I spent this summer in Washington, DC working with the Solutions for Youth Employment (S4YE) program at the World Bank. The S4YE Secretariat is housed in the Jobs Group of the Social Protection and Jobs Global Practice at the World Bank. As a multi-stakeholder coalition, S4YE’s mission is to provide leadership, research, and resources to significantly increase the number of young people engaged in productive work by 2030. 

I provided research support and analysis on the participation of youth in online freelance work and the evolution of the gig economy for an upcoming report being produced by S4YE and the Digital Development team. I had the opportunity to work on a new thematic area for S4YE: the creative sector or “orange economy,” to explore how creative work may promote inclusive employment opportunities for youth. I wrote a blog on this topic, which was published on the World Bank website. Along with this, I lent research and administrative support to the team as requested. 

Education, skilling, and employment, particularly for youth, are strong areas of interest for me. In my first year at GHD, my team and I entered the 2022 Public Policy Challenge and were among the top-5 finalists for our proposed intervention “YouCAN DC” – a project aimed at improving youth employment outcomes in Washington, DC. After having worked on this project for many months, my summer internship was the perfect next step. I was fortunate to work with and learn from a tight-knit, women-led, global team at S4YE who were putting theory into practice and making an impact. The coursework and experiences I have had at GHD prepared me well for my first graduate school internship, and more so, excited me for all the professional endeavors that await!