by Jihye Hwang, Global Environmental Leaders Program Intern hosted by the Ministry of Environment of Korea and the Korea Environment Corporation

I had an internship at the Belmont Forum Secretariat from April to the end of September of this year [2023]. The internship with the Belmont Forum was my first international organization job and my first full-fledged opportunity to do research on the environment and sustainable development.

The Belmont Forum is an organization hosted by InterAmerican Institute of Global Change Research, based in Uruguay; however it studies various environmental problems occurring around the world, beyond the Americas. It co-organizes the Sustainability Research & Innovation (SRI) Congress every year, and it was very impressive to me that scholars and stakeholders in the various fields participating in the different Collaborative Research Actions (CRAs) put their heads together to help more members of society participate in problem solving and find better solutions. It was also good to get a glimpse of what opinions exist among researchers in conducting transdisciplinary research and efforts to bring out more people’s actions and improve the lives of more people.

Among many CRAs, I became interested in marine-related topics because I loved marine products, marine sports, and other marine life such as sharks and whales. Studying diverse projects, research topics, and transdisciplinary research methods across the five oceans, I feel like I have taken a step closer to understanding the variety of climate change responses and sustainable steps needed to move forward.

I would like to express my deep gratitude to the Belmont Forum Secretariat members, especially Nicole and Becca, who guided me with warmth and passion.