The Global Engagement Summit was held on the 22nd of February at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. Over 1,800 Americans got together to discuss various issues that the world faces and brainstormed ways to tackle them. Antonio Guterres. the Secretary General of the United Nations, gave a speech about climate change and the urgent need to combat the crisis.
Hamza Haider, UNA at UCLA's president, attended the Summit as Western Region Campus Fellow and spent time meeting and networking with other professionals and UNA leaders. On the next day, he and the other fellows:
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On February 23rd, a group of UNA at UCLA members embarked on this chapter's first volunteer event of the quarter! Members visited The People Concern facilities and helped serve lunch and dessert, all while talking to participants and administrators to learn about the org's impact.
The People Concern is an incredible organization based in Santa Monica that provides housing, aid, and counseling to the homeless community. On a tour of the three facilities, led by Noah, volunteers learned more about the steps taken to serve and rehabilitate the homeless of LA county. To learn more about The People Concern and their mission, check them out at: www.thepeopleconcern.org/ "On February 12th, or "International Day Against the Use of Child Soldiers," the UNA at UCLA chapter led a campus-wide awareness event. Through an intensive social media campaign, video marketing, and on-campus advocacy, UNA at UCLA fought the injustice of child soldiers. On Bruinwalk, a popular walk-through area, volunteers gave out free bagels and Yerba Mate in exchange for donations.
70 percent of the funds raised went towards Pilgrim Africa, a Uganda-based child soldier rehabilitation program, to aid in the healing and prevention of child soldiers. UNA at UCLA is proud to add to the global dialogue against the use of child soldiers and contribute funds to this incredible nonprofit. Derived from UN Report: The Commission, set up in 2016 by the UN Human Rights Council, urged the Government, the region and the international community to “take urgent steps” to respect the cessation of hostilities, implement the Revitalized Agreement signed five months ago and “push to silence the guns completely.” South Sudan, the world’s youngest nation, has been mired in instability and conflict for nearly all seven years of its existence. Earlier in 2018, President Salva Kiir and his former Vice-President and long-time political rival, Riek Machar, signed a new peace accord, and hopes have been high that the deal would finally end the crisis and deliver better and safer conditions for millions that have been left homeless and hungry. A downward spiral since its December 2017 update, the Commission said the magnitude of rape and sexual violence has worsened markedly, with a surge in rapes between November and December. According to UNICEF, 25 percent of those targeted by sexual violence are children, including girls as young as seven. Elderly and pregnant women have also been raped, and sexual violence against men and boys remains underreported as the stigma attached to it is higher than that of raping and killing the young and the elderly... Cases in 2018, which involved 18 alleged perpetrators of the UN Mission in South Sudan(UNMISS), were registered in the UN Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Database, and peacekeepers from one of the Protection of Civilians sites were repatriated. The Commission also noted a link between the conflict and the country’s political economy – pointing to the misappropriation of natural resources, and “a total lack of transparency and independent oversight,” that has allegedly diverted revenues to Government elites. Read more at: www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/Pages/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=24183&LangID=E The annual UNA Sustainable Development Case Competition gave members the opportunity to practice key sustainable development skills and potentially advance to the national competition.
This year's topic was the global water crisis, and our judges included: UNA Beverley Hills, OurWaterLA, and UCLA. Members presented their solutions to the judges on Wednesday, Feb 13. This year's winners were Kyra Baffo, Alberto Murillo, and Anna Jo, who will advance onto regionals. We wish them good luck in the upcoming steps! |
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