After four days of running around New York City with not a moment to breathe or spare, I can finally sit down now to reflect a little.  Our first week at the UN was certainly an adventure.  After wandering the halls and rooms for a while, most of us have an idea of how to get ourselves around…the building at least, though not necessarily the process.

I think I have somehow managed to emerge as the most negative member of the group.  This is bizarre, because usually I am the world’s most idealistic optimist, and people consider me crazy for having so much hope.  But somehow I hadn’t prepared myself correctly for my first trip to the (real) United Nations.  I knew that Model UN was a lot of people creating documents for the sake of creating documents and not affecting any real change in the world…but I didn’t think that the real UN would feel that way, too! 

After spending so much time with global health advocates, I have this problem of not being able to sit through bureaucratic negotiations when I am so cognizant of the fact that millions of lives are on the line.  The plenaries at CSocD involve the reading aloud of pre-written statements, available at the door.  No points are added for dynamic delivery – in fact, because of translation delays, dynamic speaking is actively discouraged.   So, I find myself frustrated… because much of my faith in the world relied on the fact that there was this amazing international body out there, the United Nations, which could be compelled to act & improve things around the world, regardless of domestic politics.  From AIDS to unemployment to access to water and medicines, and the tricky process of development, much is on the line.

Regardless of this negativity, I think it is so important that I get to be here, to gain a deeper understanding of the process by getting to actually see it.  Few people my age have such an opportunity, and I am deeply grateful to SustainUS for providing it.  I still have much to learn about the United Nations, which I will try to do so before becoming too negative, or impatient.  My criticisms now are largely superficial (and of the CSocD, which we've learned is less productive than the others), but nonetheless they are adding to my understanding of political processes.  When I return to school I will have much to process and ponder; for now I'll try to soak up everything I can.

Finally, after having previously written an extensive blog entry, only to watch it disappear before my eyes, lost forever, I finally have the blog methodology down.

Write in word, Copy, Paste.

For about 2 years I have been exerting extensive effort with the goal of one day working for the UN. I have never had a clear idea of what that absolutely meant – after all, it is a massive organization with an array of departments and objectives.  The looming question has never been “what I do for the UN,” but has focused upon, “ what can I offer them?”

The more time I spend here, walking through the hallways, speaking with officials, and listening to presentations, the more I am able to define my own personal objectives. Equally important, I an shaping a concrete image of what the UN actually is.  Hermeneutics aside, the UN functions as a piece of equipment.  As an American, I tend to think of objectives, yet the real power of the UN is within the process.  This process consists of various tools, each working with one another, and while does work steadily toward an objective, it is that journey which satisfies the needs of all.  The greatest complications are the most simple complexities of humanity – the translation of word, the nuances of a discussion, the determination of ethics and the subjectivity of goodness. 

Without rigorous protocol to attend to these complications, it would be an impossible challenge to congregate the masses of national representatives within the same room.  Consequently, the UN is a massive lumbering beast, weighed down by the force of its own humanness.  It is slow to move, and yet, with a single nod, step or waver, a series of decisions are capable of being implemented.  The shoes I where, the car I drive, the house I live in, and the food I eat is the consequence of decades of international decision making.  Yet millions of people will never recognize, be knowledgeable of, or understand that such decisions are made, in far distant towers.

Actually, most of the time we take the C train, but that isn't how the song goes.

I got in to New York on Wednesday, after a lot of the other agents were already here.  I found the hostel just fine, and decided from there to make my way to the UN (how hard could it be?).  I'd read something that said the UN was on West 46th Street, and it wasn't until I was wandering around near Broadway that I figured out something wasn't right.  And nobody had any idea where the UN was.  Finally I stopped at a restaurant and the woman there gave me a telephone book.  The UN is indeed on East 46th Street, not West.  So I got back on the subway and tried to hide the fact that I was looking at a large fold-out map of the metro lines in my lap.  I figured that would be like a large billboard flashing "I'm not from here."  Through trial and error I made it to Grand Central station and down to the UN.  That seems like it should have been the end of my aimless wandering, but in fact I got lost inside the UN as well.  I could see the large room with people in it, but I couldn't get in from the upstairs doors, and going downstairs only led to the bookstore.  Then I wandered a little further and found out that there was a secure entrance that my new brown badge got me through.  I resisted the impulse to go around asking everyone I saw "how cool is it that I have security clearance at the UN?"  I call it security clearance, because I think it's really awesome, but in actuality it's a photo ID that gets me downstairs.  Upstairs is still strictly off limits.

 Today Lauren and I met with the delegation from Morocco.  They were looking to talk to some youth from NGOs, so we went over and introduced ourselves.  They were glad to meet us, and very respectful of our time and our viewpoints.  They only had twenty minutes to fit us in before another meeting, but they wanted to hear about our views and the policies we were supporting.  One woman translated for two of the other senators.  She spoke in French, but they must have answered in Arabic, because I couldn't understand anything they said.  It felt very official and important.  They asked questions and we tried to explain (for example, if job cafes were anything like cyber cafes).   The last question they asked us when their time ran out was how our experience had been so far, if we had been discouraged or if we found reason to hope for change.  I thought that question showed very much their approach to us and the consideration they gave to our viewpoint, which was very encouraging.  We tried to stress that having youth from all parts of the world would be valuable to the commission, and they mentioned putting us in contact with Moroccan youth.  They took our information, so hopefully something will come of that.  Even if nothing does, that wins for my coolest experience of the day.  Not that my 400 page reading assignment in Tom Jones put up much of a fight.    

Heellllooo

So it's the end of day 2 of CSocD and so far I've been having a great time in the whirrrlwind of information and activity crammed into the basement (and cafeteria) of the UN.

So the UN is amazing, but we've learned it's also human -- clogged toilets, Aramark food (they cater my cafe at school too), and so forth :). It's amazing humanity as well though.

 Today I spent the morning networking with EU youth representatives-- we are trying to work with them to have a stronger youth voice and they have been very generous in sharing their information with us so far.

 After lunch, I attended the NGO briefing by Germany on behalf of the EU. It was interesting to hear about their campaigns (their idea is 'a social Europe will lead to a social world'), particularly their youth summit that brings together youth from all over Europe to discuss important issues. It seems odd and unfair that at CSocD youth issues are frequently discussed and there are a few dozen youth present, but no youth will vote on the policies that will not only shape their present but the future as well.

The afternoon was also time for q&a with a panel on labor force and migration, and I was able to ask a real question directed at the panel!! I sat in the real seat with a real microphone (that i wasn't sure how to work), and very nervously asked how the economist present (he was in favor of growth by responsible corporations) how youth migrant workers (both within and between countries) could be protected within free-market policies and how corporations could be held responsible for their actions. Luckily I got my question answered :) (with corporate social responsibility!)

 OK time to make our policy!

More to come!

Sustainability, it's like woah.

Wednesday started off the first day for SustainUS agents of change at the UN CSocD.  For me it was also my first time attending a UN event.  There was a lot to absorb throughout the sessions during the day, and I gladly took to being a sponge.  In reflection of the day my greatest insight was in understanding the role of youth in the UN. 

There are a number of different ways in which youth end up at these commissions.  There are those of us like SustainUS who come in representation of NGO’s.  Then there are youth delegates from other countries.  The EU seems to have the majority of youth representatives here.  I’ve learned that in the EU it is quite common for youth to be involved in delegations on the national level; thus, it seems that the transitions to bring youth representatives from the country to UN commissions is a bit smoother. 

Interestingly the US does not have a youth representative.  The SustainUS agents have been chatting a bit about why this is and how we would go about changing that.  It seems that continual lobbying over the years for a youth delegate has been a good start.  Hopefully this will persist and eventually a US delegate could become the norm.  We also talked about the intricacies of how this would work.  When a nation sends a youth delegate that delegate is obligated to represent the country’s views.  When we look at the US position on things like sustainability it’s interesting to think about how a youth delegate would have to handle it.  It would definitely be different compared to the SustainUS position from representing an NGO perspective.

So we have all these different youth here.  We all have different positions to represent and there is even a variance in how we can intervene.  Official youth delegates brought by their country are allowed into closed sessions and have access to certain documents.  The variance in roles puts youth in an interesting position here at the commission.  We all have the commonality of representing youth; however, we are not necessarily set up to work together.  Michael has talked a bit about how this varies with the CSD where there is an official youth caucus.  This allows youth at CSD to strategize, collaborate, and draft statements from the youth perspective.  I have thus found myself wondering how it is best for the youth here to be working together.  Some of us have also been talking about how beneficial a youth caucus could be and how that would even be initiated.  This may be something that we start to actively pursue in our time here in hopes of making next year easier for youth in that regard. 

Sorting this all out and finding out the reality of youth at the UN has been really fascinating for me.  The importance of the youth perspective is so valuable.  The need for youth at the UN is clear to me- we are the future, our voices should be present in this arena.  I am excited to see how the youth here will progress.  Networking has gotten us far.   Despite our different roles there has been sharing of documents and thoughts amongst the youth.  Those who are able to have influence by representing a nation seem open to hearing the perspective of fellow youth.  All these things have been exciting and I think we all look forward to exploring how we will be able to work together to represent the youth perspective.