(English) Internship at the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is the leading international organization in the field of tourism that promotes tourism as a driver of economic growth, inclusive development and environmental sustainability. The knowledge and experience that one can get at this organization is priceless, so my decision to apply for the internship at this organization was rather easy.

Furthermore, I can easily relate myself to the concept that learning is the continuous process of our lives. I’ve been working in tourism business for over 10 years, finished my master degree, then I started to lecture at Klaipeda University and felt that the experience in UNWTO could give a good impulse to my professional and personal development. I’ve gained there a lot of new experience, was able to contribute to its goals and met dozens of inspiring and open-hearted people.

I was working in Institutional Relations and Resource Mobilization programme that develops partnerships and cooperates with United Nations (UN) institutions as well as other international and regional organizations. I assisted in the preparation of the UN International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development (IY2017), in particular with the search of sponsors and partners from private sector. In addition, I worked on content related issues, such as linkages between tourism and the 17 Sustainable Developments Goals.

Moreover, I worked on the preparation and implementation of two conferences, namely “Roundtable on Multicultural Society and Tourism” held in Baku, Azerbaijan and the Regional Conference on “Investing in Tourism for an Inclusive Future: Challenges and Opportunities, which took place in Petra, Jordan.

More importantly, I feel very fortunate that I had a chance to work in this positive work environment that made me feel good about coming to work and sustained motivation throughout the days. Good relationship with co-workers, support from energetic and charismatic head of my department, organizational culture and feeling that there is a lot of room for personal development helped me to enjoy every moment of my stay in Madrid.

I’ve met a lot of remarkable people that became my good friends. They belong to different religions, speak different languages and has different experience of life, but all of them share a massive amount of friendliness, tolerance and support for each other. I could highly recommend to seize an opportunity to take an internship in UNWTO as it is a life-changing experience with loads of unforgettable moments.