JPO Stories
How does a Peruvian going to China return partly Dutch?
Read Cesar Guedes's JPO story to find out...
Actually Cesar Guedes' way to the JPO programme was not a direct one. Born in Lima, Peru he first enrolled in the University of Lima to obtain a degree in Business Administration. After his post graduate degree in International Relations and Development, from the Institute of Social Studies (ISS) in The Hague he became a UN Volunteer in Georgetown, Guyana. It was a colleague, an Ethiopian JPO sponsored by the Netherlands, who made him aware of the option of applying to the JPO Programme as a national from a developing country.
After a series of application steps, various interviews and briefings Cesar Guedes finally arrived in China as a Dutch financed JPO with the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO). It was the China of 1994. A booming country full of potential in a state of change. Working with the industry, enterprises and the business sector, he was really close to the heartbeat of the country's transition and could feel the pace it was taking. His work included the organisation of investments forums, cooperation with the Chinese government in upgrading standards of environment for a safer and cleaner production and the promotion of Chinese technology to developing countries. The latter strikes Cesar as one of the most interesting aspects of his assignment: he was involved in organizing events to bring together people from Latin America, Africa, the Middle-East, Eastern Europe and the Pacific region so that they could be exposed to and inspired by the Chinese industries. He was thus able to witness and facilitate first-hand a number of South-South agreements. Another huge aspect of his JPO assignment was travelling. For the best promotion of UNIDO projects he has been all over the place: from the provinces in the far west to Beijing and even as far as Tibet and North Korea.
So how was it for Cesar to stay and work in a place all the way on the other side of the world? First off, the cultural barrier was huge of course. But the historical connections between Peru and China helped: "Peru has a large Chinese minority, perhaps the largest in Latin America," Cesar says, "due to that I felt very welcome". Also his familiarity with the UN system helped to bring things together in this very different setting and made it easier for him to really function within the framework of UNIDO activities and projects.
Also professionally he had to face challenges: his provenance from South America sometimes made him have a different perception of things than his colleagues with other backgrounds. Additionally, it was hard to be accepted being relatively young. But both Cesar's solid professional background and the good working environment in his office gave him the possibility to get as valuable an experience as he had.
His work in the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995 was maybe the most interesting and intense of his experiences. As part of the overall UN team he devoted his time entirely to the organisation of this event for a couple of months. It dealt with projects related to gender and industrial development and strikes Cesar as one of the most remarkable ventures during his time in China. That is also because it was one of the biggest international events the Chinese government had hosted up until then. "It was a big challenge; we had to help a lot with logistics. We had to be patient, try to accommodate and be creative when we were exposed to problems," he explains. Also, as a man he was maybe not the obvious participant of this conference on women, but that made it all the more interesting, he states.
Cesar describes the aspects of his experience as three-fold: A great learning experience, a great opportunity to understand the work of the UN and a great exposure to different set-ups while still managing to be efficient and productive. He strongly advises future JPOs to be fully aware of these learning possibilities and opportunities. In his eyes, the JPOs are not merely a working force but have also within their scope to learn how to interact as a professional in a very demanding setting. Challenges should not be a setback: "Don't be afraid of a challenge, because the challenges will never stop. This is just a start. And if you feel overwhelmed by what you see, well let me tell you, no matter where you are or what the environment, the more you grow professionally the more you'll be exposed to challenge. It never stops."
So what is it that fascinates Cesar so much about working in the UN? For one thing it is the international, multicultural environment. He is still fascinated by the fact that if a problem is discussed by people inspired by so many cultures and backgrounds the discussion exhausts so many possibilities. Meanwhile, it stays effective since people have a common denominator and a common understanding working together to make a major positive difference in the world. JPOs play a big a role in this, driven by the same purpose and the same interest.
Cesar Guedes feels the JPO-programme has made a major difference in his life and career. Not only because of the fact that he became so fond of the Dutch culture and people that whenever he goes to others countries he "participates in all kind of activities of the Dutch community there". It helped him become who he is now. He considers it an important entry point into the UN system for a young, highly skilled professional. One issue that he wants to emphasize, though, is that the JPO programme is not very known in his home country. "In Peru nobody knows about the JPO programme," he states. "But it is something so great and so valuable. I believe that there should be more outreach to citizens from developing countries." Today, after various assignments along the way for UNDP and UNV HQ in Peru and Germany respectively, he works in Vienna, Austria as Section Chief for Latin America & the Caribbean at the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
