At a special ceremony held on 1 July 2013, Beijing Normal University, Zhuhai (BNUZ) unveiled a plaque that replicated the UNAI logo. Earlier, Maher Nasser, Director of the Outreach Division of the United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI), presented the UNAI Membership Certificate to BNUZ. Mr. Nasser congratulated BNUZ for its emphasis on building a cross-culture platform for international students and promoting communication and understanding of different cultures. He noted that the UNAI, which aimed at bringing the world's academia and the United Nations in a close partnership, had blossomed into a global movement. Over 1,000 colleges and universities from over 120 countries have joined UNAI, making it one of the fastest growing movements  in the academic world, he said.

In the unveiling ceremony, Prof. Tu Qingyun, President of BNUZ, said that, by joining UNAI, BNUZ's internationalisation process had been further strengthened. He assured UNAI that BNUZ would uphold  the principles of UNAI and take concrete steps to strengthen its ties with the United Nations and with the  UNAI community.

BNUZ, a sprawling campus in the city of Zhuhai in southern China, since its establishment 11 years ago, has emphasized cross-culture platform for international students by carrying out a so-called 2+2 program, which includes summer overseas study program, International Chinese Studies, and International Youth Leadership Program (IYLP). More than 100 students from BNUZ, Birmingham, Harvard and Oxford Universities are attending this year's IYLP. During the 20-day activity – with first 15 days at BNUZ and the final five days in Beijing – the students will attend lectures on youth leadership, carry out cooperative research and formally present the results of their joint efforts.

In his remarks at the inauguration of IYLP, Mr. Nasser noted that the programme's overall goal – to promote cross-cultural communication and collaborative academic research – and its focus on cultivating a new generation of youth leaders ready to embrace social responsibility, resonated with the ideals of the United Nations and that of the United Nations Academic Impact. Social responsibility, by its very nature,
implied an appreciation of our connectedness, first with our neighbours and with our immediate environment, and then the wider world and the global environment. The United Nations, which was created in the name of the peoples of the world, presupposed a recognition that the goals of peace, human rights and sustainability, the three pillars of the Organization, could be achieved only when we did our part, as Member States, as citizens and as members of our respective communities, Mr. Nasser noted.