I am Dinmukhamed Omirali, a graduate of OSCE Academy, Politics and Security Programme 2018. Now I am working as a Leading Specialist at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan (MFA). I would like to share my story on how the OSCE Academy and especially its Junior Public Officers (JPO) Programme helped me to get there where I am now.
After graduation, any student wants to have some experience in working life. For this reason, OSCE Academy has a unique programme for its graduates, which is the JPO Programme. The programme mainly for those graduates who want to interfere with governmental organizations. I was one of the lucky students of the Academy who had received this opportunity. From March until June of 2019 I was interning at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The education received at the OSCE Academy and three-month internship within the framework of the JPO Programme helped me to be noticed by many diplomats, but still was not enough to be hired. Therefore, I decided to stay voluntarily for another three months with the permission of my boss.
Finally, after six months at the Ministry, I was successful in my application to the vacant position of Specialist in my department. It is now more than a year I have been in the MFA and now I am in the position of a Leading Specialist. The diplomatic life has its own interesting points like the time difference, experiences in different cultures, and especially the responsibility that diplomats have. Also, the networking here, which I am trying to focus on, gives great opportunities for you in the future. Overall, it is always interesting to observe from inside. This is how my career has started after graduation and it is important to note the role of the JPO Programme in it. I will be always grateful to the OSCE Academy that gave me this opportunity and be proud to be its Alumnus.