Editorial 14th Edition

It is my first day as an intern at the United Nations Regional Information Centre in Brussels. My supervisor, Fred, is giving me a tour of the office, introducing me to the multinational team and telling me about everything I would be expected to work on, including this magazine.  “By the way, do you have any lunch plans?” he asks. “Monique Coleman, the United Nations Youth Champion is coming over for lunch.” I knew from that day that my internship would be a very interesting one. Many of you who read this magazine, have met Monique during her travels these past months, and I am sure you all would agree that she is a very inspiring woman. It is reassuring that young people have such a charismatic advocate. Because even though there are
some reassuring developments, such as the recognition youth have achieved in both the climate change discussions (article on p.30) and recent improvements of the rights of children in conflict (article on p.38), the fact remains that young people are often victims to problems created by earlier generations. The global youth deserves much more than that. We are the future, and we have the power to solve any problem, if we are given the right tools to do so. Acquiring tools for the future is something we do as interns at the United Nations, and I hope this magazine will inspire many young people to apply for internships within the UN system, or to do another internship (or three more like Clara on p.26), or to volunteer through the United Nations Volunteers (article on p.24) to learn more and contribute more to the UN.

It has been a pleasure to edit Internal Voices and I encourage all UN interns who find the time to get involved in the next edition.  Enjoy the rest of the summer, and the 14th edition of Internal Voices!

Martin Karlsson
Editor, Internal Voices