Brazilian University Pioneers in Diagnosing, Monitoring and Collecting Data on COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact all over the planet, regardless of borders, thus becoming a truly global challenge. Lives have been lost, the offer of jobs has drastically decreased and people have had to adapt to a new reality. The last few months have shown us that everyone's cooperation, support, and responsibility have never been so critical as now.?
Along these lines, , a UNAI member institution located in southern Brazil, reiterated its social commitment with actual and practical measures to help with the prevention and mitigation efforts. The university performed in its Molecular Microbiology Laboratory, in just one year, a total of 46,645 COVID-19 diagnostic tests. This service has been provided to the community since late March 2020.
Youth Action for Peace: Mogamat Imaad Abrahams
Mogamat Imaad Abrahams recently graduated from Spine Road High School in Cape Town, South Africa. He is now studying Politics, Philosophy and Economics at the University of Cape Town. Mr. Abrahams is enthusiastic about politics, youth advocacy and women’s reproductive health. He currently serves as the President of Peace Club South Africa. Read Mr. Abrahams' statement on peace below:
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How do we ensure a democracy where, when we make decisions around inequality, the voices of those who they would most affect, are always included?
I come from a context where inequality is heavy. Inequality is always present within South Africa. We have a Gini coefficient of 68.0. More than 50% of the population lives off less than five dollars a day. Inequality is a prevalent issue that needs to be addressed. It has been going on since the end of apartheid and even before apartheid took place.
Examining Dissemination of Information on COVID-19: Healthy Economy over Public Health?
A recent research conducted by the , a UNAI member institution in Germany, and the University of Texas at Dallas – UTD (United States), examined how governments inform and communicate to the public about the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The team of researchers was composed of Professor Francis de Véricourt, Director of the Center for Decisions, Models and Data (DMD-Center) at ESMT Berlin, Huseyin Gurkan, Assistant Professor of Management Science at ESMT Berlin, and Shouqiang Wang, Associate Professor of Operations Management at UTD.
Youth Action for Peace: Momoka Narasaki
Momoka Narasaki (Japan)?was born and raised in Hiroshima, Japan. She is currently a student at the Hiroshima College of Foreign Languages. Dedicated to sharing Hiroshima’s history and lessons with people from around the world, Ms. Narasaki joined Hiroshima International Youth Volunteers and received her certification as an official Hiroshima Prefectural Interpreter and Guide. In 2020, she began working at Peace Culture Village, guiding in-person and virtual tours for visitors of the Hiroshima Peace Park. Read Ms. Momoka Narasaki’s statement on peace below:
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Hello, everyone. My name is Momoka Narasaki. I am here representing the youth of Hiroshima. I am very honored and happy to be able to use this wonderful platform to send a message from Hiroshima to the world.
General Assembly and Youth: Maria Alriachy, Interpretation Service, UN Department for General Assembly and Conference Management
Established in 1945, the General Assembly of the United Nations occupies a central position as the main deliberative,?policymaking?and representative organ of the Organization. It provides a unique forum for multilateral discussion of the full spectrum of international issues covered by the Charter.?In line with this year’s General Assembly session, with its General Debate beginning on 21 September 2021, UNAI?has produced?a series of video interviews with young staff working for?the Permanent Missions to the United Nations?and?for?the Organization.??
Maria Alriachy, an Arabic Interpreter working at the UN Department for General Assembly and Conference Management and a Lebanese national, emphasized the importance of multilingualism. "We make sure that all speeches are interpreted into all 6 official languages," she explains.
General Assembly and Youth: Rafael Radischat, Protocol and Liaison Service, UN Department for General Assembly and Conference Management
Established in 1945, the General Assembly of the United Nations occupies a central position as the main deliberative,?policymaking?and representative organ of the Organization. It provides a unique forum for multilateral discussion of the full spectrum of international issues covered by the Charter.?In line with this year’s General Assembly session, with its General Debate beginning on 21 September 2021, UNAI?has produced?a series of video interviews with young staff working for?the Permanent Missions to the United Nations?and?for?the Organization.??
Rafael Radischat, an Intern at the Protocol and Liaison Service of the UN Department for General Assembly and Conference Managament, who is half Portuguese half German and grew up in Austria, started his UN experience in Vienna 4 years ago. He is very excited about this opportunity of working during the high-level segment of the General Assembly.
General Assembly and Youth: Joseph Degroat, Meetings Coverage Section, UN Department of Global Communications
Established in 1945, the General Assembly of the United Nations occupies a central position as the main deliberative,?policymaking?and representative organ of the Organization. It provides a unique forum for multilateral discussion of the full spectrum of international issues covered by the Charter.?In line with this year’s General Assembly session, with its General Debate beginning on 21 September 2021, UNAI?has produced?a series of video interviews with young staff working for?the Permanent Missions to the United Nations?and?for?the Organization.??
Joseph Degroat, from the United States, an Editorial Assistant in the Meetings Coverage Section of the UN Department of Global Communications, has covered the annual sessions of the General Assembly for over a decade. He says that his work allows the media and the general public to have an "unbiased source of what happens". "It is important to have the different views and mindsets," he says.?
General Assembly and Youth: Heitor Torres, Permanent Mission of Brazil to the United Nations
Established in 1945, the General Assembly of the United Nations occupies a central position as the main deliberative,?policymaking?and representative organ of the Organization. It provides a unique forum for multilateral discussion of the full spectrum of international issues covered by the Charter.?In line with this year’s General Assembly session, with its General Debate beginning on 21 September 2021, UNAI?has produced?a series of video interviews with young staff working for?the Permanent Missions to the United Nations?and?for?the Organization.??
Heitor?Torres,?diplomat?at the Permanent Mission of Brazil to the United Nations, has been?at the forefront of negotiations at the General Assembly and the Security Council?since assuming his current role in March 2021.?He says that?the?experiences at those?meetings?“made me much aware of challenges that millions of people face every day”,?such?as climate change,?conflicts?and famine.?
General Assembly and Youth: Maho Sugihara, Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations
Established in 1945, the General Assembly of the United Nations occupies a central position as the main deliberative,?policymaking?and representative organ of the Organization. It provides a unique forum for multilateral discussion of the full spectrum of international issues covered by the Charter.?In line with this year’s General Assembly session, with its General Debate beginning on 21 September 2021, UNAI?has produced?a series of video interviews with young staff working for?the Permanent Missions to the United Nations?and?for?the Organization.?
University Partners with Indigenous Community in the Ecuadorian Amazon to Ensure Access to Water and Sanitation
Ensure access to water and sanitation for all is a specific call for action as per?the Sustainable Development Goal 6. Moreover, according to a issued by the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, access to safe and potable water and adequate sanitation, is a critical component of the human right to health.
Millennium Fellow Kimberley Bates: Achieving Peace through Storytelling
The United Nations Academic Impact and the Millennium Campus Network (MCN) are proud to partner on the Millennium Fellowship, a semester-long leadership development program that helps students design and implement community-level initiatives to promote sustainability and help others in need.
Kimberley Bates, a Millennium Fellow for the Class of 2020, aspires to bring young people together through the concept of “positive alternative narrative”. Her Millennium Fellows Project focuses on?SDG16 : Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.
It was a sense of emptiness that brought Kimberley, a university student studying criminology in Australia, on the Millennium Fellowship Programme.
Exploring Effects on Mental Health, Working Conditions and Living Habits of the COVID-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic and associated societal restrictions such as lockdowns and movement limitations, have impacted many areas in society as well as aspects of individual’s work and private life. People have been affected in disparate ways, due to occupation, socioeconomic situation and other variables. For example, depending on the requirements for physical presence at work, and real-life interpersonal contact, contra possibilities to telework, people have experienced different types of changes in their day-to-day lives.
University Team Works to Unlock the Recycling Potential of Ocean Plastics
The forested coastlines of Afognak Island, part of the Kodiak Archipelago in Alaska, seem at first glance to be pristine and unspoiled. The miles of deserted beaches being left mostly in the care of the island’s brown bears and Roosevelt elk. Unfortunately, that perception is far from accurate, due to the island’s location along the North Pacific Gyre – an enormous ocean current swirling counterclockwise across the Pacific Ocean north of the Equator which deposits hundreds of thousands of kilos of the world’s ocean plastics on its beaches each year.
Improving Water and Food Security in Ethiopia Through Research with a People-Centered Approach
The question of?how science, research, and study address challenges, pinpoint innovative solutions and reach people in need, is an?issue of concern for academic institutions. On that note, the School of Engineering of the , a UNAI member institution in the United States, is leading a group of researchers to tackle how scientific knowledge is disseminated and applied in their , funded by the National Science Foundation.?
Millennium Fellow Monica Gbuchie: Promoting Women’s Rights in Nigeria
The United Nations Academic Impact and the Millennium Campus Network (MCN) are proud to partner on the Millennium Fellowship, a semester-long leadership development program that helps students design and implement community-level initiatives to promote sustainability and help others in need.
Monica Gbuchie, a medical student at Niger Delta University in Nigeria and a Millennium Fellow for the Class of 2020, aspires to promote sexual and reproductive health and women’s rights in underserved communities. Her Millennium Fellows Project focuses on SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being and SDG 5: Gender Equality.