templeofunderstanding

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Friday, July 26

8:30am: Meet in the 10th Floor Room

8:45am-12:45pm: Presentations

12:45-2:10pm: Lunch

2:20-3:40pm: Presentations

3:40-5/5:30pm: Closing Ceremony

Presentation Schedule

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Thursday, July 25

8:30am: Meet in the 10th Floor Room

8:45am-12:45pm: Presentations

12:45-2:10pm: Lunch

2:20-5pm: Presentations

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Wednesday, July 24

8:45-9:30am: Morning Meeting in the 10th Floor Room (Whole Group) 

9:30-11am: Meet with Alison Van Dyk (Executive Director and Chair of the Board of Temple of Understanding)

11am-5/6pm: You can choose when you would like to have lunch. The 10th Floor Room will be open all day for you to work on your projects. You can stay there or go to the UN to attend a meeting. We will also meet with each of you. See times below. 

Project Meeting Times (We will meet with you in the 10th floor room.)

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Tuesday, July 23

8:45-9:45am: Morning Meeting in the 10th Floor Room (Whole Group) - Please be prepared to work on your project during this time. Bring questions!

10am-1pm: UN Meeting of Your Choice/Project Work

1-3pm: Lunch

3-4:15pm: UN Meeting of Your Choice/Project Work

4:20pm: Meet in the 10th Floor Room (Whole Group)

4:25pm: Polina’s Presentation

5:30pm: Leave to go to the Group Thank You Dinner

5:45-@7:30pm: Group Thank You Dinner

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By Rufus Roby Mathew

Woah! Three weeks at the UN and it feels like the internship started yesterday. The UN is complex and to an outsider, it has this elitist image. But my entire view of the UN and my future career plans have been challenged and improved in a lot of ways. At the end of the day, the UN is made up of people just like you and me. I’d like to capture my UN experience so far through three experiences I had with people I met at the UN and explore the challenges through their eyes. They will all remain anonymous for privacy and security reasons.

First, while I was walking through the cafeteria one day, I saw a group of well-dressed men walking towards my direction and I caught one of their attention. As he started to talk to me, I realized the man in the center was a high ranking general in the army of a member state that was just assigned a peacekeeping force commander. He has served his nation in many spheres in the past decades. Now he picked up the mantle to help protect the human rights of the citizens of the country of his posting. Through this small conversation, I understood the best way to describe the UN. The UN is an intergovernmental organization that has no commanding power, but has convening authority. The UN gives everyone a platform to communicate with each other without any discrimination. The fact that I was able to interview a high-profile person was in fact a testimony that within the UN walls, everyone is (sama samam: Malayalam) equal.

 Second, the reason I’m so interested in the UN is because of an Under Secretary General who served a couple of years ago from my country. I was curious enough to know about the working conditions in the UN and I asked a couple of people about this. Every time I mentioned the USG’s name, their faces lit up. The one characteristic that everyone mentioned was his extra effort to go above and beyond. He always claimed that the UN is one of the rare places in the world where we can still bring in idealistic thoughts and implement them to an extent. He focused on the people more than the organization. That’s what I learned from this conversation. It doesn’t matter what we claim, if we can’t help people reach the UN or a similar organization and voice their concern. The world is looking for people who are going beyond what they are paid for, and these people are the change makers.

 Finally, the most important lesson I learned: I am so thankful to Temple of Understanding for this amazing program. It is a wonderful blend of UN meetings, volunteer work, hands-on experiences, and learning first hand from experts in their respective fields. On one of the volunteer trips, I was serving hygiene products to the homeless people in the city and suddenly the thought occurred to me: the UN is big, works on consensus, needs to make 193 countries happy and tries their very best to do so. The UN employs experts and high-level officers from around the world, they have translators, they work on every level with all member states, they are fancy. But this ‘soul-soup’ was making sure the homeless people in the streets have a place to stay and making sure they don’t go to bed hungry. Hence, I learned the most important lesson, no matter how powerful the UN gets, it always needs the NGOs and Civil Society members to reach out into the communities.

I’d like to end with a quote from the second Secretary General. "The United Nations was created not to lead mankind to heaven, but to save humanity from hell.” - Dag Hammarskjöld

May his sacrifice not be in vain.

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By Hei Kiu Au

Despite my excitement for the HLPF, I chose to attend the Security Council’s rare Open Debate on the “Threats to international peace and security: Linkage between international terrorism & organized crime” the morning of the opening ceremony. The CITAD (Centre for Information Technology and Development) ambassador laid a strong foundation for the meeting regarding the current problems in international security, especially highlighting that the enthusiasm to curb terrorism on the global level is not shared in the investigative and prosecution levels. The disconnect between policymakers and the actual implementation is a phenomenon that extends way beyond the issue of international security, but in this context, the consequences are particularly dire. One important point the ambassador also mentioned was the threat of small-time criminals developing extremist thoughts in prison settings, hence local enforcement needs to include terrorism in their scope to counteract this “crime-terror nexus.” Moreover, the crux of the alliance is the issue of financing, as terrorist groups often engage in illicit activities such as selling counterfeit goods and smuggling. As we see more of these hybrid groups of crime and terror with growing tactical expertise, I strongly believe that nations should actively engage the local enforcement, with the cooperation of the local private sector and civil society groups to widen the scope of monitoring terrorist activities.

States were supportive of the President of the UNSC this month, H.E. Gustavo Meza-Cuadra's statement, to strengthen internal and international cooperation, develop a resolution coherent with human rights law and with the protection of refugees. The Permanent Representative (PR) of China, Ambassador Ma, raised a good point about adopting regional strategies, as a greater understanding of cultural and religious differences would help target the hybrid terrorist groups. The PR of Belgium echoed the CITAD ambassador’s statement by citing the March 2016 terrorist attacks, pointing out that all terrorists had petty criminal pasts, and were radicalized by the rhetoric of redemption of past crimes, and were recruited through the prison networks. The PR of Germany had a more humanistic approach to her speech, as she focused on the protection of terrorist victims, especially women and children as minorities. After hearing numerous speeches about ways to curb terrorism, the German statement served as a somber reminder that the international community needs equal focus, if not more, on the aftermath of these terrorist incidents. As SDG 10: Reducing Inequalities is one of our focuses of the year, this topic should be even more widely discussed. Nonetheless, I was very grateful for the PR of Germany’s inclusive remarks and I would love to see a greater focus on rehabilitation efforts for victims in all humanitarian crises. 

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By Mariano Sigifredo

Meeting on SDG 16: #ROLE4PEACE

This meeting was organized by the missions of Argentina and Austria to bring discussion around the role of justice in SDG 16. The event included a discussion of four panelists and countries’ interventions on different ways to strengthen institutions. This event was very rewarding for me due to the fact that I learned how institutions and countries work together to democratize justice among the most marginalized regions. In other words, I not only learned the way countries cooperate with each other by sharing their experiences but also understood the process of international policy-making. 

I had a very enriching meeting because I heard a multiplicity of visions around the way justice can be democratized. I am referring to this term in the sense that justice plays a more active role by reaching all sectors of society. For instance, the delegate of Switzerland highlighted the experience of justice in this field. He pointed out a system in which legal services are provided to everyone no matter their social standing, while other countries expressed their concern around strengthening institutions. The opportunity to participate and experience such a meeting by listening to opposite positions and asking questions as part of civil society enriched my multicultural understanding of the world and its institutions.

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By Bora Balcay

Voting has been a staple of modern society since the 19th century when many countries gave the right to vote to their citizens. Thus, one would assume that the right to vote would have become a staple in modern societies by the 21st century; yet in many countries, including mine, this fundamental right has not been respected let alone recognised for some people groups. This problem only came to my attention after I got the chance to work on the ground, in polling stations where I got to see the inefficient and vulnerable nature of the Turkish electoral system; among my observations were political parties influencing voters at the polling stations and the abuse of the electoral guidelines to hinder the process. Further research revealed that these systematic problems weren’t uncommon in many developing and less economically developed countries; the number also showed that there was likely a correlation between electoral integrity and overall human development given the more democratic records of most economically developed countries, which are almost exclusively democracies in some way.

The important nature of electoral integrity was recognised by the UN with the Sustainable Development Goal 16 as well, which through calling for strong institutions also calls for strong elections; the UN is also directly involved in the electoral processes of member states across the globe through the UN Department of Political and Peace-making Affairs, DPPA for short, which actively assists the electoral process and the oversight of elections in member states which require assistance. Thus, my research focuses on the shortcomings of the electoral processes, especially those in the developed world, which with the advent of technology have become more vulnerable to attacks by malign actors, and on how these shortcomings can be actually addressed in a global manner.

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By Johanna Friman

Reflection on our visit to UNODA:

During my first two weeks at the UN, I have developed a new interest in nuclear weapons. It all started when we had the opportunity to visit the United Nations Office of Disarmament Affairs. One of the speakers worked with Weapons of Mass Destruction and explained to us that nuclear disarmament is the number one priority of the UN, because of their existentially destructive potentials. Today, nine different countries have 15,000 nuclear weapons all together. 

In June 2017, around 70 countries voted for the Nuclear Weapon convention. The aim of the convention is to eliminate nuclear weapons. However, only 23 countries have ratified the convention as of now. Last Friday, the Swedish Foreign Minister made it clear that Sweden will not ratify the convention and I, as a Swedish citizen, am very disappointed in my country. The reason why nuclear weapons exist is to prove power because as everyone should know, if they were to be used, they would destroy our planet once and for all.

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By Lola Jacquin

Summary - 

UNECE & UNEP; “The Growth We Want is Sustainable: 

Harnessing Innovation for a Circular Economy for All”

As the High Level Political Forum holds its official meetings on the Sustainable Development Goals, many side events are hosted by various UN agencies, member states’ permanent missions to the UN, and NGOs. These tend to be far smaller than meetings on the official program and often with a targeted focus on a single topic, focusing perhaps on a single SDG or a specific aspect thereof. One such side event that I had the opportunity to attend was co-hosted by the UN Economic Commission for Europe and the UN Environment Programme, titled “The Growth We Want is Sustainable: Harnessing Innovation for a Circular Economy for All.” As its title suggests, the event was concerned with the significance of a circular economy for sustainable development. The event was held in a small conference room, offering me the opportunity to be seated at the same table as representatives of various UN agencies and member states. Each shared the efforts of their countries to promote a circular economy or the research findings and policy recommendations of their agencies.

A circular economy is an economic system that aims to reduce waste and use resources in the most efficient manner possible. Currently less than 10% of the global economy constitutes a circular economy, a percentage that must be raised dramatically if sustainable development is to be made possible and fostered—with the currently prevalent economic system, which does not prioritize sustainable development, achieving and maintaining the SDGs is unlikely, especially with regard to the SDGs concerned with or dependent upon the health of the earth. In order to achieve the SDGs, we must alter our way of thinking about the economy. Rather than prioritize immediate profit, economic systems must be oriented toward sustainability. The side event that I had the privilege of attending detailed the efforts of Georgia and Finland, among other UN member states, in developing a circular economy; Finland is promoting the development of innovative technology which may replace plastics with wood fibers, while Georgia has banned the use of single-use plastic bags within its borders. In addition to proving especially informative, this side event offered especially inspiring insight into the ways in which individualized circular economies are being fostered in various regions of the world.

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By Mariahelena Rey

In a world where the only constant one has is the certainty for change, it is difficult to know the validity of the things we’ve learned throughout the years and, also, the value they may represent for others. Last week, I attended a side event at the Baha’i International Community Center on the conditions that would enable peaceful, just, and inclusive societies. At first, I was hesitant to stay until the end of it because the moderator told us that after the panel there would be a group sharing activity. I was not so eager to do that since I thought, and still think sometimes, that I’m just a college student with nothing valuable to say in a conversation with people that have had outstanding careers. Nevertheless, and with much hesitation, I stayed until it was over and had a pretty encouraging and fulfilling experience. 

In the sharing dynamic, we had to answer some questions based on our opinion and experiences regarding peacebuilding. Each of us, in a group of 8 people, spoke our minds. My contributions, as I recall, were extensive and perhaps confusing since English is not my first language. However, whenever I finished talking, I had this feeling of accomplishment for being able to speak what I felt and for giving visibility to social problems in my home country, Colombia. When the activity was over, each group had to send a delegate to make a quick summary of the topics they had discussed and, to my surprise and nervousness, they told me to co-host our group’s summary. Dubiously, and shy of course, I stood up and presented what we had discussed. I felt so passionate when I was talking about it that I almost cried because it was about armed conflict victims and it really got to me. It was a short intervention, but the plain fact of sharing my views and experience regarding peacebuilding in Colombia in front of academics, diplomats, and fellow interns was an invaluable experience I���ll never forget. After the event was over, two very nice women approached me and gave me their cards. They congratulated me for sharing my thoughts and told me to contact them. Experiences like this one were more than I was expecting when I applied for this program, and they are rewarding in unexplainable dimensions. I also realized that there are some things, like sharing experiences from the heart, which, apart from representing a huge emotional value for you, can also represent a learning value for others while raising awareness about social justice and humanitarian issues. I hope I get the chance to keep speaking my mind and to see where it takes me: maybe to have some embarrassing stories to tell later on and/or fulfilling experiences to gather along the way. 

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By Matias Benitez

On one of the first days of HLPF, I attended an event at the Saudi Arabian Permanent Mission to the UN on increasing women’s economic participation. I was originally interested because of Saudi Arabia’s track record on women’s rights, only allowing women to drive cars last year, and I wanted to hear the Saudi perspective on the feminist movement. When I stepped into the Saudi mission, I was first impressed by the elaborate Saudi decorations that surrounded a delightful spread of Middle Eastern cuisine. The mission spared no expense in projecting Saudi power, as is the purpose of any diplomatic mission, but the discussion that occurred was much more fascinating.

First, a Saudi diplomat discussed the various programs that the Saudi government has employed so that Saudi women can participate fully in the Saudi economy. She gave the impression that the Saudi government was making great progress in gender equality, even if it lags behind other nations. Next, a Singaporean representative discussed the ways that Singapore is trying to increase participation. Two Singaporean programs that caught my attention were their paternity leave system and a program to increase the number of women on boards of private companies, which doubled the amount of women on boards from 7.5% to 15.2%. Afterward, representatives from UNDP and the Digital Society School in Amsterdam spoke on the importance of programs such as flexible hours and digital innovation to increase gender equality. Even though, all the speakers emphasized the progress that their countries have made, they all recognized how there is still much work to be done to achieve full gender equality. Perhaps, this will forever be the role of the UN in general: to strive to improve our world as it asymptotically approaches a utopian society. 

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By Glenys D’Souza

How I came to choose my topic for the final project:

I think that the many sessions that I attended and the people I met led me to choose my topic—Child Rights with a specific focus on Juvenile Justice. The session at UNFPA on July 5th was the first session that deepened my curiosity for children and their rights, especially in internally displaced settings. The presentation included a lot of material and information I wasn’t aware of before: The United Nations Population Fund, in which the word population was but a euphemism for sex, the division of the UN system into UN programs and specialized agencies, the importance of the organization and the three areas in which it is divided – Family Planning, Maternal Health, and Humanitarian Crises. The Communication Specialist, Mr. Eddie Wright, was a great mediator between the speakers and us, constantly raising relevant questions. The explanation of the importance of UNFPA was very informative, especially the statistics presented on the number of girls who live with the consequences of Female Genital Mutilation. 

The many side events I attended organized by UNICEF were helpful too. The topics were very engaging, such as ‘Powering up for Success,’ ‘The Implementation of SDGs through investing in Child Rights’ and ‘The Importance of IDPs.’ Most of these sessions emphasized the need for an inter-institutional commission on displaced people and the need to raise awareness on the importance of education. The talk by Carol Bellamy helped me research more on the Convention on the Rights of the Child and learn that the most ignored aspect of the convention was Juvenile Justice. With every country dealing with Juvenile criminals differently, I want to learn and present this grave topic that scars thousands of children forever around the world.

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By Tselmeg Ulammandakh 

I came to the ToU internship hoping for, but not expecting, an opportunity to make a change in my country. When Amy presented me with a chance to speak at the Mongolia VNR, I was apprehensive. However, I realized that this was an opportunity to engage Mongolia’s leaders, whilst pushing myself out of my comfort zone. 

When I spoke to the person from the Major Group for Youth and Children for the first time, I didn’t fully understand what I was supposed to do, but with the help of Amy, Lauren, and Caroline, I wrote my statement and came up with questions. Along the way, I realized this was a chance for me to point out the problems I wanted to fix in Mongolia, in an environment where high ranking people, such as delegates and leaders of Mongolia, had to listen to what I had to say. The hope I had come with to this program was about to be fulfilled.

When the day finally came, I listened through two countries’ VNRs (Cote d’Ivoire and Cambodia) until it was Mongolia’s turn. Listening to one of the highest ranking people in Mongolia, the Minister of Finance, talk about the implementation of the SDGs and the challenges we were facing directly, was a fresh alternative to what I was used to and I was proud to see Mongolia being able to finally set their foot in an international event like the HLPF. 

When the time for me to speak finally came, the two minutes I had felt too short for me to fully represent the voice of the Mongolian youth. However, at the end of the meeting, I was glad that my statement reached the ears of the various Ministers of Mongolia, and I truly felt as if I helped make a difference in my country. 

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By Mo Amin

One of the most thoughtful presentations that I attended during my internship with the Temple of Understanding was a talk by the former director of UNICEF, Carol. The context of the meeting resonated with my interests because of how I found a bit of myself within her — especially in relation to her psyche and charisma. Throughout her speech, I identified closely with her passion in law, dedication to peacekeeping, and fascination for the well-being of children. In many ways, I wanted to accomplish similar accolades as her, however, additionally, I felt the need to do it in my personal way. Attending this talk by Carol was an incredible opportunity for me to get a taste of what the future could hold for me as well as a way of learning more about UNICEF and her journey to where she is today. 

Throughout the presentation, I learned a perspective regarding the United Nations that would later arise again in many of the side events I attended during HLPF. In Carol’s view, when many people questioned whether or not the U.N. should continue or, in particular, should UNICEF continue, she responded with the notion that there was no need for the organizations to end. They should adapt and in context to UNICEF, she noted that the main focus should be about development and helping the low income. During many of the later side events, I honed in on how many of the systems in place have provided results, and it’s not necessary to tear everything down, rather fix what’s in place. As I’ve heard time and time again, there’s only one United Nations and we should try to make it live to its fullest potential. 

From Carol’s talk, I’ve realized many of the ins and outs of the United Nations while honing in on many of my future interests. Perhaps sitting in an office or a room for the majority of my day is not something of my interest. However, being on the ground and having the opportunity to actually identify with many of the people around the globe, is something that I’d love to be a part of. 

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By Xenia Jankovich

These past two and a half weeks at the UN have been some of the most eye-opening, unique, and fascinating weeks of my life. I came into the UN with little knowledge relating to my field of interest: traumatized refugee children integrating into their new communities. Attending a vast array of meetings and side events at first, I came to be extremely inspired when I heard Ms. Helle Gudmandsen (Head of Education and Youth Engagement - Save the Children Denmark) as a panelist on the topic of children internally displaced by conflict and violence. As she was speaking, not only was I blown away by her words but also her manner of delivering her speech really caught my attention. Apart from sharing horrifying statistics, Ms. Gudmandsen covered the topic of trauma and refugee children - a key factor that contributes to the psychosocial development of a child’s well being. However, she really centered her speech around the importance of the youth getting involved by having a conference, emphasizing the vitality of coordination and cooperation. As I was listening to her speak, a burning desire told me that I had to interview her and that is what I did.

I prepared a set of questions focusing mainly on my topic, refugee children and methods of integration. I started off by asking her about the life of a traumatized refugee child adapting to his/her new environment. She mentioned that it is a hard task to do, but she really centered her answer around the need for support from teachers and care-takers as children can recover faster if surrounded by the right expertise, in a comfortable learning environment both emotionally and psychologically. Moreover, as I centered my previous high school research around the role of art therapy in helping overcome adversity, she mentioned that in ‘Save The Children,’ Lego is used to create a space for children in expressing themselves. Ms. Gudmandsen further mentioned that space for refugee children enables them to be listened to, which leads to building a sense of trust which then contributes to healing and recognition. Lastly, I mentioned my interest in integration, asking her what she thinks are the best ways to address this challenging focus. She mentioned that having national education and national systems are one of the best ways to give special focus on learning the foreign language. Ms. Gudmandsen also mentioned that sport is an excellent form of integration, physically releasing prolonged tension while physically moving. The interview with Ms. Gudmandsen greatly helped my research move forward, and in return she was eager to hear more about my research, asking me if I could send over my project to her. 

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By Polina Galieva

The time I have spent at the UN has been illuminating in a multitude of ways, but what has impacted me most was the global awareness that I was able to gain in such a short period of time. In the past few weeks, I have attended numerous meetings that have exposed me to issues concerning drugs and trafficking, women’s health rights, organized crime and terrorism, and more. Learning about these issues has made me passionate about the UN’s work towards achieving a peaceful and just world. However, as someone who has always been interested in the field of finance, I felt torn between my desire to work towards the resolution of these issues and my intended career field. I wanted to find a way to combine the two, but I could not find a way of pursuing one passion without having to give up the other. 

A meeting titled ‘Blended Finance in Least Developed Countries’ made me realize that I did not have to sacrifice either of those interests. The meeting exposed me to a way of combining development finance with philanthropic funds to benefit emerging and frontier markets. Blended finance is, in many ways, still an emerging field and the meeting made it clear that there is a lot of work that must be done to ensure that it accomplishes the 2030 Agenda’s goal to “leave no one behind.” Only 6% of blended finance has been found to benefit LDCs, with around 70% of funding going towards middle-income countries. The meeting also focused on ensuring the involvement of local communities in blended finance projects, which included domestic investors in LDCs which have a more in-depth understanding of local markets that could benefit both investors and local communities. Learning about the potential of blended finance to work towards achieving the SDGs through investment and the knowledge of financial markets made me realize that there are many gaps to be filled in the field of finance that could work to benefit the UN’s progress towards achieving their goals.