College Leaders at the UN: Ninth Edition

Thirty-five student representatives from 18 universities took part in the ninth edition of WFUNA’s College Leaders at the UN Program. The participants are Korean nationals, selected and sent from their respective universities to represent the school at the United Nations. The student cohort started the program in November, meeting once a week to learn about the Sustainable Development Goals.

The participants were divided into six groups. Each group picked a particular goal and target for more in-depth study. Groups studied targets in Goals 11, Goals 13, and Goal 16. Their work culminated in a week-long main event held from January 31 to February 4, during which the students met with experts and practitioners on the SDGs and presented their policy recommendations.

During the main event, a virtual tour of the UN headquarters was provided by the UN Department of Global Communications (UN DGC). Special lectures based on the SDGs were also given by UN departments and agencies, including:

• UN’s Climate Action Team
• Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict (SRSG-CAAC)
• United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat)
• UN Department of Management Strategy (UN DMSPC)
• UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (UN ODA), and UN Office of Legal Affairs (UN OLA)

Diplomats from the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations and the other International Organizations in Geneva also provided a lecture about the relationship between the Republic of Korea and the UN.

The event successfully ended with each team giving presentations about their policy recommendations. Feedback was provided by representatives from the UN Office for Sustainable Development (UN OSD), Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), World Smart Sustainable Cities Organization (WeGO), and the World Bank.