Mohini Raichura-Brown, chief partnerships officer at UNICEF UK, tells us about her visit from London to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York City where she met with current and prospective partners to help generate more impact and income for UNICEF’s life-saving work and to advocate at the highest level for a better future for every child.

Monday

Excited and nervous, I board an economy flight to NYC to attend some critical meetings with partners and stakeholders at the UN General Assembly. I’ve been twice and it’s a frenetic and unique time when Midtown NYC comes to a standstill as world leaders and organisations come together at the headquarters of the United Nations to decide how best to meet and respond to some of the world’s greatest challenges and opportunities. Face-to-face meetings are critical as they help to unlock opportunities and funding for our life-changing work.

High on the agenda is progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals: a series of goals for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and in the future. World leaders, alongside influential partners, come together to commit, convene and brainstorm around the actions we need to take to deliver for 2030. It’s a critical moment in the year and I am eager to make sure UNICEF UK leverages the opportunity to deliver meaningful change for children. Securing funding to help support this work is critical and my role is to lay the foundations to make this happen.

Dinner that night is spent with UNICEF colleagues from around the world including US, Australia, Switzerland, the Middle East and West Africa, so we can compare stories of what we’re working on and seeing in our respective markets. One of the best parts of working in our organisation is the array of talent and the global network that this job enables you to cultivate.

Tuesday

A busy day of meetings in NYC, including a breakfast led by UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited, a public-private partnership which works to connect young people to opportunities in employment, entrepreneurship and social impact. At the event we heard from young people directly about the challenges they face in their countries, the impact they are seeking to have in the world and the investment required. This was followed by a meeting with representatives from Jo Malone London, a partner and member of UNICEF’s Global Mental Health Coalition, to discuss the future of our partnership and explore other areas of UNICEF’s mental health programming. Our partnership protects and promotes mental health and wellbeing for children, young people and caregivers around the world - providing support where it is needed most.

Lunch with the team was in a wonderfully old school New York diner. We ate the crab rolls! I then headed to a UNICEF panel event on the rooftop of the Consulate General of Denmark which highlighted the power of UNICEF’s transformational partnerships with the private sector, and showcased guest speakers from the likes of Clarios, Pandora, Adyen and Accenture, a global partnership which is managed by one of my teams. After this, a reception and dinner hosted by our longstanding partners AstraZeneca provided a great opportunity to connect with them and other key stakeholders they work with in their commitment to purpose and social impact.

Wednesday

I wake up jet-lagged and far earlier than I should so dial into a morning meeting in the UK with some of our Board members on our Finance Committee. We have a diverse and engaged Board and it’s really helpful to have opportunities to connect with them, hear their advice and challenges, and make sure we’re doing the absolute best we can to deliver on our mission: a better world for every child.

I have a breakfast event hosted by a comms agency on the topic of social purpose and diversity, equity and inclusion, something I am incredibly passionate about and co-sponsor as a member of the Executive team at UNICEF UK. After this I have a lunch meeting across town with a peer colleague who works at UNHCR. I am always keen to keep up with others across the sector, hear about the brilliant things they are working on and also see if there are any opportunities for us to collaborate.

After this I have an unusual break in my schedule and head to MOMA for a whirlwind visit and a bit of headspace. By this point I fancy myself a proper New Yorker and demonstrate my fast-paced walking as I walk to attend an event hosted by two of UNICEF’s global partners, Accenture and Microsoft, on “preparing youth for work in an AI powered world” - a fascinating event and so good to speak to new and old faces.

Thursday

My last day in NYC and in the morning I have time to meet with some of my global colleagues who are in town too. Having a laptop and access to Teams means that I can work and join meetings from anywhere in the world, but I really cherish the opportunity to meet face-to-face where I can. I think it is so incredibly valuable and irreplaceable.

Next up is a meeting with a company interested in partnering with UNICEF. We talked about UNICEF’s shared value partnership approach, our global scale and impact and how we deliver transformational systems change. I’m excited to see what we can achieve together.

I then headed downtown to what ends up being one of my favourite events of the week, a Global Coalition for Youth Mental Health panel event which featured UNICEF partners such as Jo Malone London, Spotify and Z Zurich Foundation. We hear from an artist, a poet and a youth advocate for mental health, and are taken through a guided breathing exercise. After a whirlwind week buzzing around meetings and walking 1000s of steps, this is grounding and so deeply impactful. I am in awe of the breadth of UNICEF’s work and the way our approach
considers all angles and needs of children. A quick dinner with an old friend who lives in NYC now, before flying home.

Friday

Friday is usually my Non-Working Day as I work full time but compressed hours. I really cherish UUK’s approach to flexible working and how I am able to balance my busy role, with being a mum to an 8 and 4 year old. I land in London, excited to get home, squeeze my kids and tell them about my trip. They are predictably unimpressed but keen to see the photo of my aeroplane, which I always know to capture when I travel with work.

My children are starting to understand my job a little and why it’s important to me but sometimes I feel sad when it takes me away from them. I am delighted to tell them a wonderful perk of my job which is that we have all been invited to the world premiere of the Paddington in Peru movie, because of our partnership with Paddington. Through our partnership, we developed Paddington’s Postcards, a subscription product that provides young explorers with a special postcard pack from Paddington every month. Children can learn about a different country through inspiring stories, journals and stickers, teaching them about the lives of other children around the world.

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