Dear Educator,
The annual convening of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) is underway. As this is a preeminent event in the policy community, the discussions and outcomes of the Assembly are also greatly important for young people and their futures.
This year’s UNGA features a new event called the Summit of the Future, which looks at international cooperation and asks how we can improve it for future generations.
This newsletter will help explain why large convenings like UNGA are so essential and explore some of the themes of the Summit, using resources such as:
An Introduction to International Organizations |
To avoid repeating the major crises of the first half of the twentieth century, world leaders created a series of international organizations and agreements to promote global cooperation. One of these international organizations is the United Nations. The below resources can give your students more context on this topic: Educator Tip: Share this recorded recent event with the Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, as she discusses the future of multilateralism and U.S. commitments to reforming the United Nations Security Council. |
Unpacking the Summit of the Future |
The Summit of the Future provides an opportunity for leaders, policymakers, and citizens (including youth!) to meet, brainstorm and discuss solutions. The Summit will produce a pact charting a path toward achieving a more sustainable and fair future while responding to emerging challenges and opportunities. The pact has five themes; we will explore three and provide resources to help you explain the fundamentals to your students. |
Sustainable Development and Financing for Development |
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| The first theme focuses on meeting the targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and the Paris Agreement to ensure that the world’s most vulnerable communities can thrive while considering environmental costs. |
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Educator tip: Use the maps, graphs, and charts in this resource to teach about the terms, trends, and debates that define international development.
International Peace and Security |
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| This theme focuses on advocating for the principles and values of the UN Charter, including preventing conflicts and addressing their root causes, countering terrorism, and furthering disarmament and non-proliferation. |
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Educator Tip: In this activity students will consider major historical and modern day examples of conflict and identify patterns and underlying themes.
Science, Technology and Innovation, and a Global Digital Compact
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| The third theme focuses on ensuring that technologies serve humanity’s interests. This requires creating new national and international governance arrangements that support an open, free, secure, and inclusive digital future. |
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Educator Tip: Use this mini simulation to help your students understand that AI is a rapidly developing technology with enormous potential benefits but poses significant risks to society, politics, and even national security.
Related
World leaders gather at a U.N. desperate to save itself (Washington Post)
Oxfam dénonce « la montée en puissance d’une oligarchie mondiale » (Le Soir)
A l’ONU, un sursaut pour tenter de sauver la coopération dans un monde à couteaux tirés (Le Soir)
UN aims ‘to bring multilateralism back’ as it adopts Pact for the Future (AJE)
