“My first service to the UN was in a refugee camp when I was a 12-year-old refugee in the Democratic Republic of Congo. I voluntarily helped UNHCR to register other refugees.”

Today 10 years ago, I started my first UN internship in Vienna.

In this past decade, I finished my master’s, did 5 internships with 5 UN organizations in 3 countries. 4 of them were unpaid.

I did countless consultancies and short-term contracts, and moved from Paris to Geneva to Vienna, and will probably continue moving in the future.

The most important lessons I’ve learnt? To give up searching for the comfort zone, instead, search for movement, for the flow of positive growth. Stay prepared for change.

I’ve also learnt about some sad realities, things or people that we can’t change. But more importantly, to see them as a self-reminder and advance on our own path, regardless, sometimes fast, sometimes slow.

The reward of life to me is no longer about a place we stand or want to be, but about the journey itself we take to the next uncertainty. And the ultimate success a person can have is to enjoy the ride, dare being herself, dare making different choices from the majority, stick to herself in the development without being distracted from the bigger picture of life which to each person is different, and we will only be able to accept ourselves when we are willing to accept differences, which is the only way to happiness, and the only way to peace.

🌱 From Humans of UN to Voices of UN

This project began in 2014 as Humans of UN, inspired by the Humans of New York style of storytelling. Back then, it was a personal initiative by Moon Ting Li as a then UN staff member to capture the humanity behind the blue flag — the small moments of resilience, humour, and struggle that make up daily life in duty stations, field missions, and headquarters corridors.

Humans of UN resonated widely because it gave colleagues and peers something they rarely had: a chance to be seen as people, not just as job titles or functions. It was intimate, empathetic, and deeply human.

But over time, the limits of that format became clear. While human stories mattered, there were deeper silences and harder truths that also needed to be told — stories about systems, power, failures, and ideals betrayed or forgotten.

And so, Humans of UN evolved into Voices of UN: keeping space for personal stories, but expanding into field reflections, testimonials, interviews and critical opinions that show not only the human face of the UN, but also the structural challenges behind it.

🎯 What We Stand For

• Accountability through storytelling: Institutions preserve their integrity not by silencing critique, but by confronting it.

• Reform through truth-telling: Real change begins when people dare to speak.

• Belief in global cooperation: We still believe in the mission of the UN — but not at the cost of integrity.

✍️ Who We Publish

We welcome contributions from:

• Current and former UN staff

• Consultants, volunteers, and observers

• Those whose lives have been shaped by the UN system

Stories may be signed, anonymous, or pseudonymous. We provide editorial support and protect confidentiality when requested.

Contact us

📣 Why We Exist

Voices of UN is not here to discredit the institution but to break the institutional silence that too often protects bureaucracy instead of people, and to reclaim the ideals of the UN Charter through truth-telling and accountability. It is here to illuminate what the UN has become — and what it could still be, if it dared to change.

Because institutions don’t shape history. People do. And their voices matter.

Many of us come a long way from home. But there is always a piece of home that we carry around with us, hidden behind our daily thoughts:

“I come from Livadeia, a small town in central Greece, where the sunlight is so special that I find it the best way to start a day. I miss it along with my family and my friends.”

Also, “in the area of computer science, we are always a student." 

What is a busy day like?

“The work never ends. Usually I work a little bit right when I get up to see if there are any urgent emails from colleagues in Asia or Europe to address or any news items we might need to cover right away. Then, after I spend most of time in the office in meetings or answering questions from colleagues who drop by my desk, I end up doing a lot of content writing from home. I spend my commute to and from the office responding emails via my phone.”

One piece of advice to give to those who are interested in the work at the UN?

“The UN is so big and the work is so varied, that you should just study what interests you. Work on your language and writing skills. There are never enough good writers and if you can draft content in several languages, you’ll always be in demand.”

“In the age of social media one cannot, not communicate. Like it or not, in 2014 any organization and its people leave - intentionally or unintentionally - an online footprint. The dynamic and fascinating ability of new communication technologies to function as a bullhorn, which gives any voice, no matter how gentle or rude, the chance to be heard.”

“Whenever someone asks that why the U.N. didn’t do anything about some issues, I can feel their wish for a super power beyond any nation in order to safeguard peace and justice. While some others would question if UN should at all pick a side because of its neutrality. What they forgot is, the UN has a firm standing ground called the Charter, and we are on the side of this charter completely. As for me, I only wish that the U.N will do more, not less." 

What is a busy day like?
“Non-stop meetings. No time for implementing decisions taken at meetings.”

Your response to a question or critique on the UN?
“The UN is what Member States want it to be.”

One thing that your colleagues don’t know about you?
“I am really an introvert.”

Something about your work that most people outside that field don’t know?
“We really care about humankind.”

Any advice to give to those who are interested in the work at the UN?
“Believe in utopia.”

With the 69th UN General Assembly taking place in NY this week, everyone is focusing on the Post-2015 Development Agenda. Hear about the role of ICTs in this:

Tell us something about your field that most people outside that area wouldn’t expect?

“Nowadays we have become so used to technologies that we don’t think about it until we are without it. Just like breathing. The least developed countries in 2010 in the Istanbul Plan of Action recognized ICTs as an infrastructure just as important to them as water, transportation and power. Realistic or not, they have set a goal of having universal access to the internet by 2020 in the least developed countries.”

And how is the role of ICTs in the future of global development?

“Earlier this year, after long negotiations, member states decided to hold a high level meeting for 2 days in New York in December 2015 that is open to all member states. The meeting has particularly strong support from the G77. This 10 year review of WSIS ( a UN world summit on the information society). It is very important for all of us who have been involved in the WSIS process since its inception in 1998. We hope that this review, even though it comes after the SDG summit which makes it ‘tricky’ to have a greater impact on the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals that will replace the MDG - Millennium Development Goals after 2015), will also be a good opportunity to show how information and communication technologies can help in the implementation of the sustainable development goals.”

"Visitors here often ask us some very political questions, questions like ‘why didn’t the UN do something about Palestine?’. It is true that we as staff are the face of the UN, we work on problems, spread messages, inform people about issues, empower them with knowledge, principles, and the core values of the UN, and facilitate infrastructure and capacity building -- but, in the end, the decisions are made not by the staff but by the member states."

Do you think that the more powerful nations have a louder voice over the less powerful in the decision making?

"Good question. Can you imagine if there was no place where the more and the less powerful nations can sit down and talk? It would be a chaos. Maybe world war III. Justice, freedom and equality is a long term struggle, the struggle of the entire human history. And we, today, here are still a part of this history. It is clear that we have not attained the ultimate goal, and often we cannot provide a direct answer or a quick path to it, but at the UN we are trying hard to push things to that direction, and this process itself is also very hard."

“There are so many people involved at the UN, everybody or at least a major portion has to agree on something, then what happens often is that we talk about issues and we know where the problems are, but are not able to settle down to implement a solution.”

“I guess ‘procedures’ have made me more patient.”

How did you come to work for the UN?

“Before coming to headquarters in New York, I worked on IT for a private bank in Switzerland. I have a specialized master degree in finance. But, since childhood, I have had a passion for geopolitics. I have always been interested in international affairs. I applied to a vacancy and passed the written exam, but it took me another year and a half to receive the offer. I was convinced that email must be a scam the moment I received it, as I had waited so long that I couldn’t believe it anymore.”

What are your experiences and impressions of two different sectors? 

“I feel that people often tend to close themselves once they settle in their area. All they know then is what they deal with systematically every day, they may be good at it, but that’s it, it stops there, without reflection on the impact or the meaning of their doings and being, without realizing that there’s a bigger world out there that is not just composed by endless numbers at their desks, but people interlinked; a world that we shall all consciously be a part of, and a positive part of it.”

“I think we never completely change; we only evolve. Always look around you, observe every detail and don’t be afraid to ask if you don’t know something. There is always a chance to learn something new and make it yours.”

“I used to work for the French Special Forces before I became a security guard. For me, working at the UN requires diplomacy as well as tolerance because of the diversity of the people working here.”

What’s your advice?

“Be more willing to adapt, listen more to others and restrain more our own words.”

“I am from Yemen, a country of rich culture and history. One thing in particular is the architecture. There are many sites such as the Old City of Sanaa, Dar al Hajar, and the city of Shibam, that are all very famous of their old buildings built of mud bricks. The buildings have survived hundreds of years and many people still live in these buildings today!

There are many delicious dishes in the Yemeni cuisine, among them all there is one called ‘Bent AlSahn’ which translates to ‘The Daughter of the Plate’. Also, have you ever wondered where the name ‘Mocha coffee’ comes from? In fact, the coffee beans can be found in a port city in Yemen and the name of that city is ‘Mocha’.

Having lived in different countries, I have also come across many interesting cultures. The best part of meeting different people and learning about their life is that I find so many similarities between us. There are a lot more beautiful things we share in common than we may have thought.”

“I wish I could have known to be less shy and to be more assertive. It really doesn’t benefit you to be shy when working with people. Also, never panic when you’re under pressure. Keep a cool head and deal one thing at a time.”