FRIDAY, AUGUST 14, 2015
Monday - Introduction to the UN
The week started
off with Naïs Mouret welcoming the participants with an introduction of the training, WFUNA, and the UN as a whole. Naïs continued to conduct an interactive session “Global Citizens: Who are we?”. This was an exercise for the SMU students to learn more about each other and meet and make new friends from the same university. Our first speaker of this training was Charlotte Warakaulle, Director of the UNOG Library, who presented the United Nations in Geneva and explained its function and mission, the role in the UN System.
After lunch we took the participants on a guided tour of the Palais des Nations. Afterwards Aziel Goulandris gave a brief overview of Diplomacy and Multilateralism. We wrapped the day up with an interactive quiz; the participants were divided into two groups and competed against each other to win the highest points. Team “Sweet Bees” was declared the winner. Later in the evening we had a welcome dinner with the participants at a Swiss restaurant serving fondue.
Tuesday - Humanitarian Issues
We started the second day with a morning recap and followed up with a presentation of UNHCR by Luc Brandt, Senior Advisor of the UNHCR, who presented the history of UNHCR, conditions and obligations of the refugees. He asked the students what defines a refugee,and we listened to different perspectives.
After lunch at the UNHCR cafeteria, the participants listened to Naïs present the Red Cross, later in the afternoon we visited the ICRC Museum.
Wednesday - Human Rights and Environment
This day we started with a morning recap and afterwards had a presentation of the Human Rights Council by Naïs. Then Kevin I. Koh, Human Rights Treaty Division, OHCHR, came in to speak about the Treaty Body System and explained Human Rights in a moral vs. immoral vision. The participants listened intently.
After lunch, we had another OHCHR staff from the Child’s Rights Division, Imma Guerra-Idalgo spoke about the Promotion and Protection of Children’s Rights. After the presentation we began our next interactive session “Greening the Globe” role play. First, we explained what it is and what the practical tools are. Then we split all of the participants into groups of 10; 9 groups were delegations of states and the last group was media journalists. We let the groups research information and discuss with each other so that they can prepare for the start of the summit the next day.
Thursday - Human Rights and Environment
On Thursday, we went to the Permanent visit to the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea. There the participants had a chance to meet with Korean diplomats. After the visit we returned to the headquarters to continue the “Greening the Globe” Role Play. The journalists started the role play off with a “live broadcasting”.
In the afternoon, Mr. Marten Genfors, Joint UNEP/OCHA Environment Unit, presented the coordination between UNEP and OCHA and the response to environmental emergencies. He gave a case study example based on a real life emergency, in which the participants had to find a solution. After the interactive presentation, we continued on“Greening the Globe” Role Play. Their final task of the day was to submit draft resolution, which we would finalize the next day.
Friday - Career Development
On the last day of the program, we carried on with “Greening the Globe” Role Play. The participants had to vote and make amendments and, lastly, give their concluding presentations and we could complete the final resolution.
Four UN and NGOs interns came by in the afternoon and presented their professional background and opportunities in Geneva. They led the participants through a questions and answers session on career opportunities based on their past experiences. Most participants were very appreciative of this session, as they could ask questions and hear perspective from different interns at different organizations and levels. Afterwards we gave each participant a final test to see how much they have learned since the quiz on the first day. When they finished the final test we evaluated all the interactive sessions, the top best five delegations from "Greening the Globe' role play, and the top three high-scorers from the final test. We handed gifts to the winners of the role play and the quiz on the reading list.
We have enjoyed this training a lot and were happy to meet such great participants!
We wish them a lot of luck for their future endeavor!
