Meiji University, Japan: During this reporting period, Meiji University founded the Noborito Institute Peace Education Resource Center to promote effective peace-making practices within its student body and beyond. The University also introduced a new admissions practice, entitled “Admission-upon recommendation”, which is intended to increase the rates at which refugees enroll at the Meiji. An event organized in conjunction with Japanese clothing retailer UNIQLO and supported by United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Japan Office, collected recycled clothing for ailing refugee populations.
Central Institute of Business Management Research & Development (CIBMRD), India: In collaboration with H.E.R.D. Foundation, VSPM Academy of Higher Education, the Centre of Science for Villages, and the Institute of Rural Industrialization, CIBMRD organized an event titled “Gramin Samridhi – Growth Drivers for Sustainable Rural Development,” which took place in April 2014. CIBMRD also organized an Intra-Collegiate Street Play competition for students pursuing Masters degree in its Business Administration programme. The competition was organized to spread awareness among students and within the local community of the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
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Activity reports from UNAI members |
Grenoble Ecole de Management (GEM), France: GEM created a new position in 2014: the Chair of Mindfulness, Well-being and Economic Peace Education. Its mission is to contribute to the development of knowledge, practices and training focused on the management of occupational stress, well-being, the personal development of managers, an evolution in management methods and the understanding of a new industrial model centered on the highest human values and on economic peace in order to promote sustainable and shared value creation.
DongSeo University, Republic of Korea: DongSeo’s Asia Summer Program (ASP) brought together 346 students and 31 professors from 26 different universities to learn directly about the diverse cultures of Asia. The three-week, credit-based program involved participants from universities in China, Bangladesh, Japan, Thailand, the Philippines, and the US, among others. Participants enjoyed cultural experiences such as playing Korean games and sightseeing around Busan on an all-day tour. The programme also included field trips to Korea’s ancient capital city of Gyeongju and to Geojae Island.
Baltic Sea Region University Network (BSRUN): In May 2013, BSRUN hosted its annual “Green University” forum on topics related to sustainability. The conference took place at the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Poland. The Network also hosted a seminar—in conjunction with the Modernization Partnership for the South Eastern Baltic Area—on “Creativity and Cooperation in the South Eastern Baltic Area.” This event took place in Kaliningrad, Russian Federation on the 7th and 8th of June, 2013. BSRUN also organized the event “Frameworks for University Cooperation in the Baltic Sea Region” alongside the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS). The forum was held in Turku, Finland on 28 October 2013.
Long Island University (LIU), USA: In September 2013, LIU’s “CHATS” programme brought together local and foreign students with the goal of expanding these students’ knowledge of languages, cultures, art, and religions from all parts of the world. Also in the fall of 2013, LIU hosted a conference entitled “Muslim Journeys,” which included exhibits, programmes, book discussions, films and lectures focused on the cultural heritage of Islamic civilization. LIU also organized and conducted a workshop on “Regional Implications of the Arab Spring and the United Nations’ response.”
Centro Universitário IESB, Brazil: With the implementation of its new Internationalization programme, IESB committed itself to increasing opportunities for students and faculty to exchange experiences with universities around the globe. These efforts are meant to inspire a greater sense of global citizenship, diversity, social justice and equality in IESB’s student body and faculty. Over the past year, student projects have focused on such diverse topics as a historical and judicial analysis of the concept of Human Rights and the use of sustainable materials for housing improvements in impoverished areas—thereby promoting several principles inherent in the United Nations Charter. IESB established a partnership with a local English language school, such that IESB students can now receive English language instruction at a much-reduced fee.
Fairleigh Dickinson University, USA: In March 2013, the University celebrated Global Happiness Week. With student organizations holding small events throughout the week on all four FDU campuses, the festivities included a trip to the United Nations on 20 March, the official International Day of Happiness. During the reporting period, FDU’s staff undertook a research project on behalf of the Conference of Nongovernmental Organizations (CoNGO) in Consultative Relations with the United Nations. The research project included a survey of CoNGO Substantive Committee members conducted by Fairleigh Dickinson University’s Public Mind Institute, a report on substantive committee activities, a report on the effectiveness of CoNGO Substantive Committees with specific recommendations for CoNGO.
East Stroudsburg South High School’s UNAI ASPIRE Chapter, USA: In 2014, students affiliated with East Stroudsburg South High School’s UNAI ASPIRE chapter learned to plan long-term initiatives and develop local and global partnerships in line with UNAI principles. The chapter is currently facilitating monetary and items donations, which will ultimately benefit local families directly affected by the ongoing crisis in Syria. A delegation from East Stroudsburg South High School—along with nearly 600 youth from 80 countries—visited UN Headquarters in New York as part of Secretary General Ban-Ki moon’s Education First Initiative.
Kwansei Gakuin University (KGU), Japan: KGU hosted a career forum entitled “Introduction to Working at an International Organization.” Since its inception at KGU in 2004, this annual event is revered as one of the biggest and oldest forums in Western Japan introducing attendees to the potential of a career in civil service. The forum offered excellent opportunities for the participants, who are mostly high school and university students, to understand the career path of an international civil servant and to deepen knowledge related to international development.
Research Centre for Evaluation and Socioeconomic Development (CERVAS), Italy: In May of 2013, CERVAS researcher Edgardo Bucciarelli led a scientific seminar entitled “Microfounding the Financial Instability Hypothesis: a Different Way of Using Experiments in Economics” at the Department of Economics within the University of Salamanca, in Spain. Another working paper produced by Bucciarelli in collaboration with two other researchers tests the viability of using micro-credit financing to promote development in underdeveloped countries. This paper was presented at the 4th CIRIEC International Research Conference on Social Economy (ICOSE), which took place at the University of Antwerp in October of 2013 and focused on the theme of social economy, social inclusion and the fight against poverty. Also, jointly with the organization known as Economic Research Question Time (ERQT), CERVAS hosted a series of scientific seminars on topics from such fields as Development Economics, Human Development, Social Economics, Gender Empowerment and Decent Work. These events, held weekly between October 2013 and February 2014, were structured, in part, to promote knowledge about scientific issues tied to UNAI.