From August 23rd to 27th, UN Summer Academy was held for rich interaction from all over the world to explore the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development. Each day was allocated to focus on different topics: 2030 Agenda, Health and Wellbeing, Economic transformation, Climate crisis and Sustainability. The key challenges we face in these issues and the local actions required to deliver the promise to the future were thoroughly discussed. Although it’s held virtually due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, United Nations System Staff College (UNSSC) evolved through past years’ experience. Complete approach with pre-work reading, presentation by experts of each topic, small-group breakout activities for reflection and knowledge-exchange allowed participants profound understandings of each topic and each other.
This year, 3 colleagues from United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Regional Collaboration Centre (RCC) St. George’s participated in this event.
Ama Kissiwah Boateng, Research Officer, UNFCCC RCC St. George’s
“The virtual #UNSA2021 gave me a unique experience of designing the future by using diverse learning approaches to understand current megatrends ranging from climate change to health and wellbeing and economic transformation.
The event’s theme “Redesigning for a Sustainable future” gave me the opportunity to examine key challenges of the 2030 Agenda in a post-COVID 19 world and I am optimistic that a solid global partnership can help achieve that.
Above all, I was particularly glad to see that value-added plenaries, fast-paced working groups, and role plays in a virtual space can be engaging and productive as face-to-face interaction if managed well.”
Jongho Suh, Associate Climate Specialist, UNFCCC RCC St. George’s
“The complete package of preliminary readings, presentation from prominent experts of each topic, and interactive discussion with inspiring participants of diverse backgrounds was a fulfilling online learning experience. Not to mention three different ways of thinking introduced: systems thinking; futures thinking; design thinking and their practice, small group discussion with various peers allowed me to view differently, even to the familiar topic like climate change. It was an aspiring experience to connect logistics in group projects and achieve an ecosystem of a certain topic with various sub-networks, which I couldn’t foresee linkage alone. Last but not least, I’d like to thank the UNSSC staff’s assistance and well-organized delivery. Mural made us feel like we’re making something together, and the contents were readily intelligible thanks to Desiree’s daily summary with Tofu Creatives.”
Kalifa Phillip, Modelling & Projections Intern, Caribbean Cooperative MRV Hub, Windward Islands Research & Education Foundation (WINDREF), St. George’s University
“The UN Summer Academy 2021 was nothing short of exceptional. This 5-day virtual event challenged me to leave my comfort zone and helped nourish my ability to think on the spot as I learned new concepts. It provided a space for me to listen and understand the thoughts and thought processes of others, while being able to share my own. The event had a diverse range of sustainable development entrepreneurs, activists, and experts in attendance from all over the world. This presented a unique opportunity to network, share initiatives, and form strategic relationships. I especially appreciated the wide range of engaging activities and work done in groups. This allowed us to collaborate in smaller teams and share ideas and solutions to various prompts. Once the event concluded, I left with a renewed motivation to tackle the sustainable development goals and the current climate crisis. I feel even more empowered to make a valuable contribution, especially as a young individual whose generation will be most impacted by the negative effects of climate change. My main takeaways are my newfound insights into systems, design and futures thinking, and the way they can be used to address global problems.”
