Charbel El Kareh
Lebanon

After finishing my undergraduate studies in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon, I completed a Master’s degree in Engineering Management with a focus on Economics, Finance and Cost Engineering at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Immediately after, I worked as a research assistant in renewable energy which increased my interest in environmental matters and pushed me to apply for an internship at the United Nations Environment Programme’s Regional Office of North America.

My internship focused on three main areas: initially, I helped the communications team in the preparation of various special events and press conferences including the launch of the Climate Change Science Compendium, a panel discussion entitled Towards Copenhagen: Greening the Global Economy and UNEP RONA’s celebration on being the first UN office to be certified LEED Gold. I also assisted in the preparation of an atlas focusing on water in Africa by compiling and researching data and statistics. In the four months at UNEP RONA, I attended numerous hearings at the United States Senate, meetings and presentations dealing with climate change policy, cap-and-trade, and carbon taxes, and then reported back on these events by writing briefings and memos.

What made my internship interesting is the devotion of the UNEP RONA team. Everyone tried to help me get the best out of my time there. Doors were always open and any questions were more than welcomed. UNEP RONA gave me the opportunity to live the United Nations and the Washington, D.C. experiences at their best, while meeting and shaking hands with important people shaping the future of our world.