NEW YORK AND GENEVA - WFUNA implemented the last of its summer trainings in both New York and Geneva for high school students from its educational partner, the Hope to the Future Association, for the Training at the UN: Korea program on 5-9 August 2013.
Thirty-nine high school students participated in training sessions designed to be an overall look at the UN system. Several joint sessions were held in both locations for high school students and university students from Sookmyung Women's University, encouraging both groups to network and learn from their respective experiences.
The Advanced Training at the UN program for university and high school students is a training experience in either New York and Geneva with educational partners. The week-long sessions look at the UN system in either location, with interactive workshops, mission briefings, and briefings and discussions with UN staff.
Palais des Nations, Geneva
Twenty high school students were sent by the Korean Hope to the Future Association to participate in WFUNA's Training Program at the UN headquarters in New York and Geneva from 5-9 August 2013.
Students gained first-hand kowledge on the UN system and its various bodies as well as other international organizations based in Geneva. After a general introduction into the UN and a tour through the Palais des Nations, the Korean ambassador and his office shared insights into the work of the Mission in Geneva. In the following days, our students had the opportunity to listen to experts speaking to them about the UN Environmental Program, the UN Human Rights System and NGO advocacy within the system, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Committee of the Red Cross and CERN. The training was concluded by an Intern Panel, which provided our participants with experiences of UN interns and their career paths, and a briefing on the so-called SWOT analysis, which will help them plan future projects and businesses.
UN Headquarters, New York
The student participated in a joint briefing with the students of Sookmyung Women's University by the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea, as well as a UN Guided Tour, and a joint session on the last day where students assessed their career objectives, heard from Ms. Lynne Goldberg of the Outreach Unit on UN Career opportunities, and presented on critical thinking assignments on one of the eight Millennium Development Goals. Students also participated in the first two days of the 12th Youth Assembly at the United Nations, a project of the Friendship Ambassadors Foundation (FAF).
The second group to attend the program in New York, these 20 high school students and their coordinators received an intensive training session on the UN system and the UN's work on youth issues. In addition to a UN briefing on the issues of Children and Armed Conflict, students also participated in an interactive discussion with Korean mission staff and participants in the Junior Professional Officers Programme. Students also had the opportunity to hear from Ms. Christen Brandt, Director of International Operations for She's the First, a nonprofit sponsoring girls' education in the developing world.
