UNHCR’s Ottawa office is just steps from Parliament Hill, which Rafay visited both as a tourist and while filming a video for UNHCR.
Before diving into the details of my experience—which I hope can provide insight into what interning at UNHCR entails and be helpful for other students considering applying for internships through the AIO—I want to emphasize that none of this would have been possible without the AIO's partnership with UNHCR and the generous financial support of Mrs. Gael Eakin through the Gael Eakin Canada Internship Award, for which I am sincerely grateful.
At UNHCR, I worked for the Communications and External Relations team at their Canadian Branch Office in Ottawa. The role felt especially meaningful, as the team's mission of educating Canadians about refugee issues, advocating for supportive policies, and building partnerships with government and civil society has taken on urgent importance amid global funding cuts that threaten UNHCR's life-saving work.
Rafay arranged for landmarks across Canada to be lit in UNHCR blue on World Refugee Day as a show of solidarity with refugees.
From early in my time at university, I hoped to gain experience interning within the UN to explore the issues I was studying in my classes in a ‘real-world’ setting. Like many students, however, I soon realized that securing these positions independently presents significant barriers, from the highly competitive application process to the prohibitive costs of relocating to another city for work. When I learned about the AIO's partnership with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, I knew right away that this was an opportunity I had to pursue. In the winter semester of my second year at McGill, I was incredibly fortunate to be selected for a summer internship with the organization, and what followed was one of the most fulfilling experiences of my university career thus far.
Each morning of my internship began with a set of recurring tasks: compiling press clippings on refugee and asylum issues, as well as major political and global updates, to be circulated to UNHCR staff nationwide; triaging UNHCR’s Canadian inbox and responding to or redirecting inquiries from individuals around the world seeking assistance; and managing UNHCR’s Canadian social media presence across all platforms, which included creating Canada-specific videos, carousels, and graphics, and developing outreach strategies for campaigns and events. Beyond these recurring tasks, no two days were quite the same: one day I was drafting a press release for an upcoming UNHCR report; the next, helping plan and coordinate a public event; another, clipping interviews given by UNHCR’s Representative in Canada, Tracey Maulfair, to radio stations across the country for social media; and the following, compiling lists of political and civil society contacts to strengthen external relations efforts.
As part of his internship with UNHCR’s Communications and External Relations team in Canada, Rafay wrote various press releases and feature stories.
A significant highlight of my internship was leading UNHCR's Canadian social media campaign in the weeks leading up to World Refugee Day on June 20 and during the release of UNHCR's
Global Trends report, the organization's flagship publication on forced displacement worldwide. As part of World Refugee Day, I also secured the lighting of landmarks across the country in UNHCR blue. Seeing iconic sites from coast to coast, including the CN Tower, Niagara Falls, and BC Place, illuminate in solidarity with refugees on June 20 was an unforgettable moment.
Another especially meaningful part of my internship was meeting former refugees from across Canada and writing feature articles for UNHCR’s website that shared their inspiring stories and the incredible work they are doing to uplift others. I profiled Maryam Masoomi, who, while fleeing the Taliban, coordinated the escape of 200 people from Afghanistan and now works as a youth settlement worker; Milad Rajabi, who founded the podcast Refugee Talk to amplify refugee voices; and Dacious Richardson, who uses soccer to help refugees find belonging (as part of UNHCR's campaign spotlighting the power of sport in uplifting refugees ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup). Meeting these incredible individuals, along with many others, reinforced how vital it is to show Canadians the remarkable resilience and contributions of refugees.
Beyond these projects, I was struck by UNHCR's strong commitment to staff learning and development. In addition to gaining essential insights into the organization's work, whether through all-staff meetings in Ottawa, connecting with colleagues worldwide on global calls, or virtually attending a town hall with UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, I also had the valuable opportunity to learn from external experts in sessions organized for UNHCR staff in Canada. These included an exclusive strategy session with David Coletto, founder and CEO of Abacus Data, on polling and public opinion research related to refugees, as well as a webinar with Darrell Bricker, Global CEO of Public Affairs at IPSOS.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi addresses UNHCR staff during a town hall that Rafay attended virtually as part of his internship.
All in all, my experience interning with UNHCR this summer has been truly transformative, solidifying my desire to hopefully pursue a career in a similar setting one day. I encourage anyone reading this and considering applying for an internship with the AIO to take that leap and apply. Even if you doubt your chances, applying is always worthwhile because you never know what might happen! Finally, I want to thank my colleagues at UNHCR, some of the kindest and most dedicated people I have ever worked with, for their mentorship and support, and once again, the AIO and Mrs. Gael Eakin for making this opportunity possible.
