TheJourneyVolume1 - Book - Page 70
#NextGenUNDP
Shigeki Komatsubara
MALAW I
I had privileged access to key decision makers in Japan
and abroad, including a three-year period when I was
seconded to the OECD Secretariat to coordinate business
communities of OECD countries. Through hands-on
experience of inter-governmental policymaking and the
promotion of partnerships in Japan and abroad, these
years shaped the foundation of my professional career.
FIRST ENCOUNTERS
While I was working for developed economies and
international businesses, I started to develop interest
in developing economies, which were growing rapidly
and gaining in influence. That was when I encountered
a team of UNDP professionals who were in Japan to
recruit Japanese talents to work for UNDP. My professional background was not typically that of a development practitioner, but my profile was interesting to
UNDP because I could offer different perspectives and
contribute to its collective strength through diversity.
When I first joined UNDP in 2002, I worked at the
Regional Bureau for Africa (New York HQ) as Country
Program Adviser, supporting country offices and multiagency programs in Africa.
I then moved on to UNDP Ghana as Deputy Resident
Representative (DRR) Programmes and then came back
to RBA headquarters in New York as Tokyo International
Conference on African Development (TICAD) Program
Adviser, advising and collaborating with Japan, the African
Union, and the World Bank, to transform TICAD into a
global multi-stakeholder forum for Africa’s development.
As developing countries stabilized and started to grow
faster, my experience and perspectives in the global private
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