I began my career in development policy with an internship at the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), a specialized agency of the United Nations dedicated to eradicating rural poverty. I had just finished my Masters in December, and I knew I was going to start my PhD the following September, so I was looking for short-term employment to keep me occupied during the spring and fall.
As luck would have it, Quebec’s Ministry of International Relations had organized a number of paid internships in international organizations for recent graduates. One of those internships was with IFAD, in Rome, working with the person in charge of multilateral and interagency affairs.
Back then, the administrator of the United Nations Development Project (UNDP) was Mark Malloch-Brown, a brilliant communicator who had previously worked for The Economist and whose skills as communicator I have admired ever since my time at IFAD, when I had to read a number of his speeches for my work.