UK UN Youth Summit 2021

Our flagship conference, the inaugural UK UN Youth Summit 2021, is a national networking and collaboration event, bringing together leading figures in diplomacy and youth activism with over 30 local UN youth organisations from across the United Kingdom invited to attend. The inaugural conference will take place online, and subsequent conferences will be hosted in London, Edinburgh, Belfast and Cardiff on a revolving basis..

GIVING YOUTH A VOICE

As the world emerges from the coronavirus pandemic, effective youth engagement with the United Nations has never been more important. Increasing inequality of opportunity, access to resources and wealth distribution along with the urgent need to address the climate crisis are issues which affect all of us as global citizens, but can often have a disproportionate impact on young people around the world. Within the United Kingdom, UNA-YP is committed to providing current and recent students with a platform through which they can both learn more about global issues and respond to these issues as individuals and members of a wider community. Through the UK UN Youth Summit, delegates will have the opportunity to not only connect and network with other members of the UNA-YP community who share their passion, but also to learn from the experiences of others who have engaged with the United Nations from diverse backgrounds in a wide variety of contexts.

UN YOUTH DELEGATE PANELS

A crucial aspect of global youth engagement with the United Nations is the UN Youth Delegate Programme. In order to allow delegates to learn more about the Programme, the conference will feature two panel discussions dedicated to it, featuring current and recent UN Youth Delegates from several European countries. The first will be titled “The UN Youth Delegate Experience” and will deal with how panelists became involved in the Programme and their experiences of representing their respective countries at a global level. The second will be titled “The Future of Youth Engagement with the UN” and will allow panelists to discuss both how the coronavirus pandemic could affect how young people engage with the United Nations in a post-coronavirus world and how young people around the world can help to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

SOFT SKILLS: THE HIDDEN CURRICULUM OF MUN

In the United Kingdom and around the world, many students engage with the United Nations through participating in Model United Nations conferences. Often in MUN debate training sessions focus on the procedures and debating techniques required to successfully participate in a conference and increase likelihood of winning an award. Less emphasis is placed, however, on the importance of developing soft skills which help MUN delegates to make the most of unmoderated caucuses and social events as they attempt to persuade others to accept their suggestions and viewpoints in the resolution-writing process. The workshop “Soft Skills: The Hidden Curriculum of MUN” will provide delegates at the UK UN Youth Summit with a rare insight into this aspect of Model United Nations for MUN of all levels of experience.

MEANINGFUL ENGAGEMENT FOR REAL CHANGE

Throughout the last year, UNA-YP has been involved in several ambitious campaigns, including its campaign to establish a long-term UN Youth Delegate Programme for the United Kingdom and fill a critical gap in the representation of UK youth at United Nations. Presentations on this and our other projects will allow delegates to learn more about how UNA-YP works to empower UK youth to make a global difference.

UN INTERNSHIPS PANEL

Many students at UK universities who are passionate about the United Nations aim to do an internship within one of its agencies around the world. In order to provide delegates at the UK UN Youth Summit with valuable insights into the application process and the experience of interning at the UN, the conference will feature a panel of current and recent UN interns with a variety of experiences and perspectives.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

In addition to featuring speakers who are current and recent students at UK universities, the UK UN Youth Summit will also feature addresses by leading diplomatic and activist figures reflecting on how current global issues affect young people and ways in which young can respond to these challenges.

You can find the list of speakers for this year's summit here.