Zakary Paget
Canada

I graduated from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, in 2009 with a Bachelor of Journalism (B.J.). After completing my undergraduate degree, I began my Master of Arts: Communication degree at Carleton and have one year remaining. My research paper will concentrate on the potential use of social media by the Canadian Government to increase youth engagement and voter turnout.

Environmental policy is wide ranging, comprehensive, and has significant implications in numerous domestic and international sectors. The multilateral nature of this issue is something that I have always found fascinating. While recent events have given a very public face to extreme environmental challenges, many more continue to lurk under the surface, and out of the public eye. It is rewarding to work for an organization that not only sheds light on these everyday challenges, but works to find enduring solutions.

During my summer tenure here at UNEP RONA, I assisted with numerous activities, including media monitoring, drafting press releases, and any necessary research. As my long-term project, I coordinated the annual Tunza North America (Tunzana) Youth Network Conference at the University of California at Berkeley. My previous experiences in youth engagement helped me plan an informative, fun, and sustainable weekend in California.

UNEP RONA's internship program combined the best of all worlds for me. It allowed me to gain invaluable experience in media relations, project development, timely research, media monitoring and political and policy coverage. I have always been fascinated by the politics on Parliament Hill as well as Capitol Hill, and relished the chance to take part in or at least observe the process first hand.