Photo credit: Amila Sadic
By Amila Sadic, MAGG
Happy New Year! The last few weeks of 2024 at UNDP Tanzania have been busy but rewarding!
In the last blog, I discussed the upcoming Annual STICE Meeting, which was a great success! For STICE, UNDP and partners had a presentation and panel discussion with the Ministry of Education and other governmental officials on the topic of Digitalizing Education in Tanzania. Each partner had an opportunity to share how they have been contributing to the topic and where they need help. The aim of this discussion was to engage partners and the government in filling the gaps in Tanzanian education. This meeting truly highlighted how important it is to work together to achieve common goals in a more efficient and durable way. Leading up to the event, I was busy communicating with UNDP Tanzania partners (specifically UNICEF, UNESCO, the Embassy of Finland, the Embassy of Sweden, the Embassy of the USA, the Japan International Cooperation Agency, and many local organizations). My role was to analyze each partner’s current efforts toward digitalizing education, whether that was by identifying future collaborations, or analyzing current successes.
Another major accomplishment at FUNGUO was the “Beyond the Hurdles documentary”- a documentary on the obstacles that women-led businesses have to overcome. The documentary presented a call for action for policymakers to ensure that these “Hurdles” become a thing of the past. During the premiere, we got to hear directly from the women in the documentary and hear their stories. It was truly an inspiring night and documentary! I am beyond grateful to have contributed to so many diverse projects at UNDP Tanzania. From the launch of the new cohort of investees, filming a gender-based documentary, to meeting with other international organizations, this internship gave me a holistic view of what UNDP is doing.
As this is my last blog post, I wanted to conclude with some tips and recommendations for anyone who is planning on going to Tanzania. If you are going as a tourist, I would suggest staying in Arusha. Dar Es Salaam is a business-oriented city and there is not much for tourists to do. Arusha is a tourist city that is well-connected with excursions to Zanzibar and many safaris! Also, be prepared to pay similar prices to Canada in Tanzania for food, trips, and accommodation. If you are in Tanzania for business, or an internship like me, you will shortly realize that everyone knows everyone in Dar Es Salaam! Do not worry about feeling like a foreigner because the business ecosystem within Dar is very welcoming and engaging!
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the BSIA, its students, faculty, staff, or Board of Directors.