Today was my first day at CSD 15. It was my first time at the UN, and the experience went beyond my expectations. I had never seen such a diverse group of people in one place before. What impressed me the most was how so many different people from so many different nationalities and backgrounds could interact and work together.

In the morning I attended the plenary on Energy, which was not my area, so I thought it went by quite uneventfully. I don't think OPEC spoke at this plenary, which disappointed me, as their delegation was sitting just a few seats away from the youth delegation. I left early with some of the other delegates because we had a meeting with one of SustainUS' directors. 

 After lunch I went to a side-conference on sustainable development in post-conflict nations, hosted by Serbia. It was a humbling experience, because I was in a room with a diverse group of high-level representatives. The Serbian representative was the secretary of the Serbian office of sustainable development, and he worked directly with the deputy Prime Minister. There were also delegates from France, USA, Afghanistan, South Africa, Canada, Turkey and Senegal.

After the Serbian conference, I attended the Industrial Development Plenary, which was the area I worked on with my SustainUS group, and the area I was the most interested in since I'm interested in economic development and corporate social responsibility. I found this plenary to be more interesting then the one on Energy because I understood a good portion of what everyone was talking about, and the goals the delegates presented were close to what my SustainUS group came up with. My group even got to present our statement near the end :D

Bob Ma