Valia Mitsakis and Emily Lavallee at the ECOSOC Youth Forum in January 2018
“It may be noisy messy and complex in an ever expanding room of stakeholders but I can assure you it is exactly where we are supposed to be” said Salina Abraham, President of the International Forestry Students’ Association about the ECOSOC Youth Forum.
At the Forum...
ECOSOC Youth Forum, January 2018, by Valia Mitsakis
There is one universal truth about youth: we are not included in the decision making processes of our countries or the international community. Thankfully, there have been some steps taken to enhance youth participation; governments have started to include youth in councils and pass legislation to better their lives, and the United...
ECOSOC Youth Forum, January 2018, by Emily Lavallee
On the first morning of ECOSOC’s Youth Forum, I arrived early to receive my grounds pass. There were people in various lines in front of the United Nations and across the street. Rush hour, in conjunction with the rush of UN visitors, and Youth Forum attendees, mirrored my own frenzied excitement. However,
By Sammy Witt
Mental Health is a popular topic among the progressive, post-structuralist left. These people are the ones often times dominating the feminist discourse in the West; this is also true for some parts of the UN. Many of the representatives from other feminist NGOs like talking about how significant the discussion surrounding mental health is. And they’re right!
By Sammy Witt
Last Monday I got to engage in a dialogue between NGO Reps/Civil Society and Louise Arbour. The event, which took place at the Church Center for the UN, a space many NGOs use, was a discussion built around an interview with Louise Arbour.
Louise was the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2004 until 2008. She...
By Paige Higbie, UN Youth Rep Coordinator
The United Nations has gotten much savvier about bringing private science and technology partners into the conversation about the Sustainable Development Goals. One of the major venues for this conversation is the Science Technology and Innovation Forum held at UNHQ every year.
An issue people may not be aware of, which I was...
In August 2017, Samuel Witt (son of Susan Stanley-Witt, AWC Hamburg) began his FAWCO UN Youth Rep experience.
From May - August 2017, Paige Higbie was FAWCO's UN Youth Rep in New York. Paige's mother is UN Rep Erica Higbie (FAUSA) and her brother Gavin was FAWCO's first UN Youth Rep. Now enrolled in a Master's program studying international relations in Berlin, Paige serves as FAWCO's UN Youth Rep Coordinator.
FAWCO's UN Youth Rep 2015 - 2017 is Vali Mitsakis from AWO Greece. Vali is studying in New York, and as a former Model UN participant, is excited to be a FAWCO UN Youth Rep.
In 2014, FAWCO had its first UN Youth Rep, Gavin Higbie, son of Erica Higbie (FAUSA), FAWCO UN Rep in New York and former Chair of the Human Rights Team. In August 2014, Gavin attended the Summer 2014 Youth Assembly at UN headquarters in New York City. He also attended the Winter 2014 Youth Assembly, and posted blogs about his experiences.
Gavin Higbie, FAWCO UN Youth Rep