the AKP worked well with video calls or other tools. Regular meetings with the team and my supervisor helped me to stay in touch and get an overview of all the different projects that were worked on,” said Inga.
For Xelani, she felt that interns were embraced into the adaptation family and there was a good communication system, with intern assignments being aligned to “their studies, passions and ambitions and there is freedom to interact with the bigger picture – vulnerability and other divisions falling under the thematic areas of the UNFCCC-NWP.”
Although, Caitlin felt that remote working was challenging at times, the team made all efforts to check upon each other on a regular basis, not only on work related matters but also at a personal level. The team ensured that the interns were instrumental in each step of the different processes of planning, organizing, developing and accountability of outcomes of the events, meetings and daily work: “I feel that the remote internship gave me a clear understanding of the work of the UNFCCC NWP towards achieving climate adaptation and resilience goals, and I felt so lucky to be a part of a pivotal moment such as COP 26.”
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