Asia and the Pacific - youth, forests, the United Nations, peace... and plenty of bananas.

Cleo Riddy discusses her experience exchanging her full-time job in Canberra for a once in a lifetime role with the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations in Bangkok, Thailand.

There’s something wonderfully exhilarating about leaving your full-time job in Canberra to move to work in an unpaid position in a developing country. From March-August 2019, I was afforded the opportunity to undertake a dynamic and energetic internship with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (UN FAO), based in the Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok, Thailand.

My experience was one of firsts: my first time living alone, working overseas, navigating a foreign country for an extended period of time, engaging with an intergovernmental organization… and most certainly the first time I’d worked in an office where fresh drinking coconuts could be ordered and delivered straight to my desk.

Bustling Bangkok

I noticed many things in the first couple of weeks in Bangkok. The city was chaotic – like walking into a perpetually bustling street market with constant chatter, incessant traffic, full of colour and sound and locals and tourists and smells both peculiar, delightful and disturbing. The streets were not designed for people and yet they were packed with them. In the Kingdom of Thailand, the only thing that garners respect parallel to that of the royal family is the beating sun, which reigns supreme at midday and unrelentingly forces outsiders into a sweltering pile of sweat and mush - forcing a slower, sweaty pace.

Office dynamics

Within this colourful context, work in the FAO office continued as anywhere; business as usual. There was a constant stream of workshops, presentations, seminars, and staff members coming and going and leaving and returning to office as they travelled to various international assignments and missions. Many staff came into the office on short-term contracts or for discrete assignments – like me – to support a particular event or project. Because of this, I expected the office culture to be a little more detached – a little more cut-throat and with a little less time to just enjoy the company of colleagues. Interestingly, then, was that it was the wonderfully inclusive and collaborative nature of the office that struck me most. To be fair, as an intern, I was probably sheltered from much of the office politics and underlying tensions. However, I noticed a considerable effort and energy put into building relationships, celebrating cultural differences, enjoying local celebrations and recognising the contributions of colleagues.

Diversity was not just a buzz word. In my 7-person team alone, my coworkers were each from the Philippines, South Korea, India/Canada, Switzerland, Indonesia and Thailand. Five were women. Four were what the UN would categorise as youth (under 35!). All were champions of sustainable forest management, of youth engagement, of gender equality, of collaboration, of building a positive relationship, of progressing meaningful work that had genuine impacts on peoples’ livelihoods. Not only did this enable me to enjoy a wiiiide variety of international cuisines during our many team lunches; it also meant I built a genuine understanding of how diversity truly facilitates robust, high-quality work.

My role - the Asia-Pacific Forestry Week 2019

Broadly, my role in the regional office was to support the Asia-Pacific Forestry Week 2019 - Forests for Peace and Wellbeing held in June 2019 in Incheon, Republic of Korea. To support the event – which attracted over 2000 participants - we worked with a range of partners spanning international organisations, Governmental and inter-governmental agencies, and other forestry networks, including the United Nations Forum on Forests, the Green Climate Fund, the International Tropical Timber Organization, and the Korea Forest Service. This required extensive communications efforts, such as designing and distributing promotional material, coordinating with partner organizations, and drafting blog posts, newsletters, emails, speeches, reports, and social media posts.

The week-long event featured a series of workshops, presentations, discussions and field trips spanning topics of forest restoration, engaging the private sector, governance, climate change, poverty reduction and supporting local livelihoods, youth engagement and gender equality, biodiversity, technology, markets and trade, non-timber forest products, and human health; navigating resource management in an increasingly globalised, consumer-driven world. It was fitting that the host city, Songdo – which sits within Korea’s Incheon province – has been meticulously designed to meet international standards of sustainability. It’s recognised as a “smart city”, boasting pristine air and urban forests on every block, over a hundred certified sustainable buildings*, and a heightened awareness of how humans engage with their surrounding environment. For this reason, Songdo was selected to become the home of the UN Green Climate Fund (the World Bank for green growth).

The importance of youth

Most notably, the event was attended by the largest delegation of youth that any forestry week had seen. This not only included students from the International Forestry Students’ Association (IFSA), with whom we worked closely, but students from local Korean schools and universities, researchers, and young professionals representing many of the organisations.

Throughout my time in Bangkok, I supported a range of youth activities at the FAO office, several of which garnered results that were to be fed directly into the recently-launched third Asia-Pacific Forest Sector Outlook Study. This study is published once a decade, with the first iteration being produced in 1998. It aims to provide an outlook on global forests for the following 10 years. This was the first time that the publication has featured an entire chapter on youth (engagement, perspectives, and participation). This is a significant milestone that speaks to the ever-rising voices of young people around the world in environmental and sustainability movements, much like that of the recent Climate Strikes championed by international youth activist, Greta Thunberg. As part of forestry week, I organised the side event to launch this FAO publication, which featured a keynote speech from FAO Regional Assistant Director-General, Kundhavi Kadiresan, and which was masterfully summarised by our very own Professor Rod Keenan.

For us in Australia, the move to engaging young people in the realms of forestry and environmentalism is also growing. If this is something you’re also passionate about, I’d recommend getting in touch with the Institute of Foresters’ Australia through the Future Foresters Initiative, and having a chat to your local IFSA member (disclaimer: I’m a member of both. Feel free to get in touch with me!).

In summary

Alongside wine and cheese tastings in the foyer, water fights in the car park (in the name of Songkran – Thailand’s new year celebration), and a marvellous array of Thai snacks (including a never-ending supply of dried bananas), my experience at the FAO Regional Office was one of self-discovery and adventure. It allowed me to gain a contextualised understanding of my role in the world – as a forester, as a young person, as a global citizen in a rapidly transforming world. The experience reinforced my interest in the Asia-Pacific, and I expect to continue searching for opportunities to contribute to forestry and sustainability work in the region.

I’d like to send a huge thank you to all the support I received from staff at the University of Melbourne – particularly, to my supervisor, Professor Rod Keenan. Without a doubt, I would recommend any student considering an international internship to jump in with two feet. The opportunity combines a chance to develop professionally and personally while affording life-changing experiences overseas.

Don’t hesitate to contact me on criddy@student.unimelb.edu.au if you have any questions.