Students and administrators from St. John’s University’s three New York City campuses will converge on the United Nations Headquarters in Manhattan on Friday, November 21, 2008 for the fifth Global Student Leadership Program.
Each semester, St. John’s students have been meeting with various international diplomats and non-government organization (NGO) representatives to discuss how the UN Millennium Development Goals are helping both developed and developing countries improve living conditions for citizens around the world and eventually eliminate extreme global poverty. On the 21st, they will network with professionals in the field as well as students from other universities who also have a strong passion for global development and social justice. This initiative is coordinated by the Lower Hudson Valley Consortium of Catholic Colleges and Universities and co-sponsored by St. John’s Division of Student Life and the University’s Global Awareness Project.
The focus of the spring 2008 program was on the least developed countries in Africa that are hardest hit by poverty, civil unrest, displacement, lack of fresh water, and economic instability. This fall program will focus specifically on the eradication of extreme poverty.
On November 21, the student group will begin the days with a private tour of UN Headquarters, after which they’ll enjoy an elegant networking lunch in the Delegates Dining Room, an area usually accessible only to diplomats and UN employees. Afterwards, they’ll participate in an afternoon panel discussion in Conference Room 4, a venue that resembles the General Assembly Room and the same site where the students met for the African Mission Dialogues last spring. The discussion will be a rich series of presentations and discussions of the Millennium Development Goals with a particular focus on the eradication of extreme poverty.
Sr. Eileen Gannon, O.P., former NGO representative of the Dominican Leadership Conference will moderate the panel of experts, which will include:
- Sr. Marie Elena Dio, S.C., NGO representative of the Sisters of Charity Federation
- His Excellency Paul Badji, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Senegal to the United Nations
- William Exantus, Ministre Conseiller, Permanent Mission of Haiti to the United Nations
–or–
- Nicole Romulus, Conseillere, Permanent Mission of Haiti to the United Nations
- Dr. Garry Conille, Leader, MDG Support Team, UNDP
In October, this issue was addressed at St. John’s in the presentation, “Bankers to the Poor: Using Micro Finance to Eradicate Poverty Today,” as part of the Provost’s Dialogues on the Future and its theme focus on the Millennium Development Goals: Eradicating Poverty. The Dialogues, a lecture series, are intended to spark creative solutions to some of the world’s most pressing issues. In the context of the University’s Mission, the Dialogues seek to foster and promote ongoing academic discussion about these goals and their current progress. At least one event is hosted every semester to facilitate the ongoing conversation about world issues of concern.
Last spring, the Provost’s Dialogues offered “Water H2O:Dying of Thirst,” which featured experts in the fields of ecology and anthropology followed by a question and answer session.