UN Seminar held on Campus
Update: April 20, 2022
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 on the 11th followed by 18 lectures and interactive Q&A sessions from 14 to 18 March. It was an intensive course held in a hybrid manner attended by 22 students including auditors. Also held as part of the program was an online Youth Forum with students majoring international relations at Deakin University, Australia.
The speakers represented various UN agencies including UNEP, DESA, UNHCR, UNDP, UN Office for Special Advisor on Africa (OSAA), UNIDO, UNICEF, Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UNOHRLLS), UN Women, UNESCO, and WHO, as well as from ADB. Additionally, the Seminar benefitted from the Japanese Ambassador who once led the SDG negotiations and the former UN USG for Public Information, former Ambassador to one of the poorest country in the world, Haiti.
The main theme of the UN Seminar was SDGs including poverty, climate changes, emergency aid for children, refugee, health, world heritage preservation, investment and technology promotion. In addition, they discussed about UN's effort to assist vulnerable countries like Africa, LDCs and Small island developing States (SIDS) and Japanese diplomatic policies. Most of the speakers addressed the impacts of COVID-19 on sustainable development.
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.
The registered students were assigned to note-taking / preparing summary of highlights and facilitating each Q&A session and make a presentation at the Youth Forum. A volunteer editorial team was established and has worked 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 in-depth knowledge about the roles of UN agencies, the linkages among the SDGs, and the position of Japanese government, among others." They 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. Plus, it was meaningful for the students to make presentations and debate over the mutual concerns on how to recover better from COVID-19, particularly in relation to climate changes, culture, and misinformation with the student group of Deakin University.