Studying at the United Nations
The International College has been offering courses on the United Nations, for the past few semesters. The Spring 2005 semester, the focus has been on the Secretaries General of the United Nations, the office itself and the work that each has accomplished over their period in office. Following a general tour of the facilities, Ms. Swati Dave of the Department of Public Information coordinated three sessions with UN officials.
From the Office of the Secretary-General, a recently-appointed political officer Tarun Chhabra spoke on the newly released Report of the Secretary-General's High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change. As part of the panel secretariat, Chhabra was able to present an insightful briefing on the contents and significance of the report as well as field questions from the class on issues from reactions to the report to getting at job at the United Nations (more on this later).
As it has been acknowledged many times over, the world has gone through tremendous change since the time when the United Nations was first founded. More recently, it has been recognized that the view of the Secretariat has changed from "a chief administrator of the organization" to a "principal UN organ in its own right." With this, the Secretary-General, Koffi Annan has since commissioned the Secretariat to prepare a report on the "threats and challenges" faced today by the world community and recommendations for change. The way in which the report was prepared addresses concerns for the world as a community, acknowledging that "collective security is still relevant and why we need reform." The report then divides issues into five "baskets" (categories): infectious disease, poverty, environmental degradation; inter-intra state war (ethnic cleansing, etc); nuclear, biological, chemical weapons; international terrorism; and organized crime (money laundering, illegal trafficking). While each is in its own category, it is important to note that many of the problems are not stand-alone but serve to reinforce one another.
The report outlines these problems and the recommendations to deal with them. This was reached through much research and collaborative efforts to collect up-to-date information that can stand up to scientific as well as practical inquiry.
Of interest to students interested in working in or with the United Nations, Chhabra also shared some advice as to how to go about doing so:
"The most important thing is to work in various community institutes around the UN: Networks for Peace Keeping, NYU Center for International Cooperation, etc. Do a lot of analytical work for UN. People in the UN deal with crises and don't have too much time for research. It is a little more difficult for US citizens to come in as interns, as there is a rotating quota system for the internships. Internships are good ... and the best information comes from UN people in the field."
Model United Nations
University of Bridgeport students have participated in New England area Model United Nations programs at Harvard, Yale and McGill University in Montreal, Canada. They have also had the opportunity to host the President of the General Assembly of the United Nations at UB on a regular basis.
2004 McGill University Model UN
McGill Model United Nations Assembly is Canada's premier university-level model United Nations simulation. Six UB students from the International Awareness Club represented the positions of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) in this international competition.
2003 Harvard Model UN
From February 13 to February 16 of this year, 12 UB students and one faculty advisor made their annual trip to Boston for the 2003 Harvard Model United Nations conference. The trip was organized by the International Relations Club and sponsored by President Neil Salonen, the International College, and Student Congress. UB has participated in this event for three years thus far, making this the fourth trip. UB was assigned to represent South Korea, as well as the committees that South Korea was involved in. Each student had to choose a committee to represent South Korea in, and they included committees in the General Assembly (Disarmament and International Security; Legal Committee; Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural; Special Political and Decolonization; World Health Organization; and World Summit on the Information Society) and in the Economic and Social Council (Commission on Human Rights; Commission on Science/Technology for Development; United Nations Children's Fund; United Nations Development Programme; and United Nations Environment Programme). There was also a place for South Korean representation in the Specialized Agency of the Economic/Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.
Each student became a delegate of South Korea in their particular committee, and each delegate had to prepare South Korea's position on two specific topics assigned to each committee for the event. Topics included such issues as: Tactical Nuclear Weapons, The Black Market Weapons Trade, Illicit International Financial Networks, Space Law, Globalization and Cultural Imperialism, Extremism and Intolerance, Political Status of Former Colonies, International Terrorist Networks, The Psychological Effects of Armed Conflict on Children, Infectious Disease Prevention, Electronic Privacy, The Digital Divide, Birth Registration, Juvenile Punishment, Pollution, Antarctica, and many others. After acquiring the necessary knowledge about South Korea's stance on the particular issues, delegates debated with the representatives of other member nations to reach an agreement and to make a Resolution to each problem.
In addition to learning Parliamentary Procedure, diplomacy, as well as gaining experience in debate, the participants from UB had the chance to mingle with students from all over the world, and even make new friends. They stayed at the four-star Boston Park Plaza Hotel and saw the sights in Boston and nearby Cambridge, from the nightclubs downtown to Chinatown and Harvard Square. Each student had his or her own experience and opinions about the event, but all in all, it was one worth going to.
2002 Harvard Model UN
2001 Harvard Model UN
In February, 2001 ten UB students, headed by International College IPED major Maya Atanassova, participated in the Harvard Model UN where the University of Bridgeport represented the Central American nation of El Salvador; they were advised at the session by Dr. Thomas Ward and had been prepared for the session by UB International affairs expert Dr. Justus van der Kroef.
UB students performed very well, having even met with the Salvadoran Permanent Mission to the UN prior to the Conference. This was the second time that UB participated at Harvard.
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