Student profile: Clément Da Cruz

I currently support the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), Regional Office for the Americas and the Caribbean, as a Programme Officer for Urban Resilience, Climate Action, and Inclusion. My role centres on providing policy guidance and technical assistance to help national and local governments across the region build resilience to disasters.

I particularly promote inclusive practices that account for youth, women, LGBTQI+ people, migrants, and people with disabilities. Within the Regional Office, I also support resource mobilisation for local level projects, monitoring and reporting to donors and UN Country Teams, and external relations with partners. 

The starting point of my journey was reading Clive Hamilton’s Requiem for a Species: Why We Resist the Truth about Climate Change. I was an 18-year-old Bachelor student on the Latin-American Campus of Sciences Po, with a vague interest in sustainable development, and a growing worry about the climate crisis unfolding. To me, this book was eye-opening on the risk of a civilisational collapse due to climate change and the urgent need for governmental action.

My interest in urban policies came later, during my third year in São Paulo, Brazil, where I was fascinated about how one could manage (or not) such a rich and complex megalopolis. It drove me to apply to the GLM master's programme.

So, my current role is the meeting point of the issues and region that most interested me as a student. I took the opportunity of a gap-year during my master's degree to do an internship at UNDRR, after which I was hired as a consultant before graduating. I have progressively gained in responsibilities over the last four years, first as a local technical advisor, then as junior officer, and now as programme officer.

The programme emphasis on adopting a comparative approach is very aligned with how international organisations approach urban development challenges. In my current role, I am expected by local stakeholders to broaden their perspectives and compare urban solutions that were tested in other parts of the world to address similar challenges.

The GLM master gave me the tools to comprehend various urban contexts, analyse implementation gaps between international agendas and city policies, and craft local solutions to global issues. I was also able to tailor my education and research projects to specialise in policies around basic services and infrastructure (i.e., water and sanitation, waste management, housing) which are key sectors to build city resilience to climate change and disasters. 

International organisations need the expertise of urban development specialists. We are far from achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or other global frameworks, in part because local implementation is lagging. Being able to understand local dynamics is a key skill to make international agreements more actionable on the ground.

Having an inclusive mindset is another crucial skill. To connect global agendas and local stakeholders, one must be able to engage all audiences—from government officials to community members— socialise knowledge in diverse formats and create safe spaces for meaningful participation. This ensures that the strategies and projects being developed are equitable and socially empowering.

A recent achievement has been to co-create a tool for local governments to assess their capacities to include and account for the specific needs of women and LGBTIQ+ people in the development of urban resilience policies. My team and I have successfully implemented it in various cities over the last months (i.e., Medellin, Montevideo, Recife), each time with a participatory workshop between local authorities, civil organisations, and members of at-risk communities.

I am particularly proud of having pushed for the adoption of a gender-transformative approach that is inclusive of LGBTIQ+ people. We need more data and robust methodologies to understand and address the disproportionate impact climate change and disasters have on LGBTIQ+ people. Some cities are already testing innovative solutions and it would be incredibly rewarding for me to contribute to scaling these solutions with the support of international organisations.

Urban development specialists are needed across a variety of sectors and organisations, from private companies and non-profits to international financial institutions, so I would advise students to broaden their search beyond renown city-networks and agencies for urban development.

Clearly identify your sector of interest within the field of urban policies (e.g., cultural heritage, migration, health, humanitarian, gender equity), map the relevant international organisations for this sector and check if they have local-level projects and initiatives.

For those particularly interested in a career in the UN: internships, consultancies, and volunteering (namely UNV Youth position) are the most common entry-level opportunities. Understanding these different options will help you navigate the UN system.