Reading the room: how a UNICEF representative honed her political acumen for children’s rights

When Mariavittoria Ballotta arrived as UNICEF Representative in the Republic of Congo, she stepped into a context where the economic, social and political landscape is complex, and where decisions are rarely made on technical evidence alone. Children’s rights matter, but they compete with other urgent national priorities: economic diversification, youth employment, energy and security.

“In a context like the one where I work in, children’s rights are just one among many priorities of the national counterparts,” she explained. “So you need to find your way of positioning children’s rights… and you need to have a good political understanding of when it’s the right moment to bring it up and take action.”

That “when” is often the difference between a door opening, or closing.

Before: strong evidence, limited influence

Mariavittoria’s team had the usual UNICEF strengths: data, research, trend analysis, and a clear mandate to advocate for children. In national planning processes, UNICEF would contribute what it had always contributed – by providing evidence from the past and present, and offering technical expertise to the Government of the Republic of Congo.

But Mariavittoria saw a recurring constraint. Even the best evidence can lose traction if it is presented without a clear reading of power dynamics and competing incentives, especially in environments where government counterparts are balancing multiple priorities and pressures at once.

Tools that make the political dimension usable

UNSSC’s four-week course, Navigating Complexity: Political Acumen and Strategic Negotiation for Sustainable Development, which Mariavittoria took part in, was built for exactly this kind of leadership challenge. It focused on political economy analysis, stakeholder and influence mapping, negotiation practice and strategic foresight, through peer learning and real-world simulations.

For Mariavittoria, the value was all about practical clarity.

“One thing is having a job description as a representative saying, ‘you need to be politically wise,’” she said. “And a completely different thing is finding yourself in a situation where you don’t even know what politically wise means and what are some of the tools at your disposal to use”.

After: shifting from “what happened” to “what might happen next”

The clearest change showed up in a national moment that matters: the Government’s work on a new national development plan and a long-term vision to 2063.

Normally, UNICEF would contribute the data it had (trends, research, studies) based on what the country has experienced in recent years. Mariavittoria still brought that evidence. But she added something new.

“One of the practical actions our office took was to participate more actively in conversations with the Government on the country’s national development plan,” she said. “But this time, we were bringing something new to the table: foresight.”

The foresight module encouraged her to ask a different kind of question: not only what current trends show, but what the Republic of Congo could look like for children in five to ten years, and what risks or shocks could disrupt progress along the way.

“We work in such unstable and unpredictable conditions that we can no longer afford a static style of leadership, or rely only on descriptive data as we did before,” she adds.

In practical terms, she began bringing future-oriented parameters into the national planning dialogue: the impact of climate shocks over the next 15 years; what destabilization in neighbouring countries could mean; and how outbreaks and health emergencies can shift priorities overnight. 

The approach was positively received by the Government and other stakeholders involved in the national planning process. UNICEF’s contribution helped bring a more future-oriented and anticipatory perspective into the dialogue, encouraging partners to look beyond immediate priorities and consider how longer-term risks, emerging trends and possible shocks could shape outcomes for children. This foresight lens was endorsed as a valuable addition to the planning process and helped inform the broader discussion on the country’s development priorities.

Making the shift stick: building political acumen across the team

Mariavittoria also took one lesson seriously: political engagement does not sit only with the Representative. She began using the knowledge gained from the Political Acumen course internally, helping her team analyse why discussions stall, where influence sits, and how to avoid frustration when priorities don’t move. The course became a shared language for strategy, timing, and trade-offs.

“We proceeded as a team,” she said. “I needed my team to become familiar with some of the concepts I had been exposed to, such as foresight, and to understand how these approaches could help them do their work better. I now see them using this knowledge more and more often, to the advantage of the UNICEF Congo office and, most importantly, in the best interests of the children of Congo.”

Why it matters

In complex country contexts, the UN can have the right mandate and the right evidence, and still fail to shift outcomes if it misreads incentives, timing and power dynamics. Mariavittoria’s story shows a more practical kind of change: a leader using political economy tools and foresight to reshape how UNICEF engages in national planning, how it advocates when resources are under pressure, and how it builds a team that can navigate politics and priorities successfully.

In her words, political acumen is not about status. It is about sensitivity, timing, and understanding what will unlock progress.

And in a world of accelerating shocks, it is also about refusing to lead with a static map, when the terrain is already changing.