On the 30th of June 2023 I joined the Political, Peace and Security team in the OPGA marking the third phase of my rotation. The move come precisely after the fellow’s official trip to Washington DC in which I had the opportunity to get unprecedented insight foreign policy of the host country of the UN HQ and the largest contributor of the UN regular budget, the United States of America at UN level as well as bilateral level. The trip covered the US State Department, embassies, think-tanks, international financial institutions and notably the United Nations Information Centre which provided us as fellows a broad overview of the role played by the office itself the UN agencies based in country’s capital. At the Botswana Embassy, I had the opportunity to meet His Excellency Onkokame Kitso Mokaila, Ambassador of the Republic of Botswana to the United States of America who shared his wisdom on leadership, diplomacy and politics in general. The meetings have beyond reasonable doubt imparted considerable understanding and wisdom on the interlinkages of bilateral and multilateral diplomacy and how the youth fit within and between these fora.
The efforts by the PGA, H.E Csaba Kőrösi to expose the fellows to all aspects of diplomacy is highly commendable and it solidifies the fact that this fellowship programme aims to make youth informed, knowledgeable, and effective agents of change. His Excellency, Mr. Dennis Francis was on the 1st of June 2023 elected PGA for the 78th session of the General Assembly. The fact that he has committed to continuing the PGA fellowship programme is assuring and encouraging for proponents of youth empowerment like myself who wish to see the continuation and expansion of programmes like these within and outside the UN.
