by Chantal Robichaud

19 July 2006

Chantal Robichaud of Quebec, Canada, is a UNV volunteer governance specialist with the UN Development Prorgamme (UNDP) in Tunis, Tunisia. Her assignment is funded through the UNV-Canada Corps Trust Fund.

One Monday morning in September 2005, I made my way to the UNDP office in Tunis’ government district, close by the Kasbah and just West of the magnificent Medina of Tunis. Here, I was warmly welcomed and introduced to my new colleagues before settling in to the newly equipped office that would be my workplace for the next twelve months.

Just three months short of the end of my assignment, my stay has been marked by the friendships I have formed with my colleagues, partners, advisers, classmates from my Arab language course, neighbours, tourists and, in general, the people of this magnificent country.

In addition to these wonderful encounters, the last few months have been full of work, reflection, pleasure, exchange, learning, small anxieties and grand discoveries. The offices of the UNDP and the city of Tunis have shared all this with me and have constantly nourished my curiosity, bringing me to a better knowledge of myself and a deeper understanding of the world around me. I have had the pleasure of working with people who listen to others, are incredibly open-minded and have a talent for constructive, encouraging criticism. As well as making work easier and producing quantifiable results, this dynamism has allowed me to participate more confidently and so to contribute to the progress of our work.

Fundamentally, I consider it a privilege to be guided each day by the values and principles of UNDP, an organization that extols change, and whose objective is to help developing communities access the knowledge, experience and resources with which to improve the lives of their own people. Like UNV, UNDP promotes such values as integrity, empathy, impartiality and broad-mindedness, all of which are essential to happy coexistence.

My days consist of: internal and external meetings; discussions with our partners, including experts, senior bureaucrats, suppliers, representatives from the private sector and NGOs; reading; researching; reviewing documents relating to ongoing projects including reports, meeting notes, seminar programs and terms of reference. These documents cover such topics as racial integration, the development of institutional capacity, the promotion of administrative reform and the endorsement of the aims of the Millennium Development Project.

‘Q & A’

UNV: In your day-to-day work, have you been in direct contact with local people?
Chantal: In my daily work, I am in contact with representatives of both central and regional governments, NGOs and universities. The aim of our meetings is to strengthen local capacity to implement, in a coordinated manner, strategic improvements. We offer training and advice which will enable local organizations to expand their activities and thereby better serve their communities.

UNV: Describe an event or encounter that particularly affected you?
Chantal: An experience that affected me most was definitely meeting with representatives from remote districts. They spoke of their experiences and were very appreciative of the activities we arranged for them.

UNV: As a volunteer, were you appreciated and why?
Chantal: Participants in our programmes have confirmed that we were providing exactly what they needed in terms of training, roundtable discussions and expertise. This is what made our work worthwhile -- it showed that we had listened, understood their needs and responded appropriately.

I feel that my political science qualifications have been very useful in this respect. I can take advantage of my ability to understand the various stakeholders in their global context. My desire to learn more about this country has enabled me to be more responsive to local needs.

At the practical level, I feel very useful – there are so many activities to organize! I can see the results of my efforts when dozens of people take me aside to thank me. As a volunteer, my role is particularly interesting, notably because I bring a fresh, objective perspective. In fact, I believe that this is what makes volunteers’ contributions so valuable: the fact that we are neutral. People realize that my contribution is offered for “free” and that I am acting with their interests in mind: this can’t help but work!