QUNO - Geneva - August 2010
Holly Mason White, Quaker United Nations Office
Dear Friends,
As some of you may be aware, each year QUNO runs a two week Summer School for 26 young people to come and learn about the work of the UN, QUNO, and the Geneva institutions. As well as formal learning, it’s also an opportunity for participants from all over the world to share ideas, enthusiasm, and develop thoughts on future career plans. It’s fascinating to see the changes in people (and ourselves) throughout the process – and it’s made me reflect that in some ways, the trajectory of the Summer School has some similar attributes to the year here. I arrived feeling nervous, excited, expectant, buoyed up but also overwhelmed by all there was to learn and do. I experienced that first initial buzz of realising that I was surrounded – at work, home in the Foyer and in the city in general - by people who have the same underlying motivation as me, to do something meaningfulwith our lives. My first visit to the UN brought a childlike excitement, but also a certain attitude of ‘will it prove my cynicism wrong?’ As the months progressed I settled into routines, and people, streets, UN schedules and tram timetables all became familiar. I found my favourite jogging spot where a strenuous hill climb rewards you with a view of Mt Blanc. Work took on its own momentum, I found my niche and became involved in my own research. The winter weather was a challenge but also brought the delight of snow, the excuse to get up into the Swiss mountains, and eat lots of fondue!
One of the highlights of my time here, and something I feel very lucky to have experienced, came in April with the UNODC Crime Congress in Brazil. During the eight day conference in Salvador, we hosted a side-meeting on children of prisoners, presenting the COPING project and the paper I’d written on a Draft Framework on children of prisoners. The Quaker delegation also delivered an oral statement on children of prisoners to one of the main conference workshops. We were pleased that the final draft document, the Draft Salvador Declaration, contained a mention, albeit brief, of the importance of taking into account the needs of children of prisoners. One subject we followed closely during the Congress was the Draft UN Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-Custodial Measures for Women Offenders. These were welcomed by the Congress, and have now been adopted by the Vienna-based UN Crime Commission. Whilst implementation will obviously be the key, it’s been very rewarding to see an issue so important to QUNO and Quakers in general come to fruition in this way. The Crime Congress wasn’t all work however. Whilst the daytimes were hectic the evenings brought a chance to explore Pelourinho, the old town, to sample some Salvadorian food, and join in with the frivolity of street parties (whilst avoiding the torrential rain!).
No sooner were we back from Brazil than preparation for the Summer School began in earnest. We had been warned that this was a mammoth task, and so were feeling quite relaxed when, with a few weeks to go, the schedule, accommodation and food arrangements were all coming together. We were slightly jolted out of this Zen-like mood by the usual pre-School hiccups (including one participant only getting his visa a couple of days before he flew here from Uzbekistan!). And so to the Summer School itself…well what a high to end the year on! Challenges came in the form of last-minute speaker problems, the UN security section deciding they weren’t in the mood to issue us with passes this year, various disappearing lunches, the way a group of 28 people move at roughly a quarter of the speed of a group of say four, and the difficulty of getting enough sleep! However these were vastly outweighed by the positives – the chance to spend an intense two weeks with 26 enthusiastic, bright, warm and fun young people, whilst learning an immense amount about the Geneva institutions, about QUNO’s work (there’s always more to learn!) and the best spots to swim in the lake. I have also found the experience immensely personally satisfying, and it has given me great confidence in my organisational skills (and perhaps patience!). The sessions on the last day gave us all a chance to reflect on what was to come and how we can make a difference, not just in our professional careers but also in our personal lives. It also made me reflect on how amazing it is that you can meet 26 total strangers and two weeks later part as friends, complete with promises to keep in touch and offers to visit all the corners of the globe.
I attended the QUNO New York Summer School in 2002. In our final session we reflected on the future, on hopes we had, but also challenges we felt we may face as we struggled to live out our beliefs. One thing I shared with the group was my fear that my biggest challenge may be myself – how to foster my confidence and sense of my place in the world so that I may live out the life I wanted. Over these past few weeks, and in fact this entire year, this is something I have had in my mind. I think in conclusion, I would like to say that my experience at QUNO has helped me immeasurably in this area. That initial thrill of being offered the position, the feeling that someone sees the potential in you and wants to help you achieve it. The sense I have got in the UN, and from the people I’ve met here, that we are all just that – people – who are trying our best in what are not always easy circumstances. The camaraderie, support and mentoring I have gained from colleagues and peers. The confidence I have gained from seeing my own work – whether it be research or assisting with a QUNO lunch – come to fruition. The laughter and fond memories I have shared with new friends. This has all helped me feel a renewed sense of my own place, and my own strength, in this journey to live out my beliefs in a meaningful and positive way. For this I give huge thanks to all here at QUNO, and to all who have made this possible. This experience will stay with me for a lifetime.
In friendship,
Holly Mason-White
August 2010
