Catherine Boellinger’s roots lie in Lorraine, France, but she spent a major part of her childhood in Latin America as her father’s work brought the family across the waters. From Ecuador, Mexico, Chile and also Spain, she returned to France to study in Paris. Her passion for languages could well have taken her elsewhere, but she ended up in Copenhagen, Denmark, working for WHO/Europe’s publications team.
From Latin America via France to Copenhagen. That’s quite a contrast.
Well, yes, but I was used to that type of contrast. While living in Latin America, we would return to Lorraine, to our small village in France, for holidays and such. The contrast with Mexico City, for instance, was of course mind-blowing but enriching as well. I studied in Paris, where I graduated from university in Spanish language and literature and French teaching. After that, I worked at the International Criminal Court in The Hague as a typist and junior translator during a few months a year – a job that proved to be very useful when joining WHO!
What made you join WHO?
Back in 2015, I spotted an interesting vacancy with the languages department at WHO in Copenhagen at the very last minute. I literally submitted my application an hour or so before the deadline. I was shortlisted and called for an interview. It was the first time I did a competency-based interview, which is standard within the United Nations system. I remember calling my boyfriend afterwards, doubting I had made it. I felt it had gone so well that I was certain it was too good to be true!
What does your job at WHO entail?
I’ve worked in various teams within WHO – in the French language team I worked as a proofreader, for instance. I have a wide variety of tasks in my current position in the publications team. One of our main tasks is to review publications
to make sure documents meet WHO standards for publishing. We liaise with different technical units, advising them on their planned products. Once the publications are ready to be released, we archive and make them public in WHO’s Institutional
Repository for Information Sharing (IRIS), a task that requires concentration – a different part of the brain than communicating and liaising with colleagues.
We also receive permission requests or questions from outside WHO, from
partners, organizations, students, etc. wanting to use or translate our materials. I really like this bird’s-eye view of all the work that WHO does through its publications.
Between my various positions, I had a study break as well,
focusing entirely on art, which is a passion of mine.
Sounds like an inspiring break!
Yes! In 2019, I left for Viborg in Jutland to attend a school of arts and animation where I studied classical art and illustration. I’ve always drawn a lot. My brother works in the animation industry, and my parents are very interested in art, so
it’s a strong interest we share in the family. Today, it’s something I do on the side. But I never turned it into a profession. I feel it would take away some of the freedom surrounding this passion. But maybe in the future! It’s
a very serious hobby, let’s put it that way.
Before the first lockdown, I had a period when I sketched a lot in cafés or in the city. During the pandemic, I focused more on practising digital techniques, and now I’m really
into gouache painting, a slower, more meditative process.
Speaking of meditation, how do you take care of your health?
I try to keep a balanced diet as much as possible, and I like cooking. I don’t really consider myself a sporty
type, but I am physically active: I walk a lot and I adore how we live our lives on bikes in Denmark. Although for Danes, riding a bike obviously doesn’t qualify as sports! But biking home, with the fresh air and the absence of screens, is such
a refreshing moment and a nice transition from work to home.
It’s time for your triple tip – best music, film and book!
My film tip would be a great Danish documentary in animated form called “Flugt” in Danish. It’s a true story about an Afghan refugee, Amin, his flight from his country, and rootlessness. It’s absolutely brilliant. For music, I love so many different music genres, but at the moment I’m listening to the Beatles, and the song “While my guitar gently weeps” is one of my all-time favourites. Lastly, my book tip would be a graphic novel by Jiro Taniguchi – a Japanese manga artist – called “A distant neighbourhood”. It’s a beautiful story about childhood and memory, a bit melancholic, very poetic. I would recommend to anyone to discover this author’s universe.
Regional Director’s Division (RDD) – COM publications team
- Number of staff: 4
- The publications team provides internal publishing services for all of WHO/Europe.
- Once a publication is ready to be released, the team archives it in IRIS.
- The team also processes requests for permissions to cite, reproduce or translate WHO/Europe’s publications, and answers questions from the public relating to publications.