Tell us a little about yourself.

I am a student of the School of International Relations at Saint-Petersburg State University. Last year I got my Bachelor’s degree in North American Studies and at present my objective is to accomplish successfully the academic plan of my department and get a Master’s degree in the same field next year.
I am 22 and, actually, I presume that my hobbies and leisure are quite similar to those that most people of my carefree age might have, i.e., movies, sports, friends. Reading is my ultimate passion, though I adore music, history, photography and Channel Discovery as well. As regards my civic convictions, I believe in the inalienability of human rights, in nonviolence and personal responsibility, in the UN and the power of international law. And I strongly support the environmental organizations in their aspiration for the essential balance of humanity and natural environment. 

Why did you apply to this program?

There are several reasons for my application. The first one is the unique and priceless experience that I will be able to obtain while being an intern. Experience means a lot in international relations field and, since in the future I hope to be engaged in a nonprofit international organization that pursues the goals of social improvement, the internship in the International Fund for China's Environment is an outstanding opportunity for me to try myself in new surroundings and to get valuable knowledge of how an international organization works. I also hope to make a small but sincere contribution to the cause of environmental improvement. The second reason for the application is my ultimate interest of an academic kind. Though the North American studies include study of both Canada and the USA, the latter has been the object of my research interest for more than five years and I can hardly consider my education full-fledged without seeing with my own eyes the country that I’ve studied for a considerable period of time only by reading.

Please identify one UN Millennium Development Goal in which you are most interested:

All MDGs seem extremely important to me but I believe that the global partnership for development is the one that should be implemented with the utmost effort. It includes five targets which are important, even taken separately, but, in my opinion, their true significance is that their accomplishment creates favorable conditions for the performance of other MDGs. The UN states took responsibility for these targets 9 years ago and, surely, in certain areas there has been a visible progress. Nevertheless, there is still much to be done. And it’s highly important, especially during a considerable economic slowdown, not to focus only on domestic problems but to strengthen global partnership and to keep promises made to the least developed world.