Why I Joined the UN

From classrooms to conference rooms, I discovered that the UN offered not just a place to observe the world—but to help change it.

My friends sometimes ask why I chose to work at the United Nations rather than in academia. The answer is simple. Universities may be a good vantage point to watch social change, but the UN is a better place to make a global impact. The leap from academia to the UN was an adventurous one that offered endless lessons about the world’s cultures and how the organization affects the everyday lives of the poor and forgotten.

When the UN Gets it Right

As a social development officer for UNICEF, I learned that development projects don’t always work as intended. In one village, women told me they didn’t need more information about family planning—they simply couldn’t use it, because their husbands would beat them if they even mentioned contraceptives. At other times, though, the UN was in exactly the right place doing what was needed. Women shared stories of how UNICEF helped them develop income-generation projects, giving them both independence and the power to end harmful practices like female genital mutilation.

I visited orphanages for the deaf where UNICEF and NGOs worked hand in hand to teach children to speak. There were water and sanitation projects saving lives because children could finally wash their hands in clean water. This wasn’t high diplomacy—no polished speeches here. This was the United Nations in action.

Why the UN Still Matters

Later, as a social scientist at the World Health Organization’s Southeast Asia Regional Office, I saw how global policy met real human need. What matters most for anyone joining the UN, I believe, is courage and compassion. Bureaucracy is inevitable—but it’s also what allows the UN to endure. The organization is only as effective as the people and governments that shape it.

Even with its flaws, the UN remains the world’s most universal and fair-handed champion of the underdogs, the forgotten, and the underserved. Rich and powerful nations are forced to listen to the smallest ones. Enemies find neutral ground to face off—and head off—deadly conflict. Today, as multilateralism is challenged, I still believe the UN can survive if it nurtures innovation and keeps its ties with global social movements. The world needs that connection now more than ever.

UNICEF

World Health Organization's Southeast Asia Regional Office (SEARO)