BAFUNCS’ inspirational return to LIMUN 2026
Written by Matilda Alexis Camara, Journalist, LIMUN 2026
This year's LIMUN 2026 kickstarted with enlightening words from Sarah Papineau urging our young delegates to ‘be totally adaptable’. The British Association of Former United Nations Civil Servants returned to LIMUN once again in North Rotunda at 11AM to present an engaging career paths programme led by Sarah Papineau, Stephen Rudgard and Jocelyn Mason.
The essence of the United Nations
The theme: ‘Navigating the UN system: What it Means to Work for the UN’ featured our guests guiding the delegates through the basics such as the UN charter and proposing provoking questions around the funding allocation among UN agencies. This underscored the imperfection of the UN; illustrating it as an evolving organisation rather than a perfect one. However, through this crucial acknowledgement, Mason, Rudgard and Papineau motivated the delegates to contribute to its evolution and to not view it as an obstacle. Beyond this theme, they heavily encouraged the delegates to think outside of this weekend’s assembly and to consider different steps they could take to help achieve a career in the UN, such as involvement in NGOs
A dive into the past: curating a unique journey
Our guests kept the inspiration flowing throughout the panel by discussing their diverse career paths. Sarah Papineau’s story started at 21 after she moved to New York and began working with the UN shortly after. She currently consults part-time for IDLO after a plethora of amazing positions such as the Director of Programme Funding at both UNDP and GAVI. Her enlightening words ‘be totally adaptable’ resonated with the delegates as she demonstrated how a leap of faith and an open mind can truly take you anywhere even if you do not have a structured plan. On the contrary, Stephen Rudgard did not start his UN journey until he was 42. However, he displayed to the delegates that his late start did not stop him from his extensive involvement with the FAO for many years as a representative for various countries and currently the chair of BAFUNCS. Mason displayed a variety in his UN career path from describing his recent position as Resident Representative in Somalia compared to his start in the private sector and civil society organisations. Overall, this exciting segment of the panel provided an invaluable insight to our delegates that reassured them there is no fixed path into the United Nations and they can create their own unique story like Mason, Rudgard and Papineau.
BAFUNCS uplifting impact
As a result of today’s priceless panel, our delegates left feeling motivated and open minded to maximise their efforts into building their unique path into the United Nations starting with their engagement in this LIMUNs conference weekend. The panel aligned perfectly with LIMUNs central theme of ‘Shared Futures: Building Diplomatic Pathways for Unity’ which prepared the delegates further in time for their first committee session. We look forward to having BAFUNCS host more inspirational panels in future LIMUN conferences.
