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Laura Alanko

Laura Alanko

Political Associate (Trainee)

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location of Laura AlankoNew York, New York, United States

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  • Timeline

  • About me

    Senior Policy Advisor at UK Mission to the United Nations

  • Education

    • EF Barcelona

      2009 - 2010
      Academic Year Abroad Spanish DELE C2 (Diploma for Spanish as a Foreign Language) - Fluent/bilingual

      An academic year abroad in Barcelona, Spain living with a Spanish host family and studying Spanish at an international language school.

    • Kurikan lukio

      2006 - 2009
      Matriculation examination English, Finnish, Spanish, Swedish, German, History and Math laudatur

    • The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)

      2015 - 2016
      Master of Science (MSc) Social Policy and Development Merit

      Activities and Societies: Delegate in LSE Crisis Model United Nations and London International MUN My degree included the following courses:Social Policy and Development: Core ConceptsStates, Social Policy and Development (included designing and evaluating a social development program using Logical Framework Analysis)Gender and Development: Geographical PerspectivesInternational Planning and Children's RightsBasic Education for Social DevelopmentSexual and Reproductive Health Programmes: Design, Implementation and EvaluationGraduate dissertation: "Cutting… Show more My degree included the following courses:Social Policy and Development: Core ConceptsStates, Social Policy and Development (included designing and evaluating a social development program using Logical Framework Analysis)Gender and Development: Geographical PerspectivesInternational Planning and Children's RightsBasic Education for Social DevelopmentSexual and Reproductive Health Programmes: Design, Implementation and EvaluationGraduate dissertation: "Cutting Across Culture: Culturally sensitive school-based FGM/C education policy striking a balance between girls’ rights and cultural rights: the case of the Maasai in Kenya and Tanzania" Show less

    • University of Helsinki

      2010 - 2015
      Bachelor of Social Sciences Political Science & World Politics 4/5

      Activities and Societies: Vice Chair at the SU Committee for Development Coordination; Communications Coordinator at the UN Youth of Helsinki; Journalist at the Development Committee Magazine Minored in Development Studies (60 credits), International Law (30 credits), Latin American Studies (25 credits) and Communications Studies (25 credits). Bachelor's thesis on human rights in Venezuela in the post-Chavez era.

    • Sciences Po (Institut d'études politiques de Paris)

      2013 - 2014
      Certificate in Social Sciences and Humanities cum laude

      Erasmus exchange with courses in Development Studies, International Relations, Political Science, History and French.

  • Experience

    • European Commission

      Aug 2015 - Sept 2015
      Political Associate (Trainee)

      European Commission Representation in Finland, Political Section. Tasks included media reviews, political analysis, research, as well as writing reports, briefings and presentations in English and Finnish.

    • European Commission

      Oct 2016 - Feb 2017
      Knowledge Management Associate (Blue Book) - DG INTPA

      Knowledge Management Unit of Directorate General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA)Research, analysis, data gathering, reporting, Gender Focal Point for the Knowledge Management Unit

    • PROMAN, Luxembourg

      Apr 2017 - Sept 2017
      Communication and Management Support Expert

      Project coordination and Communications for the Education Advisory Services project with European Commission DG INTPA (previously DG DEVCO) Unit B4 - Education, Health, Research & Culture

    • Permanent Mission of Finland to the United Nations, New York

      Oct 2017 - Dec 2017
      Junior Adviser

      Unit for Development and Human Rights Following and reporting on the UNGA72 2nd & 3rd Committees, ECOSOC, Security Council and EU coordination meetings; organisation of events

    • UN Women

      Jan 2018 - Jul 2018
      Gender Parity Associate

      UN Women System Coordination Division, Gender Parity Team Coordination of the implementation of the UN Secretary-General's System-wide Strategy on Gender Parity, including analysis, feedback and monitoring of action plans; intra- and extra-organizational communications; capacity-building for Gender Focal Points; and organization of a high-level panel discussion "System-wide Strategy on Gender Parity: How to walk the talk" at the 62nd session of the Commission on the Status of Women

    • United Nations

      Aug 2018 - Jan 2019
      Gender Parity Specialist

      United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA), Office of the Under-Secretary-GeneralImplementation, monitoring and reporting on the 2018 Action Plan for Gender Equality and Gender Parity

    • Permanent Mission of Finland to the United Nations, New York

      Jan 2019 - Sept 2024

      Special Adviser for Human Rights and Gender Equality at the Unit for Development and Human Rights. Duties include:- Negotiating resolutions and agreed conclusions in the Human Rights Committee of the UN, Commission on the Status of Women, and Human Rights Council in Geneva, either in national capacity or on behalf of the European Union;- Representing Finland at the Executive Board of UN Women, including during Finland’s presidency of the Executive Board in 2020;- Facilitating the negotiations of UN Women Executive Board decisions;- Managing Finland’s delegation and events at the annual Commission on the Status of Women (CSW);- Providing talking points and background materials to the Permanent Representative on gender and related topics Show less

      • Senior Gender Advisor

        May 2024 - Sept 2024

      • Special Adviser for Human Rights and Gender Equality

        Jan 2019 - May 2024

    • UK Mission to the United Nations

      Sept 2024 - now
      Senior Policy Advisor

      Senior Policy Advisor & Gender Lead in the Human Rights team of the UK Mission to the UN (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

  • Licenses & Certifications

    • DELE C2 (Diploma de Español como Lengua Extranjera)

      Instituto Cervantes
      Jul 2010

  • Honors & Awards

    • Awarded to Laura Alanko
      Development Case Challenge - Winning Team Member LSE MUN Society Mar 2016 The team had to come up with a strategy to increase the farmer women's share of shea butter profits in Burkina Faso. The jury consisted of current and retired professionals in gender and development, one of whom had worked on the project in reality.

  • Volunteer Experience

    • Vice Chair

      Issued by Committee for Development Cooperation at the University of Helsinki Student Union on Jan 2015
      Committee for Development Cooperation at the University of Helsinki Student UnionAssociated with Laura Alanko

    • Translator

      Issued by Plan Finland on Jan 2015
      Plan FinlandAssociated with Laura Alanko

    • Communications Coordinator

      Issued by UN Youth of Helsinki on Jan 2015
      UN Youth of HelsinkiAssociated with Laura Alanko

    • Journalist

      Issued by Kimppu magazine of the Committee for Development Cooperation on Nov 2014
      Kimppu magazine of the Committee for Development CooperationAssociated with Laura Alanko

    • Social Media Volunteer

      Issued by The Book Bus Foundation on Feb 2016
      The Book Bus FoundationAssociated with Laura Alanko