Farewell to Ms. You Jin Lee, EAAFP Foundation Coordinator

In the words of You Jin Lee

© EAAFP

When I first started working at the EAAFP Secretariat, the 10th Meeting of Partners (Dec 2018, China) was in the pipeline. It was an international conference which was held from 9th to 14th December 2018 in Hainan, China with around 200 participants. I assisted in the coordination of the preparation for the MoP 10. The major responsibility was supporting the financial part of the event. I coordinated communication with partners regarding sponsoring their flight tickets and accommodation. Identifying the participants that need financial assistance, I managed the ticket reimbursement process. When I support the overall event on-site, I was so impressed that a lot of people from different countries in different fields are caring about migration waterbirds and their habitats. Being one of the members managing MoP10 was a great experience for me to learn how to organize huge events.

 

© Eugene Cheah/EAAFP

© EAAFP

In 2019, I worked as an Administration and Finance Consultant at the EAAFP Secretariat. I organized and developed administrative guidelines including staff guidelines, business guidelines, and employment medical examination forms. Developing each guideline, I learned how well-structured guidelines are important and directly related to work productivity. I also managed and updated monthly financial reports and prepared required documents for the annual auditor’s report.

In addition, when the EAAFP Foundation was established in 2019, I managed to prepare all documents to register for not only the Foundation but also as a Statutory Donation Acceptance Organization. Since the EAAFP Foundation was just established, many new documents were needed. As a Foundation Coordinator at the EAAFP Foundation, I prepared everything in detail from A to Z to make the EAAFP Foundation settle down. Facing challenges, I was able to grow. To promote a newly established EAAFP Foundation, I first launched the new Foundation website. I also coordinated the promotions through e-newsletter, social media, blog, interview series and shooting, and it contributed to raising the number of audiences.

EAAFP Foundation launched its Small Grant Programme every year to support the efforts of the civil society organizations through providing a small grant to implement projects that aim to conserve migratory waterbirds and their habitats in the Republic of Korea. Launching the Small Grant Programme in 2020-2021, I communicated with various parties including Governments, NGOs and Private Sectors. Coordinating the overall programme and participating in the events of grantees, I learned how local NGOs are passionate about realistically conserving migratory birds and habitats.

© EAAFP

In collaboration with the Yeonsu Foundation for Arts and Culture (YSFAC) the ‘Bird Meets Arts’ project (‘새며들다’ in Korean) was produced to celebrate 2021 World Migratory Bird Day and to promote the importance of migratory waterbirds and their habitats through culture and art. It aims to encourage public participation in various forms of conservation actions. The “Birds Meets Arts” project has produced six videos this year. Each episode was released on a monthly basis in English and Korean. They covered; 1. Migratory Birds in Yeonsu, Incheon, RoKorea, 2. Wetlands, 3. Records of Songdo, Yeonsu district, 4. Illustration and CEPA, 5. Youth, and 6. Music. Even I was the one who coordinated the project, when I met people in environmental fields and filmed the video, I was touched by the talks. It was a proud moment when several organizations contacted us asking for environmental collaboration after watching videos.

 

© EAAFP

It is always difficult to leave a place full of great memories. It has been three years since I started working at the EAAFP. During that time, I have learned invaluable lessons about everything. I can say that the EAAFP changed life. I became a more environmental person than before, and fall in love with birds. Thanks for the EAAFP which made me open my eyes to a world of birds. I also thank the colleagues who are always passionate about building together. I wish you all the best.

 

© EAAFP

 

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