Blog: I2SC goes to the UN!

 After working as an intern in the United Nations Information Integrity Unit (previously called the Addressing Mis/Disinformation Unit) for five months, I (Brahmani) finally had a chance to visit the United Nations headquarters located in New York in April 2024.  As I approached the end of my internship, it was great to meet the team I only interacted with virtually until that point. For someone who comes from a purely technical background, it was a new experience to work in a truly multidisciplinary team.

 

As part of my internship, I worked on developing network analysis techniques to analyse the behaviour of different actors in the information environment, along with testing LLMs for narrative analysis. I've also contributed to a retrospective report on Mali, which looks at the shift in information space during the 7 months when the mission withdrew from Mali. Apart from this, I've worked on integrating new data streams and developing new training modules for in-mission training. During my trip, my team had the chance to present our work to the delegates from the C34 committee, a special committee of 157 countries that reviews issues relating to peacekeeping operations. Alongside another
intern, I also had the chance to present our work to wider colleagues in the Division of Policy, Evaluation and Training. Along with these, from the mandatory tour of the UN Secretariat and New York in general to the team lunches and the truly diverse culinary scene in New York, it was nothing short of an overwhelmingly exciting experience!

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