Today, October 24th, is United Nations Day and it seems appropriate to celebrate this day as Moravian College has many important ties to the UN
Established in 1954, the United Nations replaced the League of Nations following World War II. Its work falls under five main categories:
- Maintain international peace and security
- Protect human rights
- Deliver humanitarian aid
- Promote sustainable development
- Uphold international law’
There are many structures within the UN that are likely familiar to many of us—such as the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the World Health Organization, to name a few.
Did you know that Historic Moravian Bethlehem was honored with placement on the US Tentative List for eventual nomination to the UNESCO World Heritage List? The college has been collaborating with the city on this initiative.
Since 2009, Moravian College has sent close to 40 students, faculty and alumni to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) meetings around the country and we have representatives who work on key committees and task forces for the UNFCCC. Our 11th delegation will go to Santiago, Chile in December.
Moravian faculty work on projects associated with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and last year, the college was honored to have 15 student Millennium Fellows (pictured above) who worked on projects to address the SDGs in the Lehigh Valley.
Did you know that at least two recent graduates have interned at the United Nations; one worked in New York City and one is currently working in Macau!
Our InFocus program themes align closely with key initiatives of the United Nations. The InFocus global seminars (travel courses) also align with UN goals. This year, two special InFocus (and very interdisciplinary) on-campus seminars deal with key UN issues:
- Interrelation between Inequality, Climate Change Denial, and Migration
- Scarcity of Justice and Health
For all of these reasons, the college was approved to join the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) last year. There are lots of opportunities for all of us to get involved with UNAI initiatives if anyone is interested!