Stories from the Field 8

Voices of Japanese Personnel Working in International Organizations
—Realizing the dream by doing my best each day (Introducing the careers of Japanese personnel)—

The author during her internship in Mali

The author giving a speech at a workshop

Longing for a job that is international and helpful to the people in junior and senior high school days

From my junior and senior high school days, I had always had a vague longing to work for an international organization to help people by traveling all around the world, and I wanted to be like that in the future. This was in the 1990s, a time when the work of Japanese staff members of international organizations was being covered in the media, including former UN High Commissioner for Refugees OGATA Sadako.

However, I had rarely left my hometown of Hokkaido, let alone traveled outside Japan, and for someone like me “the world” seemed a tremendously long way away. Although there was only so much a local Japanese junior and senior high school student could do, I studied hard including English in order to enter university and engaged in social contribution activities through the Girl Scout troop I belonged to. Participating in an English speech contest and Girl Scout exchange camp in Alaska were highly valuable experiences.

The fascination of multilingual and multicultural environments: Encounters with Africa and the world

I went to International Christian University and conducted research into the use of multiple languages, focusing on young people in Kenya, as my graduation thesis. I stayed in Kenya during my summer vacation, interacting with students of the same age and traveling to the surrounding countries. Through this experience, I was completely fascinated by the rich culture and the positive-thinking people I met, and returned to Japan with a strong determination to work in a multilingual and multicultural environment and to obtain a job opportunity in the African continent.

A long and winding path: From working in a company, via overseas graduate study, and becoming a JICA project formulation advisor in Senegal

After graduating from university, I studied French, which is essential for working in Africa, while gaining work experience in a company, believing “Perseverance prevails” in Tokyo. Afterwards, I resigned from my company and went to France, to continue studying French, and then went to graduate school. I took development studies so as to continue research into “multilingualism and multiculturalism” and “migration and migrants,” at graduate school and also served as an intern and carried out my graduation research in Mali in West Africa. After that, I worked as a trading company employee and then as a JICA project formulation advisor, over a total of six and a half years in Dakar, the capital of Senegal in West Africa, during which time I also experienced childbirth.

Working as a JPO and then becoming an IOM staff member

I applied for the position of a Junior Professional Officer (JPO),*1 just before reaching the age limit. (I had just had my second child, and the term of my position as a JICA project formulation advisor in Senegal was coming to an end.) I was hired and, in the following year, I took up a new post at the Morocco office of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the only UN organization that specializes in handling issues connected with the global migration. After completing the JPO mission, I was hired as a staff member affiliated to the same office. As of this writing, I have worked in this office for five years in total.

At the IOM, I am in charge of implementing projects for “migration and development” and “governance,” as well as monitoring and evaluating projects overall in Rabat, the capital of Morocco. Specifically, we have various projects, including for supporting the national policy formulation and promoting multicultural coexistence, to ensure that migration contributes to the development of both host and outflow countries. Although there are a lot of on-site work and a series of processes for managing projects within deadlines and limited budget, I am able to fully utilize my past working experience.

Messages to readers: It is fine to take the long way around, sending an encouraging message for women

It may seem like a detour as I became a staff member of an international organization approximately 10 years later after leaving Japan, yet I do not have any regret at all. I had learned both efficiency-oriented ways of work and process-oriented ones at the Japanese company and JICA respectively, and have therefore been able to be of immediate help and contributed to the organization. I can say that doing my best each day, in a given environment, helped me to find the next stage in my journey and brought me to my current destination. And this is not the goal.

I have a message for women. There are many women playing an active role in international organizations. I would be lying if I said having and raising children never made it harder for me to further my career. However, international organizations are most certainly working environments where these issues are widely understood, and there are numerous women in managerial positions. (In fact, all of my previous superiors have been women!) I was able to have and raise two children while working. Indeed, having a family is actually what helps me to stay positive each day, even when I face difficulties in my job.

FUNAKAWA Natsuko
International Organization for Migration (IOM) Morocco

*1 See “(2) Enhancement of Human Resources and Intellectual Foundations for Development Cooperation” for details on JPO Programme.