As part of Nord Anglia Education's collaboration with UNICEF, our students Heather (MYP5) and Kyra (DP1) visited New York at the beginning of July as students ambassadors for La Côte International School. They were joined by 83 students from 33 Nord Anglia schools around the globe to take part in the 2018 UNICEF Student Summit.
Kyra and Heather applied for the NAE-UNICEF Student Summit in the spring and were interviewed by our school Principal before being selected to represent LCIS at the Nord Anglia Education Global Student Summit in New York.
UNICEF invited selected students from Nord Anglia schools around the world to present their ideas on the SDGs at an event during the United Nations High Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development. At the HLPF, our students urged government officials to incorporate sustainability concepts and practices into school curriculums for the sake of future generations.
The Sustainable Development Goals are a collection of 17 goals set by the United Nations regarding social and economic development issues. The idea is for nations to tackle all of these goals by 2030 to make the world a better place with the help of citizens and companies.
UNICEF is challenging students at Nord Anglia Education to raise awareness of the goals and to work with their local communities to create solutions. During the last academic year, NAE students and their schools worked on addressing:
Student ambassadors from different Nord Anglia Education schools were invited by UNICEF to meet in New York to move the needle on the Global Goals. They joined workshops, seminars and debates, including speaking opportunities at the UN’s High Level Political Forum, a Model United Nations and events at the UN Headquarters in New York City.
"At Nord Anglia Education, we empower our students to positively impact their individual communities and the world at large," said Nord Anglia Education CEO Andrew Fitzmaurice. "Through our collaboration with UNICEF and the World's Largest Lesson, students across our schools have been hard at work coming up with creative ideas regarding sustainable communities and responsible consumption practices."
The NAE-UNICEF Student Summit is a unique opportunity for La Côte International School's Secondary School students to contribute to the discussion on the Global Goals and influence policy at the highest level.
As well as debating their assigned resolutions within the Model UN (MUN) committees, Kyra and Heather had the opportunity to tour the United Nations, getting an insight into some of their key programmes, such as the UN convention on landmines, the fight for military disarmament and the UN's successful peacekeeping intervention in the Gulf War.
LCIS student Heather (MYP5) was also involved in the Sharon O'Shea interview alongside fellow NAE students. She says this was, without a doubt, one of her most memorable experiences from this trip.
"UNICEF is thrilled that schools such as those in the Nord Anglia Education family are using the World's Largest Lesson to teach young people about the SDGs and inspire them to take action," says Shannon O'Shea, UNICEF's Agenda 2030 Partnership Manager and Team Leader. "The success of the SDGs rests on our children and young people being involved. This is essential for their own personal development as responsible global citizens, as well as for the vibrancy and health of our communities and countries."
On a personal level, LCIS student Kyra (DP1) enjoyed being part of such an international group of students, meeting fellow NAE peers from different cultures and establish new friendships. "We are still in contact now - she smiles - which made this experience even more interesting and fulfilling!"
