Thanks to Saiful Salihudin MIA ’21, concentrating in Economic and Political Development, for this post.

Apart from learning the culinary art of my native land of Malaysia, I spend my COVID summer days as a Political Affairs intern, at the United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, in the Security Council Practices and Charter Research Branch. There, I conduct research on political issues and countries, as they relate to the mandates of the Security Council.

Since March, I attended and covered various Security Council meetings on agendas including the Middle East and the Palestinian Question, Afghanistan, Non-proliferation, and Threats to International Peace and Security; analyze the evolution of the discussion and the working methods of the Security Council; and contribute to the drafting of the Repertoire of the Security Council.

I have also been working as a Researcher at Princeton University’s Empirical Studies of Conflict (ESOC) for their joint project with Microsoft Research Group. I research and analyze various misinformation narratives emerging globally surrounding COVID-19, led by Professor Jacob Shapiro, ESOC co-director and professor of politics and international affairs, at Princeton School of Public and International Affairs. The project aims to contribute ground truth on narratives to help researchers develop better knowledge about the source and impact of misinformation. This also helps industry to develop better tools to prevent their systems from spreading it.

An article I co-authored with my colleagues, as well as ESOC specialist, Jan Oledan, and Prof. Shapiro, based on this analysis, has been published and is now available on the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

I also spent some time working with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez re-election campaign doing check-in calls with the residents of the Bronx and Queens during COVID-19, phonebanking, tabling, and (socially-distanced) canvassing during the primaries. It was a fun experience and I learned a lot about community organizing and political campaign management during this period.

Thanks to Eduarda Zoghbi MPA ’21, concentrating in Energy and Environment, for this post.

I decided to study energy and environment at SIPA because I knew it would be the best institution to offer me the opportunity to connect with world-renowned and international faculty experienced in climate negotiations and advising governments. Growing up, I always considered climate change to be the world’s most pressing challenge, and my goal going to SIPA was to learn from the best and make an impactful contribution to my country – Brazil.

This summer I had an opportunity that took me one step closer to this goal. It all started in February, when I learned Brazilian Senator Jaques Wagner was coming to New York to showcase his new mandate to drive the ECLAC/UN Big Push for Sustainability in the Federal Senate. Through the student group “Brazil Talk”, we decided to organize an event and I invited my two employers – the Institute of Latin American Studies (ILAS) and the Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP) – to host a discussion about the Brazilian Green New Deal for students.

During this event, Jonathan Elkind and Mauricio Cardenas, Senior Research Scholars at CGEP, highlighted the importance of international cooperation as he moderated the senator’s presentation on the potential of renewable energy in Brazil to generate jobs and foster economic development. After meeting the senator and his team, I offered to support the Big Push framework in Congress by providing research and policy recommendations based on the US and the EU Green Deals to ensure a cohesive climate strategy that conformed with Brazil’s political context.

The Senator’s team welcomed my idea and I started seeking for financial support within SIPA. I was thrilled to go back to Brasilia – my home city and capital of Brazil – to interview legislators and work inside Congress. Then, COVID-19 changed everything. Even though I couldn’t travel to Brazil, I was still fully committed to this work. Thanks to Columbia University, I was honored to receive CGEP’s Women in Energy and the Whitman Family Foundation grants to help Senator Jaques Wagner and enhance Brazil’s environmental legislation.

Over the course of this summer, I have broken down the Big Push framework down into concrete action points, identified which were aligned to US/EU Green Deal targets and categorized them into short, medium, and long-term priorities for the country. Next, I carried out a robust legislative mapping of all existing congressional bills in alignment with these priorities. Finally, I recommended a strategy to help his team prioritize voting and sponsoring new pieces of climate legislation.

My work supported the consolidation of three major environmental campaigns: the ECLAC/UN Big Push for Sustainability, the Sustainable Development Goals, and the Paris Agreement. I am very thankful to Senator Jaques Wagner’s team for trusting me with this work and for undertaking such a crucial program to advance climate targets in Congress. Furthermore, I deeply appreciate Columbia University and SIPA for seeing the potential impact of this work and supporting my academic and professional goals. I hope they will continue to support internships and projects promoting a sustainable future for the next generation, and I can’t wait to learn more about the new Climate School!