Amazing!
By: Danielle Guy, CAS ’18
World Medical Association – Ferney-Voltaire, France
I absolutely love my internship! I could not possibly think of a more amazing way to spend my last summer at Penn. I’m finally getting my way around Geneva and Ferney-Voltaire, and I couldn’t love being here any more. The working environment is spectacular; every day there is something new to learn. If I’m not going to the office in France, I’m usually in Geneva attending conferences, discussion panels, or any other events related to health and human rights.
For the most part, I have spent the majority of my time at the United Nations Office in Geneva representing the World Medical Association. For the past two weeks, my coworkers and I have attended the 35th Human Rights Council Session which has been an incredible experience. Before we attended the council, we actually worked on a contribution on the Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Right of Everyone to the Enjoyment of the Highest Attainable Standard of Physical and Mental Health. Working for an organization that represents physicians, we wanted to add the physician’s perspective into the report. Together with a psychiatrist from Brazil, my fellow interns drafted the contribution for the 35th session addressing the latest ethical and human rights issues as it relates to mental health and physicians.
At the Council Session, it’s been wonderful to learn about what’s happening across the world and how nations are trying to come together and help one another. While it’s interesting witnessing diplomacy in action, we also witness the hypocrisy of nations around the globe that claim to defend human rights but are actually some of the worst offenders. Nonetheless, it’s been incredible to meet amazing people from around the world working to make it a better place for humanity. Furthermore, it has definitely made me more interested in the intersection of health and human rights.
After the Human Rights Council Session, later this week we will be volunteering for the Humanitarian Affairs Segment of the United Nations Economic and Social Council to help strengthen coordination of humanitarian efforts around the world. Then for the first half of next week, we will be attending the first-ever World Health Organization Forum on Alcohol, Drugs, and Addictive Behavior in order to learn from the latest initiatives in reducing the global burden of mortality and morbidity from addiction. It is such an absolute privilege to be able to attend these events with leaders in healthcare and the humanitarian sector. I still can’t believe I’m this lucky!
When I’m in the office in France, I continue to work on reviewing policies for their General Assembly next October. In order to do this project, I’ve been doing research on the latest news and studies on the policies that need to be updated. It’s been such a great learning experience to gain knowledge of the various policies that I work on including violence and health and economic crisis and health. In addition, I have still been working on the English version of their website. Even though this is a tedious task, I am able to learn more about their latest policies and initiatives to better inform myself on medical ethics.
The Global Research and Internship Program (GRIP) provides outstanding undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to intern or conduct research abroad for 8 to 12 weeks over the summer. Participants gain career-enhancing experience and global exposure that is essential in a global workforce. Placements and funding awards are available.