I want to begin by thanking Ms. Martine Vanasse and Mr. Randall Wilbert for their generous funding of the Vanasse Wilbert International Experience Internship Award. My name is Laia Charles Saigne, and I’m entering my third year as a Political Science student at McGill University, with minors in Environment and Management. This past summer, I had the privilege of interning at the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), in their Latin America and Caribbean regional office in Panama City.
The internship allowed me to contribute meaningfully to UNFPA’s work in a dynamic and multicultural environment. UNFPA focuses on promoting sexual and reproductive health for women, adolescents, and girls, while also supporting the development of crucial population and development data. In this region, their efforts span from reducing gender-based violence, teenage pregnancy, and child marriage, to ensuring access to services in emergency settings.
As part of the communications team, my tasks ranged from creative to more straightforward assignments. Early on, I translated several articles and adapted the UNFPA website into English. Two particularly interesting tasks involved drafting a concept note for a side event at the CEPAL conference and watching the UNFPA Executive Board Meeting and extracting key quotes to feature on social media. It was a powerful insight into the high-level decision-making process -- especially at a time when international support for UNFPA is unstable, amid the broader UN reform process (UN80).
Later, I wrote stories about UNFPA’s projects to end teenage pregnancies in the Caribbean and in Ecuador, told through the voices of the participants of sex education and empowerment workshops. I also produced an article for the World Youth Day and designed creative visual materials, including invitations for an FFD4 high-level side events and the launch of an internal platform on sexual misconduct prevention.
A highlight of my experience was initiating and writing a three-article series on the role and relevance of UNFPA and sexual and reproductive rights in today’s political context. I've always believed that part of the skepticism around these institutions comes from a lack of clarity about what they actually do, so having the opportunity to contribute to making their mission more accessible was deeply meaningful to me.
Overall, this internship gave me the opportunity to have a greater insight into day-to-day work of the United Nations and the impact it manages to make on the ground. I learned the crucial role of communications in both amplifying the campaigns but also building legitimacy with donors.
It challenged me to step outside of my comfort zone -- whether by taking initiative on new projects, adapting to a completely different environment, or engaging with complex topics -- and helped me grow both personally and professionally. It was an experience that not only strengthened my interest in international cooperation but also gave me the confidence to see where I could contribute.
Finally, I am grateful to have received the Vanasse Wilbert International Experience Internship Award. Thanks to the generous support from Ms. Martine Vanasse and Mr. Randall Edwin Wilbert, I was able to fully dedicate myself to this experience without financial concern.
