UNO New York 3rd - 10th of July 2010

Millennium Development Goals

"With only five years left until the 2015 deadline to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on world leaders to attend a summit in New York on 20-22 September 2010 to boost progress towards the MDGs."

With over 25 UN-agencies involved, the Millenium Development Goals represent an unprecedented effort of the multilateral community to achieve fundamental human security through 8 goals, among which are the eradication of poverty and hunger, combating HIV/Aids, Universal Education, gender equality and other crucial development issues. It is the first time in the history of international cooperation that an all-new monitoring mechanism for each of the 8 goals has been established.
The reasons we chose this theme for this year's trip to the UN headquarters are the following: Seeing this big review conference coming up, we thought it would be great to prepare and refresh the topic as it will be of utmost importance in the years to come.
Furthermore, the MDGs have been the focus of much debate resulting in what many authors call an "MDG-fatigue". We will try to explain why everybody seems tired of hearing of them.
Besides discussing MDGs, somebody from the UN's Human Resources Management will come talk to us about how to get involved in the UN system. Last but not least, we will also be able to get a reception at the Swiss Mission to the UN in New York.

• Meeting and discussions with Guest speakers at the UN
• Visits to embassies and meeting with delegates and embassy staff
• UN Tour
• Small presentations by participants
• Small UN Simulations and discussions within the group
• New York City Tour
• Free time to explore the City

Conditions for participation:

• Thorough knowledge of English (the whole program will be in English only)
• Willingness to exchange within the group in an intercultural environment and get to know new people
• Curiosity (For the city and the UN)
• Important: You do not have to be a student of International Relations to participate. Everyone is welcome, what counts is interest

Number of participants:
15 participants and 2 organizers of the trip

Particpation fee:
730 CHF

What's included in the participation fee:

1. Accommodation from (3rd - 10th of July)
2. Breakfast (3rd - 10th of July)
3. Organized Program including visits and sightseeing
4. All transport during (Week Metro Pass)

What's not included in the participation fee:

1. Flight to New York and back home
2. Meals (apart from Breakfast)
3. Expenses during the day(s) off
4. Further visits outside of the program

Trip Organizers:

Jonas Schmid, Deputy Secretary-General Geneva International Model United Nations 2010

Nina Astfalck, IFIL.ch – member of the board