Woodenfish at United Nations Student Program
Woodenfish hosts a Student Internship program for students ages 18 and up in New York City, with a major component taking place at the United Nations Headquarters.
Students spend their time:
-Attending open meetings at the UN Headquarters as a representative of Woodenfish Foundation
-Actively learning about the pressing issues facing local and global communities
-Researching a final project that pertains to their interests related to UN Sustainable Development goals
-Developing essential "soft skills" through interactive workshops on public speaking, policy debate, leadership development, teamwork and collaboration projects
-Meeting NGO and private sector leaders around NYC
-Visiting with other local New York City non-profit organizations
The program typically runs for 1-2 weeks during winter, spring and summer breaks, with some opportunities for longer-term internships.
Please inquire with jgooding@woodenfish.org for further information on upcoming opportunities as there is limited space during each session.
Woodenfish @ The UN Student Experience Highlights & Overview
*Attend, observe, and interact with officials from governments around the world, NGOs, UN entities and others inside the UN
*Certificate of completion from Woodenfish Foundation
Gain a Deeper Understanding of How the United Nations Operates
*Directly observe open meetings inside the UN Headquarters, learn first-hand about the United Nations organizational structure and how the UN takes action on global issues
*Develop an independent research project related to a United Nations Sustainable Development Goal or
*Intensive study of the United Nations and the Sustainable Development Goals
*Final research project presentation
Develop Critical Skills in Global Diplomacy
*Leadership Training
*Half-day public speaking workshop
*Debate and speech training workshop with professional coach from top university debate programs in the US
*Small group environment with many opportunities for one-on-one coaching and reflection
Outreach with Civil Society and NGOs in New York area
*Community service project to better understand pressing issues facing US NYC local society
*Site visits to local organizations to better understand
grassroots efforts to solve global issues including poverty eradication, climate change, education, gender equality, etc.
Watch an interview with a student who completed the UN program with Woodenfish in Summer 2017
UN Student Program Sample Schedule
Week 1
Monday: Welcoming and introduction to the United Nations, overview; observation of UN meetings and tour
Tuesday: Assignment/decision of final projects, one-on-one student advising to create student plan for two weeks; PM: meeting with UN agency officials
Wednesday: Observe UN official meetings, attend lecture and roundtable discussions on United Nations, roundtable discussions with leaders of international organizations that work in the field and at UN
Thursday: NGO work, conduct a project on NGO, including field research, conduct interviews with local people. PM: Introduction to speech and debate, assignment of topics, intensive 4-hour training session with professional debate coach
Friday: AM: Attend UN meetings and meet with representatives of UN agencies; PM: community service project with NYC local community organization, evening: talk by leader in New York City civil society
Week 2
Monday: AM: Observe UN official meetings; PM: Intensive training session on project management tools with top executive
Tuesday: AM: Lecture on international diplomacy from distinguished International Affairs professor; PM: Attend UN meetings, work on final research project and presentation
Wednesday: AM: Tour of Columbia University, further speech and debate in Columbia classroom; PM: speech and debate competition at Columbia University
Thursday: AM: Leadership training with professional coach; PM: Work on final research project/presentation
Friday: Final day at United Nations; closing ceremony and final group presentations
Final daily schedule subject to change