Being an intern in the United Nations gave him a lot of feelings and gains, just like what he wrote in his micro blog‘When looking back the experience in Dumont project, I really learned a lot, especially through the practice on the international stage of UNAIDS’. This unique internship is not only experience of practicing but also a trip of knowledge exploration.

In this summer, let’s travel in Bangkok and become an intern in UNAIDS with Miao Zihan!

(This interview is originally published in Fudan University School of Journalism Website [LINK] )

Freedom and Responsibility : ‘Never regard intern as an intern’

In Bangkok, the road is full of stray dogs and tramps. At the same time, hawkers sell all kinds of snacks just in front of Thai Prime Minister Building, waiting for tourists to patronize. Miao Zihan began his work at 9 am and finished at 5 pm everyday. He likes going to work by canoe because he can get the beautiful view of the bustling city and be surrounded by the breath of freedom. The canoe brought Zihan to a pier close to the place where he lived in downtown before sunset. At that point, night comes into Bangkok with its dark blanket. However, you can’t find any darkness in this wonderful city that never sleeps.

Miao Zihan started his internship in UNAIDS Bangkok just the second day after his arrival. It was a usual Tuesday. UNAIDS Bangkok usually holds its weekly meeting every Tuesday, the normal content of which contains summary of the work, task scheduling, problems feedback and so on. On that Tuesday, it has one special agenda—The Introduction Of New Intern.

Beth, Miao Zihan’s supervisor, was a nice British lady who introduced the new intern to other colleagues one by one. There were more than 20 colleagues in the office. The atmosphere in the office was kind and free.‘Everyone there was nice and warm-hearted. They took me as their friend. Every time when people pass my place，they gave me greetings or had a brief chat with me. Two Thai colleagues even became my guides, and showed me around in Bangkok.’

The atmosphere in UNAIDS is as free as the whole Bankok’s, however, when it comes to work, even an intern should be hardworking. On the first internship day of Zihan, Beth had already showed him what he would do and learn through his internship, which made the core task quite clear to Zihan from the very beginning. As a communication intern, Zihan would be involved in several communication work including keeping in touch with country offices in the region.

‘It’s not about small pieces of works’, Zihan said, ‘Beth was really responsible for interns because she arranged everything that would benefit me a lot. For example, she took me to all kinds of meetings, left me to finish some project alone, and had chat with me every two or three days. She paid a lot of her attention to my gains from my internship in UNAIDS. She was so nice that she always asked my opinions and feelings when I was doing things, and she would arrange new works for me due to my feedback. At the same time, she hoped me to give suggestions from my point of view so that the agency can both provide better experience to interns in the future and do good to the development of UNAIDS.’

Miao Zihan felt a sense of presence and trust deeply in his heart from the attitude toward interns in UNAIDS that differs from which in China.‘On one hand, they trust me. On the other hand, I become more active to show my abilities through asking and learning, which let your colleagues regard you as a reliable guy and leave you more important works.’ Zihan said, ‘Actively communicate with colleagues not only leads you to find everyone’s advantages, but also makes you more integrated into the whole team.’

Communicate sincerely : “You are vital to me.”

It is the first step that is troublesome. At the Beginning, Miao Zihan did not really understand what communication work is. ‘I didn’t know what others were doing because I didn’t know the background of the works we were doing. I found I was out of the working rhythm at first. ’ However, Zihan was not anxious about that, ‘It always takes time communicating with colleagues in order to keep up with the rhythm.’

Daily media monitoring, collecting daily news on HIV in related region, was one of the basic things Miao Zihan did. When done by him, the monitoring report would be sent the UNAIDS headquarter in Geneva. The United Nations always uses its media partnership to send messages to the society, so it’s quite important to understand different medias and have a good relationship with them.

This work may seem trivial, but it’s not simple. ‘There aren’t many news on HIV topic, which makes me to try my best and different methods to get the news everyday.’ Said Zihan, ‘ I concluded several ways of searching such kind of news a few weeks later. For example, you should visit some websites of HIV-related organizations to find news instead of just using searching engines. Besides, Exchanging ideas with experienced colleagues is also a great way to expand methods.’

In addition to medias, another end of communication works are a variety of civil societies. Presently, AIDS groups (such as sex workers, youth, injection drug users, etc.) can be subdivided into different civil societies according to the group members’ identity and aspiration. ‘For instance, there are some societies made up with women that want to encourage more and more women to stand out and talk about HIV issues in public.’ Zihan said, ‘During my internship in UNAIDS, our division together with UNWOMEN launched a campaign called ‘Unzip The Lips’ which built a stage for women living with HIV to communicate with the whole world.’ A large part of communication work is in the name of UNAIDS to have dialogues with civil societies by meetings, events and campaigns in order to send key messages to key affected populations. ‘ At first it was a little difficult for me to understand English with different accents, but later in my internship I was adapted to a variety of accent.’

ICAAP (International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific) was held in Busan, South Korea this year from 26th Aug to 30th Aug. UNAIDS launched its report: HIV in Asia and the Pacific. The report shows us a world of ‘Three Zeros’ in 2015：Zero new HIV infections，Zero discrimination and Zero AIDS-related deaths.

We need more people to join us if we want to achieve the goal of ‘Three Zeros’. ‘ICAAP had a lot of sessions with different topics, and we invited members from civil societies to make speech in some specific sessions.’ Zihan then explained that when they were doing researches, they found that young people were at higher risk and accounted for a large proportion of HIV-infected population. ‘Based on this situation, we invited JYJ, a Korea Pop band who have a large following among young people in the Republic of Korea, across Asia and beyond to be the goodwill ambassador both of the ICAAP and UNAIDS. We hope to convey the key information through public figures’ Zihan continued ‘Because of JYJ’s large influence in young people, we also launched a new media campaign called ‘Love Always’ on Tweeter. In 6 days, more than 1.1 million people were involved, and HIV-related information was widely disseminated to key youth population.’

From Zihan’s point of view, sincerely communicating is the key factor to success. ‘We want not only information or resources from our partnerships, but also a kind of collaboration. So it’s quite important to let others feel your enthusiasm. If you can add ‘Dear’ or something like that at the beginning of an E-mail, that will make the receiver moved. It’s quite vital to let your partnerships understand its importance to the welfare of the global people.’

Varies of gains: public service is a long-term career

The 81-day internship in UNAIDS not only benefits Miao Zihan’s communication knowledge but also in varies of ways.

Because highly involved in works, Miao Zihan had great opportunities to be exposed to a lot of information on AIDS-related fields, such as survival status of the AIDS groups, how NPOs do their jobs and the problem they are facing. Due to the influence of traditional ideas, habits and so on, Chinese are conservative and evasive to HIV issues. They are unwilling to talk about this topic in public. The media in China do not pay much attention to it unless there are big society issues that can’t be avoided. In contrast, the environment in the United Nations is quite open. You just don’t feel ashamed to talk about sensitive topics. Different from that in China, there are journalists who specializing in HIV-related news and paying continuous long-term attention to HIV issues. ‘AIDS-related development and achievements, promotional activities and science knowledge are all the medias resources in writing articles.’ Zihan told us.

24th Oct is UN Day, which is one of the major medias’ focuses. On that day, the United Nations always shows its achievement in last year and announce next year’s work plan by launching reports, organizing exhibitions and so on. In order to make UN recognized by more people, all UN agencies held a communication meeting in which they started the preparatory work, including related exhibitions, media strategy and press release on 23th Sep. ‘Every agency interact with others smoothly because there aren’t any obstacles among them. I think that is so called UN family’ Zihan described.

When in such a special family, your knowledge will be broadened together with your horizon. ‘The internship has a great impact on my life values since the United Nations is such a unique Platform.’ Miao Zihan has made a comparison between his domestic internship experience and this special one, ‘ I used to plan and organize events for companies in China. Although I can get a sense of accomplishment, I still don’t know the meaning of working since companies just do things for profit. However, you clearly find yourself part of the team in UNAIDS, and I know that I am contributing my power to the happiness of all the people in the world. I don’t mean to say it, but the feeling of doing pure public services without profit involved is awesome!’

‘The happiness of all the people in the world’ sounds exaggerated, but it needs accumulation of time and a lot of practical work. During Zihan’s internship, Southeast Asia was in serious flood period. Almost every agency in UN had tried their best like sending food, tents and other necessities to disaster area, doing the daily data update, publishing disaster situation and many other practical things.
‘ What they are doing without utilitarian is meaningful, and they have developed their own strategic objectives. Everyone contributes effort to this goal.’ Public service is a long-term career because you should start from knowing, understanding to ideological changing. After that, you will make further efforts.

Unfortunately, Miao Zihan was unable to attend the United Nations Day events since the internship has arrived its terminal. He will never forget this wonderful 81-day trip of exploration. To him, this special trip is just like a communication with the whole world. The views and people during his internship are all his treasure with which he rediscovers his life meaning and self-value.

In the ordinary but warm farewell lunch on his last day in UNAIDS, Miao Zihan received gifts from his colleagues as well as friends: a pen, a book and a greeting card. The card says ‘ Pen is for you to record life, and book means more knowledge. We enjoy living and working with you, and your leave makes us sad. We will never say good-bye, We will say see you later.”

Yes，that’s right! See you later, the summer in Bangkok! See you later, the summer in UNAIDS.

BEIJING—To be present at the dawn of a new industry takes foresight, hard work, and a bit of luck. But to leave an indelible stamp on that industry—especially as a foreigner—requires exceptional dedication and the ability to see what others have missed.

Mr. Dumont, a communications expert with more than 30 years of experience in Greater China, started the Serge Dumont – Tsinghua Communications Scholarship in 2004. Administered by the CYDF, the fund encourages talented students to pursue careers in strategic communications and public relations. The scholarship chooses a topic each year and calls for papers from students at the Tsinghua School of Journalism and Communication. Contest winners are granted scholarships and internship opportunities.

This year, the scholarship encouraged students to explore “The Impact of Country-of-Origin Issues on the Global Expansion of Commercial Brands,” with a focus on products that are “Made in China” (MIC). Students were asked to consider questions such as the following:

• Does the MIC designation help or hinder the globalization of Chinese brands?
• How can China’s government support Chinese brands?
• How can Chinese brands implement their global expansion through public relations and strategic communications?

Of the 37 proposals received this year, seven won awards after a competitive evaluation. A Proposed Globalization Strategy for Tsingtao Beer, by Deng Ran and Zheng En, took first prize. Yue Yuan won second prize with her paper, entitled, Shanghai Jahwa: Making an Herborist a National Icon . The first and second prize winners will also receive a three-month internship at UNAIDS, either at the organization’s global headquarters in Geneva, in its Asia Pacific regional headquarters in Bangkok, or in its Beijing Office.

Mr. Tu Meng, Secretary General of the China Youth Development Foundation, praised the cooperation between the Serge Dumont Fund and CYDF. “Mr. Dumont is the one and only foreign member of the board of trustees of the China Youth Development Foundation, and we work closely in various ways. CYDF will continue providing resources and assistance to the Serge Dumont Fund for its programs. I am delighted to meet this year’s eight winners.” Mr. Tu encouraged students to learn from Mr. Dumont as a role model, and to “surpass their master” someday.

(Pictured: Mr. Tu Meng, Secretary General of the China Youth Development Foundation)

UNAIDS, one of the strategic partners of the Serge Dumont Fund, has provided enormous support since the fund started by offering unique internship opportunities each year. UNAIDS arranges broad training courses ranging from computer skills to business administration. Students also receive real-world experience in UNAIDS communication programs and make their own contribution to HIV/AIDS prevention.

(Pictured: Mr. Mark Stirling, Country Coordinator, UNAIDS China)

“ The opportunities provided by the Serge Dumont – Tsinghua Communication Scholarship are invaluable in teaching Chinese students about HIV/AIDS and related social development issues,” said Mark Stirling. “I believe this will have a positive impact on their future careers, and will encourage them to keep engaged in advancing the cause of HIV/AIDS prevention through informed journalism and strategic communications.”

(Pictured: First Prize Winner Deng Ran and Zheng En)

Zheng Ran, the first prize winner, will soon start an internship in Geneva. “Frankly, I have been dreaming about receiving the award since applying for the scholarship,” he said. “I think it is the same for all the students entering the final round of competition. The Serge Dumont Scholarship has completely changed my life.”

Mr. Dumont concluded, “This is the seventh time we have awarded this scholarship at Tsinghua University, and as always, I am impressed with the students’ enthusiasm and great performance. This is a special year, being Tsinghua University’s centennial anniversary, so we had to select an important and relevant topic. This year’s theme, “The Impact of Country-of-Origin Issues on the Global Expansion of Commercial Brands,” is indeed very relevant to the communications industry in China, since global expansion requires an effective strategy, and solid public relations and marketing programs to support that strategy. Most importantly, the successful globalization of Chinese brands requires talented communications practitioners with a global point of view – just like the students we’ve meet here at Tsinghua.”

(Pictured: Professor Shi Anbin, Deputy Dean of Tsinghua School of Journalism and Communication)

Professor Shi Anbin, Deputy Dean of Tsinghua School of Journalism and Communication, and Professor Fan Hong, Academic Director of Research Office of Public Relations and Strategic Communications also presented the awards.

(Pictured: Professor Fan Hong, Academic Director of Research Office of Public Relations and Strategic Communications)

To date, more than 100 students have received awards from the Serge Dumont Fund and 17 have been selected for internships at UNAIDS offices.

For more information, please contact:
Mr. Liu Zhao, Secretary General, Serge Dumont Fund
alan@alanliu.com

In the tide of reform and opening up, the Chinese local brands have began to enter the international market and already obtained certain positive result and experience. In order to expand the overseas markets of Chinese local brand，enhancing the brand influence and core competitiveness. The project will go into topic– “The Strategies and Tactics of Chinese local brands to go global.

The Strategies and Tactics of Chinese local brands to go global

Explanations:

Marketing strategy of Chinese local brands going into the overseas market successfully

• Correlation analysis between “The Chinese local brand” and” Made in China “
  Product Design Innovation / Technical Innovation / Brand Concept)
• Chinese competitor products, and their market position
  (High / low profit market – high end / high profit market)
• Relevant Policy research of Chinese local brand on the way to international market
  (Related policies: the policy for the Chinese Brand Promotion)

Communication Strategy of Chinese local brands going into the overseas market successfully

• Chinese brands of cultural aspirations, creative expression and the consumer association
  (Cross-Cultural Communication / Creative Innovation / Consumer Insight)
• Chinese brands marketing channels and promotional strategy
  (Overseas market channels / sales promotion / price strategy)
• Chinese brands overseas media strategy and advertising
  (Traditional media / new media / advertising media strategy / Advertising volume)

Opportunities and problems of Chinese local brands entering the international market.

Click here to download the registration form for 2010 fellowship, send to dumont.fudan@gmail.com before May 28th 2010

Rush season, busy work.  Quick look at what I have experienced in UNAIDS, all in all, I was the right person came to the right place at right time.  Vienna Conference on HIV/AIDS will be held in the upcoming July which is a chance to invite all delegates to share and discuss the issues on AIDS.  As a big buzz, here come several campaigns, online campaigns and off-line activities to reach target audiences.  My major happens to be in marketing and communication, so that I can pour all my passion and knowledge into my work in CKS (Communication and Knowledge Sharing) Division.  Actually, I did.  During the past two weeks, my work mainly focused on the public press called ‘OUTLOOK’, which is a fashion-style magazine of the topic on AIDS.  Selecting interesting facts from countries reports and re-editing them into articles. You have no idea how much fun it ever brought to me.  What impressed me most is the pitch of Global Fund.  After listening to so many presentations on commercial products, it‘s my first time to realize that marketing is everywhere, even in non-profit organizations.  My work continues, the next task will be on SNS (social network) platform to create more buzz of the Vienna Conference.  I strongly believe in that I can do it well.

Apart from the work, all staffs in UNAIDS, especially in CKS Division are my role models.  On my very first day arrived in Geneva, warm welcome followed.  Morris picked me up at the airport and prepared me local cell phone SIM card already.  Edward, my supervisor, offered me many maps, booklets, and all useful reference in Geneva.  Annemarie, our team leader, let me fully understand how leadership in a team. The DVD teaching of ‘The September Issue’ and comforting mail in the most unbearable moment, these are all precious memories deeply rooted in my mind.

Keen on every museum in every city, Geneva is not an exception.  In spare time, I visited several museums in the city as the closest touch on the spirit of Geneva.  There is no better way to feel a city than viewing the architectures and visiting the museums.  Crossing the lanes in the old town, even a normal brick could bring you back to the ancient times.  Ancient-scented city plus modern international organizations, that’s my loving Geneva!

Last but not least, it’s an endless thank-you list.  Special thanks to Dumont Fund that provide me an opportunity to access Geneva.  Thanks to Mr. Serge Dumont, Ms. LI Xiaohui, Alan Liu and Prof. CHENG shian.  Also, thanks to FUDAN University.  Many thanks to all the people helping and helped me.