Sophia Magazine vol.8 / WINTER 2018

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“It was a bit ironic that while I had been advocating ‘work-life balance,’ I myself lived and worked for three years away from my family, prioritizing 24/7 work over family. My son went from being eight to 11 years old, starting to dislike the con-cept of being a ‘He-for-She’!” Her son Ean, together with very supportive husband Patrick, began to feel increasingly lonely having a part of the family continents away and at work all the time. “I needed to find the right way to both balance and synergize my professional gratification with other important aspects of my life.”It just so happened that around that time, a senior post opened up at her former agency, the UNODC. Kato successfully applied, with her appointment hailed as a concrete example of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ commitment to the Gender Parity policy he had issued in October 2017. Many see Kato’s appointment to this senior management position, as the sole female director and far younger in age than previous in-cumbents, as reflective of a wave of change in the UN. Now back at the UNODC, Kato is in charge of managing its global operations, responsible for the work of over 2,000 personnel operating around the globe on many critical areas. “Many people fall into criminality,” she explains of the agen-cy’s current concerns, “starting from a place of deprivation created through increased inequality and structural discrimi-nation. The world is in the process of finding the right an-swers as to how human societies deal with ‘crime’ in the 21st century.” Kato believes the UNODC can contribute to such efforts to have an ever-greater number of people able to live without fear of crime or violence, where every individual can live with dignity and realize their full potential. “Crime and insecurity are among the biggest impediments to the UN vi-sion, and I hope to gear the UNODC’s work such that it deliv-ers better on these important challenges.” Kato says some of the ethos she gained during her time at Sophia, such as the “For others, with others” awareness of universal solidarity and service, is guiding her throughout her life and the decisions she makes each day. Many changes are taking place within the UN, so that this complex global body can deliver better results that leave nobody behind, as stipu-lated in the Agenda 2030, a time-bound commitment by the countries of the world around the Sustainable Development Goals. “A number of very critical reforms are now taking shape in the UN system, guided by the Secretary-General’s vision, in accordance with the Member States’ directions. It is a watershed moment for the UN, and it is the job of managers like myself to translate these principles into practice, in the reality of how the UN works.” Kato says. When asked her recommendations to young people, Kato points to the importance of making conscious effort to ex-pand the mind’s horizons. “I think it’s important when you are young, but also as you come further in your career, to get out of your comfort zone once in a while. Try something different, so as not to be judgmental.” She notes that people often think they have to make tradeoffs and choose between A or B; such as choosing between professional advancement or a fulfilling family life, or one professional specialization over another. Kato argues, however, that the attitude needed both today and in the future is one of exploring both A and B, and having the creativity and resilience to find ways to make both happen. “It’s often about mindsets that we are brought up and conditioned with. I hope our societies, and educational institutions in particular, can encourage people to think more in terms of possibilities than limiting options, because a lot of limitations actually happen in our own minds.”Finally, Kato highlights the value of exposing oneself to di-rect experiences with different people. “In a world of increas-ing virtual connectivity, what shapes people still has a lot to do with different perspectives that one experiences through human contact. Something that moves you to think and act differently.” She happily notes that her alma mater is a leader in pro-viding such opportunities of direct interaction, with both its multicultural faculty and student body, and visiting world leaders. The latter have included Secretary-General Guterres, who gave a special lecture at Sophia during his very first official visit in December 2017, and more recently Maria Fernanda Espionosa Garcés, President of the UN General Assembly, in August 2018. “I feel so proud as a Sophian to see how much emphasis Sophia puts on bringing in the voices of real-world international experience from around the globe. Not every university or company can manage these things! I wish for everyone to take advantage of these invaluable op-portunities that symbolizes the mission of Sophia.”Furthering the Work of the UN with a Focus on ChangeLeaders of Tomorrow22Sophia People