Teodora Čakarmiš worked for the Delegation of Palau at UNESCO. Palau is an island nation in the West Pacific comprised of 250 islands with a population of 21,000. Its economy relies on tourism, crafts, construction and fishing. Palau is threatened by climate change effects like ocean warming and acidification which damage coral reefs and fisheries. The delegation aims to represent Small Island Developing States and establish partnerships to address these issues. Teodora's responsibilities included office management, outreach to form new partnerships, and organizing events around issues like climate change negotiations and ocean protection.

1. Teodora Čakarmiš
Working for an Intergovernmental Organization
Delegation of Palau at UNESCO
Quick fact on Palau:
• Located in the West Pacific, comprised of 250 islands, with a
population of 21,000
• Capital: Maleokok; Official languages: English, Palauan, and
Japanese
Economy
•Industry: Tourism, craft items, construction, garment making
•Agriculture: Coconuts, copra, cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes
•Exports: Shellfish, tuna, copra, garments
Climate change
•Directly and imminently affected by ocean warming and acidification
(coral reefs are seriously threatened!)
•Palau is highly dependent on fishing and preservation of marine
biodiversity
• Shark poaching and overfishing more generally puts the country in
an extremely vulnerable position
Mitigation efforts
• Creation of the ‘no take’ reserve which encompasses 193,000 square
miles, where all export fishing is forbidden in 2015
• Government prohibition of commercial shark fishing in its waters,
establishment of the world’s first shark sanctuary in 2009.
Summer
Internship
Global Development Studies
Prof. Montgomory Roper
Resposabilites/Activities
Mission of the Delegation:
•Giving visibility to the plight of Pacific nations and establishing
strategic partnerships (diplomatic and other) to better represent
Small Island Developing States
Responsibilities
•Internal correspondence and office management - writing memos,
attending meetings, sending diplomatic notes, editing briefing
reports, etc.
•External outreach – forming partnerships in the private and public
sector, as well as academia – collaborated extensively with Volvo
Ocean Race, Disney France, Foundation Cousteau, European
Feminist Initiative, Royal Air Maroc, and Sciences Po University
Activities
•Event organizing: launch of the book ’Palau and its Neighbors in
the Pacific’ in the Assemblée Nationale; World Oceans Day – June
8th – exhibition in collaboration with the Intergovernmental
Oceanographic Commission, Foundation Cousteau and the Swedish
Delegation
• Debriefing after the Paris Agreement, development of new
implementation strategies, and preparation for the negotiation at the
Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework
Convetion on Climate Change