XUNICEF News and Views

What was your last assignment with UNICEF? UNICEF Representative, Mozambique How old do you feel? An out-of-shape 25 years old

I arrived in Jakarta in January 1988 to take up my new assignment as Programme Coordinator for Education, Advocacy, Social Mobilization, Gender and Programme Support Services (i.e. “all the rest” besides health, nutrition, water & sanitation, and area and kampung services). I was immediately introduced to my new colleagues in my section. They were all formidable and professional, as I soon learned, but one person in particular stood out and while she formally reported to me she really became my mentor, teacher and friend throughout the almost 7 years I was to spend in Indonesia. When we were introduced, Ibu Memet had retired from her international career with UNICEF and was now a consultant with UNICEF Indonesia. According to Mary Racelis in her chapter of “Jim Grant UNICEF Visionary”, Ibu Memet had been recruited to UNICEF in the mid 1970s to develop the family planning aspects of UNICEF’s work on maternal and child health. At the time, UNICEF largely engaged with women in thei...

14 April 1982 was the first day of my 31 years with UNICEF. My job title was “Assistant Development Education Officer”, a Danish Junior Professional Officer (JPO) assigned to UNICEF’s Geneva Office at P1 step 1 level. My job, or rather the job of the little unit I was to work in, was two-fold. We were to support and assist the National Committees for UNICEF in their Development Education (DevEd) work. DevEd was basically through formal and non-formal education channels to teach children and young people about the situation of people and communities in the developing countries. And then we were to provide liaison between the hundreds of national and international Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOS) and UNICEF and mobilize support for UNICEF’s agenda among them. In the Development Education/NGO Liaison Unit, I quickly came to feel comfortable, mainly because of the kindness and support of the four women who were now my colleagues. I was put to work on a new DevEd kit called “Alive in ...