Dating back to 20th November 2014, my journey in the United Nations (UN) started. I am an intern at the United Nation’s Information Center and a third year student of Bachelors of Art in English Literature and Social Work at Kathmandu Model College (KMC). I was first informed about the “Knowledge Management Program” at UNIC by my college’s coordinator and three of us from KMC appeared for the interview.
As being selected to work at the Repository Program, my first impression was that all I have to do was to read some documents and upload them on to the repository. Since I have always been an extensive reader, I felt it would be an effortless task- all I had to do was merely read, understand and upload. The first week at UNIC was for the five new interns to learn about the United Nations and be trained on the Knowledge Management Process. After finishing the orientation, I realized what my actual work was: so much was going on at the same time. I was flooded with information of various UN agencies and their work, along with the scenario of people’s status around Nepal.
Soon enough, I realized my task was not only about reading and uploading. I had access to the wealth of sources and materials of the organization which a normal individual that anyone else would strive to acquire. Through the work I have done on the repository, in this one month period, I have learned about government plans, international policies, society’s outlook and of course, had the chance to flourish my knowledge in accordance to the subject I am learning, i.e. social work. The terms I enter as keywords are essentially all the theoretical concepts I have learned in class and now I have the chance to experience how these terms can be practically used and implemented.
This one month in UNIC has been a very pleasing and educative phase for me. Being guided by educated personnel and being in a working environment that is so friendly and open has provided me a positive ground to grow. My ultimate motive was to become skilled; but from here I have gained more than skills. Here, I have collected memories, knowledge, friends for life and a clear perspective of how to work effectively and efficiently. I came to enter documents online but now I feel like I have associated with a project to serve the people who want to acquire some knowledge. So my work represents service to others in terms of information. All thanks to the UNIC’s friendly and cooperative team.
Deepika Dhakal