Living & Working At WYA North America
What is WYA?
WYA is a dynamic UN-accredited NGO present in several regions (Africa, Asia Pacific, North America, Latin America, Middle East & Europe) which was founded by an incredible young person, 21 year old Anna Halpine, who took a stand and clamoured for the need to defend human dignity in the public space. They work in the fields of advocacy, policy and culture and has ties with the United Nations, European Union, ASEAN and many local governments.
With the WYA Interns at the United Nations
WYA has many international programs with the strategy given from the headquarters and implemented worldwide such as International Summer Camps, Emerging Leader’s Conferences, Youth Voices in the UN, International Solidarity Forum, Manhattan International Film Festival, International Art Forum and many more.
WYA interns with the WYA Foundation Staff
The current WYA Foundation staff members have American, Canadian, Filipino, Polish and those of Slovenian & Italian descent on their team. Each region has their own local staff members implement local policies. International interns have various ages and backgrounds. In our batch, we had interns from the North America, Philippines, Guatemala, Romania, Italy, and Spain. Some were still studying for their bachelor’s degrees, some recently graduated, others had work experience in the fields like the advertising and one was even the former director of a local NGO.
How My WYA Journey Started
My first encounter with the World Youth Alliance (WYA) started at the International Art Forum 2013. Along with several other artists from other countries, I presented my work as an artist and the personal projects I’ve done to help spread awareness on art and culture in the Philippines. I had met and spent time with several other Filipinos who encouraged me to get more involved with WYA. Two years later, I decided to intern for the WYA Asia Pacific. It was such a great experience that I decided to apply for the International Internship in New York the same year. After several interviews, I was accepted and I began my work as an International Marketing intern for the WYA Headquarters located at the Upper East Side in New York.
Working at the WYA HQ
Adding to our regular work load, we had to attend the WYA Certified Training Program which equipped us to communicate articulately on behalf of the dignity of the human person with a vocabulary to engage in international settings and larger cultural issues that tackle human dignity, human rights and integral development. It also allows us to attend and speak on behalf of WYA in public spaces. Most of the interns that came from other countries had already taken the training in our regional branches but the added layer of a multicultural discussion made it more interesting and fruitful.
Living at the WYA HQ
We lived together, worked together and traveled together. The adjustment to the New York City life was a lot easier with a community that was discovering everything with you. We’d cook things together, have movie nights, and explore the city together. We maintained the house together and every Friday we’d spend half the day cleaning, washing and vacuuming. We’d have movie nights, sushi making nights, museum dates, and nights out.
We’d even celebrate our country’s local holidays and share them with everyone. We did a 4th of July Barbecue, Philippine Independence Day Food Night and Canada Day Poutine.
At the end of the day, I super recommend working with WYA. You’ll be surrounded by a passionate, multi-cultural community that knows how to be serious and have fun at the same time. I learned a lot of things from the skills necessary to work in public policy that is geared towards defending dignity to working in an multi-cultural environment to navigating a new city on my own. I absolutely loved the 4 months I spent with them, and I’m looking forward to working with them more in the future.
