Student ambassadors heading to New York for UNICEF Summit

08 Tháng Bảy 2019

Premium international schools group Nord Anglia Education offers a transformational education to students, which focuses not only on ensuring academic success but also on inspiring students to positively impact their individual communities and the world at large.

As part of Nord Anglia Education’s collaboration with UNICEF, students across the globe have been raising awareness of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through projects at their schools. The SDGs are a collection of 17 goals set by the United Nations regarding social and economic development issues.

Each year, the capstone event with UNICEF is when students from Years 10-12 visit New York for the NAE-UNICEF Student Summit.

Held this year from 11 to 17 July, student ambassadors at the Summit will demonstrate how their schools have made progress in addressing the SDGs as part of Nord Anglia Education’s annual Global Challenge.

Hosted at Nord Anglia International School New York (NAIS NY), students will join workshops, seminars and debates, including speaking opportunities at the UN’s High-level Political Forum (HLPF). There is also a Model United Nations event, a trip to the UN Headquarters in New York City, and much more.

“We have been thrilled to have Nord Anglia students around the world learning about the SDGs and taking positive actions in their schools and communities year over year,” said Shannon O’Shea, Team Leader: Public Partner Advocacy and Visibility Section, UNICEF.

BIS Hanoi students have connected with NAE’s family of schools on the Global Campus platform by thinking critically about this year’s selected UN Global Goals. In collaboration with their peers, our students have used a range of creative media to interpret their own understanding of what “Quality Education” (Goal 4) and “Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions” (Goal 16) means to them and others around them. These internationally-minded young people have used their imagination in the Creative Writing competition and Comic Book competition to demonstrate what they regard as obstacles to having a “Quality Education”. In Secondary, our students creatively implemented many charity fundraisers for Blue Dragon Foundation and successfully raised over $450, which will go towards buying bespoke bicycles for disabled children to be able to get to class every day. Also, the trips to New York City (UNICEF Summit) last year and to Tanzania have helped students learned more about what it means to be a global citizen by thinking about tackling problems of inequality at a range of scales – from looking at how we can support lower-income countries to develop in New York City, to building goat sheds and providing solar lights for poor families in Tanzania!

“The Nord Anglia Student Summit in July is an excellent opportunity for students to share their ideas and efforts to leaders at the United Nations during the annual High-level Political Forum, where different stakeholders meet to share ideas and assess progress on the Global Goals,” Shannon added.

“This year is the most ambitious yet, where students will be participating in various sessions and events at the HLPF as well as showcasing their creativity on what the SDGs mean to them through art and activism,” she said.

For the MUN, held over two days at NAIS NY, students will act as representative of different nations and debate resolutions. This year, three students will act as Deputy MUN Chairs alongside our main MUN Chairs from New York University.

For the HLPF, eight articulate student panelists have been chosen to speak onstage to audiences at this United Nations side event. They will be part of two panels sharing how they are taking steps to make the world a better place through the SDGs. These panelists have been chosen as a joint decision between NAE, UNICEF and the World’s Largest Lesson. At the start of the HLPF event, one Nord Anglia student has been specifically asked to launch a piano donated by Sing for Hope to UNICEF to tie the arts and the global goals together.

Also, during the HLPF, winners from Nord Anglia’s Global Campus Visual Arts competition will be showcased as a part of an Arts Exhibition at the United Nations. This allows our students to promote what NAE is doing to tackle the SDGs and to network with government and UN officials as they admire our students’ artwork.

Last but not least, two NAE students have been asked to present at the ECOSOC Chamber at the United Nations as a part of governments’ voluntary national reviews. This will be held in the iconic General Assembly Hall.

Following the HLPF, a glamorous Gala dinner will be held at The Juilliard School to allow students to celebrate their accomplishments during the week. There will also be awards given out to students for their efforts during the MUN.

This year, BIS Hanoi is proud to have two students, Ha Minh and Sung Woo, to be selected for the NAE-UNICEF Student Summit. Huge congratulations to our excellent students as they will travel to New York to represent BIS Hanoi at the Summit from 11 to 17 July! Moreover, Ha Minh has also been selected directly by UNICEF for a very special opportunity: a chance to act as part of an SDG Media Zone interview with UNICEF and World’s Largest Lesson on the topic of child and youth education and engagement with the Global Goals. We believe that she would do an incredible job representing BIS Hanoi and Nord Anglia as a whole!