Impact Story
Social protection for
sustainable development

When I enrolled in the Social protection for sustainable development course, I was working for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Sri Lanka as the Migration, Environment and Climate Change (MECC) focal point. In that job I wore many hats. I represented IOM’s Humanitarian Country Team within the UN network. By liaising with different international and national groups I provided institutional guidance and support to environmental migrants. I now work as the Senior National Programme Officer (Global Programme Migration and Forced Displacement) at the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), at the Embassy of Switzerland to Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

This career switch occurred while taking the Staff College course.

The knowledge I acquired from at the Staff College helped me shift to my present position as a donor agency head for a country. Concretely, through the Staff College I gained a multidimensional understanding of social protection, social security and other interlinked competencies. I also acquired new skills in public relations and communication that have helped make me better at networking.

I joined SDC when the organization was working with the United Nations Capital Development Fund to develop a project on digital remittances and social protection for migrant workers. Through my learning I am now confident in evaluating concept notes at an early stage. The social protection and social security knowledge I gained from the course helps me to review and provide solid feedback to my employer. I’m also more confident now sharing project-design suggestions.

I am using those skills to develop a social protection programme for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), supporting migrant children