From the moment I stepped into the bustling world of 1-DA, I felt both the responsibility of my role and the excitement of being entrusted with an important task. Preparing a three-week-long workshop for young diplomats from around the world is a major endeavour, and taking it on offers an exciting opportunity to learn, collaborate and expand one’s skills.

I was genuinely impressed by the collaborative atmosphere and team spirit within the programme groups, which I noticed immediately as I joined events and assisted with workshop logistics during my first weeks. This brings a true sense of connection, mutual learning and support to my everyday work. To me, the experience other interns brought with them proved to be an unexpectedly valuable resource, offering insights into not only their work but also their personal stories. The same applies to collaborating with colleagues, interacting with participants and working alongside former ambassadors, where the diversity of viewpoints and backgrounds provides enlightening perspectives. I find these observations both motivating and enriching as I consider my future professional aspirations.

Next to organising, planning and communicating, my internship at 1-DA allows me to explore topics that genuinely intrigue me, in particular global challenges, multilateralism and negotiation. Specifically, this means choosing how to embed these topics into our programme. Reflecting on how workshop goals can be best achieved is an important task and requires my team and myself to have a robust understanding of the topics, skills and concepts we want to convey. Overall, my time at 1-DA has shown me how much can be gained from working in a collaborative and dynamic environment alongside colleagues, interns, diplomats and former ambassadors.

Mia Dorothee Schwartz, Programme Assistant