What a crazy week! Until this point Parisa and I have been primarily secluded to the downstairs office with other interns. This hasn’t been to our detriment since we have independent projects that do not require much supervision. Then, all of a sudden, this week we were lucky enough to be invited to two meetings. The first was a cluster meeting and the second a more high profile general staff meeting in the primary UN building.

Meeting 1: Capacity Development for Accountable Governance Cluster
The cluster meeting convened for the purpose of bringing individuals in our department together for status updates and to debrief about the recent legal reform conference in Bratislava. We had prepared a memorandum on legal empowerment for team members to review before the conference. It was wonderful to hear that the presentation they had prepared on the Free Legal Aid project went extremely well and that our work was helpful for their preparation.
This meeting was particularly important for me because I was able gain insight on other ongoing projects in our cluster, and better understand how my work will fit into the greater whole. It appears that the task we were given for updating the Judicial Training Centre materials will also involve substantial revamping. There is a need to consider Capacity Development (CD) as a central theme from which to build development strategies. CD involves institutional, organizational, and individual development to ensure the sustainability of the project’s efforts even after the cessation of UNDP’s involvement. It will be our role to incorporate CD into the judicial reform scheme that has already been carried out by UNDP members in association with governmental and non-governmental officials.

Meeting 2: General Staff & Regional Director
Left: Ms. Kori Udovicki
We were fortunate enough to hear Ms. Kori Udovicki, speak to our country office yesterday. Ms. Udovicki is the Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations, Assistant Administrator and Regional Director of UNDP for Europe and CIS. She was in the area to discuss the Roma Inclusion Effort with regional members of the project. Ms. Udovicki is also an economist; a trade that served her well when she was asked about the current economic recession.
Her visit to the office came at an opportune time, given that Ms. Helen Clark just became the new UNDP administrator in April of 2009. Ms. Udovicki communicated Ms. Clark’s vision for the future of the region to the UNDP Serbia staff members and assured them that there is still much to be done in Serbia and within Eastern Europe in general (details undisclosed for confidentiality purposes).

In addition, this meeting was also the first time we heard from the UNDP Resident Representative, UN Resident Coordinator for Serbia, Mr. William Infante. He was very encouraging, but spoke very little as the meeting was primarily directed at Ms. Udovicki's reports.
Left: Mr. Infante


Recession Note:
The “moral dilemma” –Do middle-income countries need UNDP help, when there are other countries in much greater need?
I consider this question to be quite complex. The answer in law school, I’ve been told, is always “It depends.” Whether middle-income countries need UNDP help depends on various factors including: political stability, employment rates, social service availability, etc. What I can state for certain is that projects should not go unfinished, and that projects take time. With the current recession affecting countries and organizations worldwide budget cuts are inevitable, and even necessary at times. However, reduction in funds merely means reformulation of budget allocation. The challenges that existed in Serbia 10 years ago are by no means extinguished and the members of this national community must continue to create and implement strategies for a better tomorrow.

Right: If you are important enough they put a flag on your car. This is how we knew the meeting was a big deal.