From the moment I arrived, I was captured by Geneva’s international vibe. Surrounded by the headquarters of many UN organizations, one could not ignore the city’s importance globally. As such, for a MAIR student like myself, I consider my internship with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) a privilege, since I was not only granted the chance to learn from the very best in the field, but also the opportunity to have a bird’s eye-view of IOM’s operations all over the world.

For this semester, I interned for IOM’s Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration (AVRR) Unit, the team in charge of ensuring the orderly and humane return and reintegration of migrants who are unable or unwilling to remain in host or transit countries and wish to return voluntarily to their countries of origin. During my time with the unit, my primary output was a cross-regional analysis on the reintegration sustainability of IOM interventions in countries found in the Horn of Africa, West Africa, and Asia with the aim of objectively evaluating IOM’s programs and identifying potential best practices. Aside from my main task, I also regularly assisted the team in drafting both internal and external documents and reports, highlighted with my production of the AVRR Quarterly Bulletins.

IOM AVRR Training of Trainers
the IOM AVRR Reintegration Training of Trainers for Regional Thematic Specialists (RTSs) and Chief of Missions from the different countries. The PowerPoint in the background (and the contents of the other slides not in photo) is one of the outputs Mark assisted with the production of.

While the daily tasks increased my knowledge and provided me added marketable skills, I found my stint at the headquarters extremely worthwhile as I directly interacted and worked with our colleagues in the regional and country offices. In many ways, my appreciation for the headquarters increased after seeing its importance in ensuring stability for operations and addressing concerns on the field. Not only that, but with my responsibilities, I also gained a better understanding of how development is provided and the nuances of dealing with different stakeholders in different contexts.

Aside from my internship with IOM, the city also provided numerous avenues for personal growth through meeting experienced individuals from other UN agencies, open talks at various universities, and SU’s Geneva program itself. Clearly, there seems to be no better place to get my feet wet in the world of international development than in Geneva.

IOM Building Geneva
IOM Building Geneva
MAIR Program at the Maxwell School
All Global Programs

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