NEWS
UN Seminar Held on Campus
Update: April 11, 2024
The ICU-UN Seminar (GS course: QPPI528 United Nations Seminar on Sustainable Development) was held on campus under the auspices of the Diplomatic and International Public Service (DIPS) Program starting with the guided virtual tour at the UN Headquarter in NY on the 8th. This year's Seminar benefitted from 24 lectures and interactive Q&A sessions from 11 to 15 March. It was an intensive course held in-person attended by 24 students, with speakers in a hybrid manner from 20 locations.
The speakers represented the Ministry of the Environment of the Government of Japan and Jamaica Ambassador to Japan as well as various UN entities including UNU Centre for Policy Research(CPR), Department for Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Organization for Migration(IOM), International Telecommunication Union(ITU), Office for Special Advisor on Africa (OSAA), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development(UNCTAD), UN Development Programme (UNDP) and its Human Development Report Office, UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), UN Environment Programme (UNEP), UNESCO, UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), UNICEF, UN Women, World Food Programme（WFP), World Bank
The overall theme of the UN Seminar was SDGs and Poverty and this year highlighted issues related to September 2023 SDG Summit and 2024 SIDS Conference and 2024 Summit of the Future preparations, Climate Change, Education, Health, Climate Financing and Financing for Development, World Heritage preservation, AI Governance, Gender, Digitalization, Refugee, Migration, Food and Nutrition, the importance of Data for SDG monitoring, as well as the current world crisis including triple environmental crises (climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution) and uncertainties. In addition, also addressed were needs of vulnerable countries like Africa, LDCs and Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
At the HR training session on the last day, the students learned about the recruiting process and application documents of UN agencies and the tips for preparing for the competency-based interviews. The mock interviews were also held during the session. It was a valuable opportunity for the students who aim to work for UN agencies to learn the practical skills which can also be applied beyond the UN careers.
The registered students were assigned to note-taking / preparing summary of highlights and facilitating each Q&A session in pairs. A volunteer editorial team was established and will work on the final report after this seminar.
Many guest speakers remarked "ICU students have a huge potential to aim the UN careers in the future as the students posed the high-quality questions at the seminar." And many of the students expressed that "The UN seminar was a different type of interactive course which we have never experienced. Although it was tough to engage in tasks, we gained in-depth knowledge regarding SDGs the roles of various UN agencies - some never heard before, the linkages among the SDGs, and the position of Japanese government, among others." The session which particularly impressed many students due to the novelty of the issues introduced was on the AI governance. Overall, the students were touched by the passion of each lecturer towards their respective jobs and the strong sense of responsibilities to support people in a spirit of "No one will be left behind" even under difficult situations.
