My day at the at the United Nations (UN)
Updated: Apr 23, 2022
Thanks to the UN Shadowing Program, I got an unique opportunity to spend a day at the United Nations in Vienna at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). As the name of the program says, I became the "shadow" of a selected employee in the Department of Technical Cooperation within the IAEA and in November 2019 I visited the Vienna International Centre in Vienna.
I spent my day mainly an the department dealing with the promotion of the IAEA's work to the public. Therefore, I visited the Multimedia Studio department where I saw how the documents and press news are prepared. This visit was followed by the meeting with the director of the department Mr. Martin Kraus who introduced me to the projects on which the agency is working. After this meeting, I took a tour of all the buildings, offices and meeting rooms that reminded me of an endless labyrinth. Later, I had the opportunity to attend a lecture about the IAEA funding and then I attended a communication team´s meeting. At the end of my stay I had an interesting meeting with an atomic safety expert.
I learned a lot of interesting information, for example, that they have their own hospital, kindergarten, but also their own police, as the UN is the neutral territory. During the whole day, I met a lot of people, mostly in suits, who looked very professional, but when they spoke to me, they were very nice and talkative. It is hard to describe my impressions in a few lines, but one nice story may sum it up. As we were in the elevator, a gentleman got in and he was introduced to me as "the boss of the bosses" - the director of the entire agency Mr. Yukiya Amano. This man in the suit smiled and said that naming him just as a colleague is more than enough. This nice moment convinced me that people in the suits and the huge buildings can create a very friendly atmosphere without prejudices.
This day was a great experience for me because I got the opportunity to see how such a large organization, as the UN undoubtedly is, works. I received a lot of valuable advice for my career development and I hope that my visit at the UN was not the last.
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