I was particularly moved by an ethical response of the private sector, but also individuals demonstrating solidarity and engaging in crowdfunding.
We have interviewed selected persons from the economic and diplomatic community, as well as public life, and found out how embassies, institutions, companies and public figures have organized diplomatic and business activities and themselves during the state of emergency, how they contribute to the fight against the COVID-19 virus, as well as how they spend their free time and what they will do first when the state of emergency is abolished. Today, we are talking to Regina de Dominicis, UNICEF Representative for Serbia.
How did you organize your activities?
UNICEF has been active in supporting national efforts at the onset of this crisis. Our response has been threefold – the procurement of the most needed medical equipment, especially for the most vulnerable groups, risk communication with the view of reaching the broader population, and outreaching to the most vulnerable segments of the society. Our team has been working very closely with the line ministry, like the Ministry of Education, on improving the inclusiveness and quality of the distant learning response, but we also did not forget preschool children and parents. Urgent response is in our DNA, so to speak, since we are an emergency agency, so we were able to move quickly. I was particularly moved by an ethical response of the private sector, but also individuals demonstrating solidarity. There is also crowdfunding. Although this is a period of social distancing, it is also a period of social solidarity. We need to keep this spirit alive but also believe in hope. This is the message we need to convey to our children so we are all able to overcome these difficult times.
Just like the majority of the people around the world, I am still working, and I am facing new challenges in terms of planning and managing my meetings. But it seems to be working pretty well. I start with my crisis management meeting in the morning which is usually quite short. It is very important to check on each other and to make sure that the entire team feels included in the current response, but also to ensure operational continuity. We have a business continuity plan in place; part of it has been activated so we can use electronic signature and all our transactions are carried out online. We had no problems with reaching out to our partners as it is only the matter of being well-organized. Since different countries are now experiencing same challenges, we are regularly communicating with our HQ in New York City and our colleagues from the regional office in Geneva to make sure that we are working together on finding solutions, that we are maximizing the innovation aspect and sharing good practices whenever possible, all with the goal of achieving the best result possible.
How you spend your private time during the pandemic?
In the beginning, it was difficult to define the cutoff point between work, play and family for the 3 of us. We have a 3-year old daughter called Gaia, so we have to be disciplined. Every evening, we devise a small and flexible family plan for the next day. I think that each of us has managed to find a space to be happy and satisfied. In my case, the work is still very intense in this period, and I have to find time for work, on the one hand, and playing with my child, on the other. Also, we are having a lot of fun in the process – we keep discovering things together that have long been forgotten. I also try to find time to read books, not work-related, that had been waiting on my desk for a long time. This time also gives us a unique opportunity for reflection and re-discovering our families, as well as for appreciating the importance of different roles that our family members play.
What will you do first after the state of emergency is abolished?
The first thing I would like to do when all this is over is to go for a long, long walk in nature with my family and friends and watch children playing freely outside. That would be really amazing! Immediately after that, I would like to start planning a trip to my beautiful Italy.