ARF-ER-Sponsored Internship at UN Mission Underway

NEW YORK—The four-week internship program at the Armenian Mission to the UN in New York, sponsored by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Eastern USA (ARF-ER), is currently underway. Interns Talin Bagdassarian and Manoug Alemian will spend three weeks at the Armenian Mission, where they will prepare reports and participate in meetings with UN dignitaries and members of the Secretariat. The interns will learn about foreign policy challenges facing Armenia and the Caucasus and how the Armenian Mission to the UN addresses these concerns. The last week of the internship will be under the auspices of the ARF-ER.

“I look forward to learning more about the diplomatic world and understanding the means used to fight for Armenian issues on an international level. I also look forward to understanding the impact of international law on Artsakh [Karabagh] and Armenia and how the Permanent Mission uses concepts of law to defend them,” said Alemian, who is studying law at the University of Ottawa, specializing in civil law.

Alemian has been an active member of the ARF, AYF, and the Armenian National Committee (ANC) of Canada. In 2013, Alemian participated in the Leo Sarkisian Internship program at the ANCA headquarters in Washington, D.C., where he worked on Hai Tahd issues.

Bagdassarian is currently studying at Loyola Marymount University (LMU), where she is majoring in political science and minoring in history. She has been an active member of LMU’s Armenian Students’ Association since 2011. She spent her spring 2014 semester studying political science at the American University of Armenia.

“I hope to learn about the relationship between the Republic of Armenia and the UN, specifically about how the UN works with Armenia in areas such as development, poverty reduction, as well as with the ministries within the government of Armenia,” noted Bagdassarian.

The ARF-ER-sponsored internship began on July 28 and will continue to Aug. 15. The internship is geared toward political science and history majors who plan to work in the international arena after graduation, providing interns with the ability to learn from and interact with representatives at the forefront of international politics while proudly serving the Armenian Nation.