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By
Cael Warren
Stevens Point, Wisconsin
Economics, Environmental
Studies | Philippa Anastos
Littleton, Colorado
Economics | Jamie Moore
Gresham, Oregon
Political Science |
Last May, we departed for a stunning introduction
to Switzerland, the United Nations,
and even the details of Cambodian labor
law, as interns with the International Labor
Organization (ILO) in Geneva. We were
honored to have been awarded three very
competitive paid internships at the ILO,
and we felt well prepared by our solid
background in economics from a college
that works every day to promote an ethic
of global citizenship.
Working with the Better Work program at
the ILO, we were a part of an expanding
program to improve conditions in factories
worldwide by monitoring the working
conditions and reporting the results
to the companies that buy the factories’
products. Our primary function was to
transform a stack of paper reports on the
working conditions in Cambodian garment
factories into a usable dataset, enabling us
and future researchers to examine the success
of Better Work’s inaugural program.
In the process, we attended the
International Labor Conference, explored
Geneva and many of its international organizations,
and bonded with the peacocks
that roam freely on the UN grounds. As we
attended information sessions with diplomats
from the ILO’s 182 member countries,
we realized that Macalester students can
go anywhere and do anything, given the
fantastic opportunities and support that
are available to us.
When our summer in Geneva had come
and gone, the opportunities were just
beginning. Having witnessed the UN and
ILO members changing the world, Philippa
during the 2008–09 year has conducted
independent research on minimum wage
compliance in developing nations. After
exploring the complex inner workings of
a UN agency at the ILO, Jamie has spent
the school year in Geneva and Maastricht,
Netherlands, studying inter-agency cooperation
in the human rights field, with
plans to pursue a career in international
relations. Using the newly available dataset
on Cambodian working conditions, Cael
completed an honors thesis related to the
impact of globalization on working conditions
in Cambodia. Our ILO internship
experience has been the starting point for
three very distinct trajectories in our common
goal to enact positive global change.
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