Persuasion concepts and applications

¶ … third announced goal of the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals is to promote gender equality and to empower women. I am a woman, in my twenties, who has been struggling to obtain these goals for myself and the other women in my country of Rwanda. Since starting a business in the fashion industry eight months ago, I have worked tirelessly to make a success of it. Despite the fact that Rwanda is still recovering from the effects of the 1994 genocide, still rebuilding its national economy, and the government has been little help with its efforts to promote gender equality, my business continues to show signs of success and I currently employ four workers. In an attempt to promote gender equality in my business, I employ three women and just one man. As my business continues to grow, I expect to be hiring more workers, both women and men, for both short-term projects as well as long-term employment.

I believe that in the eight months that I have been operating, I have demonstrated the ability to successfully run a business. However, as my business grows, I need education and training to better deal with the expanding nature of my business. My power to promote gender equality in the workplace will be severely hampered without the capability to successfully expand. Since my growing business is currently utilizing it's cash reserves for operating expenditures, I am applying for a scholarship to participate in the six-week U.N. internship in New York.

If selected to attend the internship in New York, I hope to attend as many educational and business related activities as is possible. As an intern I would like to be a part of some international business-related aspect of the United Nations' Millennial Development Goals Project. Not only do I want to learn, but I want to help as well. And being able to promote gender equality, not only in my home country, but around the world, is something that I would be proud to be associated with.

As I need to learn to successfully expand my business, a U.N. internship will provide me with the opportunity to learn, as well as make contacts which may help my business. I also want to learn the latest ways to incorporate the idea of gender equality into my business so that when I expand and hire more people, I will be able to give more women of my country a chance to achieve financial security. Finally, I hope to gain some insight into how the international community works, especially the business community, so that when my business expands enough, international trade will be something that I am already familiar with.