Welcome to the April edition of the Young Professionals’ blog!
April has been a very busy month.
We held our first “YP Mingles” event on Monday 22nd of April. We envisage that these regular social catch ups will be an opportunity for like-minded individuals to come together and make meaningful connections in a relaxed and laid-back atmosphere.
Everyone is welcome to attend and is not solely for YP members but passionate individuals interested in the work of the United Nations and advancing the SDGs. Members and non-members are encouraged to bring friends along.
The Young Professionals committee wants to be able to better get to know our members and our community. The attendees at our first evening came from such diverse backgrounds.
These social mingles allow for attendees to learn from each other and also exchange career/life experiences as everyone has a unique story to share. Not only are the “YP Mingles” a way to casually network but make lasting friendships.
We look forward to seeing you at our May Mingle later in the month.
On the 18th of April, we were honoured to be joined by Dr Donnell Davis who is the United Nations Association of Australia’s National President and UNAA Secretary, Susan McHattie.
Dr Donnell Davis attended the 68th session of the United Nations Status of Women (CSW68) in New York in March. The UNAAV hosted a roundtable debrief and summary.
2024’s theme is “Accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective”.
The afternoon was attended by representatives from:
- UNAA Victoria board members and staff
- UNAA Status of Women Committee
- Australian Institute of International Affairs (AIIA)
- UN Global Compact Network Australia
- UNAA Victoria Young Professionals committee
On the evening of Tuesday April 23rd, we welcomed Scott Bradford, Deputy State Director (Victorian State Office) from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) to speak about the DFAT Graduate Program.
The members-only evening was limited to a small number of participants who were the first respondents to an exclusive invitation. This allowed for more intimacy, each participant having the ability to ask questions, and have purposeful discussions about the 2025 intake as well as those wishing to apply in the future.
It was lovely to have both staff and members of UNAA Victoria, UNAAV Young Professionals, and UN Youth present.
The UN Ocean Decade Conference took place in Barcelona, Spain between 8-12th of April.
2024 marks the fourth year since the implementation of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030).
Please take some time to read the Barcelona Statement.
Earth Day was on 22nd of April with this year’s theme of “Planet versus Plastics” (YouTube video). For more information, click here.
World Book Day and English Language Day were both celebrated on the 23rd of April:
- World Book Day, a celebration to promote the enjoyment of books and reading.
- English Language Day, a day in honour of William Shakespeare, as well as the English language.
It is a language that is used internationally to communicate and one of the official languages of the United Nations (one of the two working languages, English and French).
English can often be used as a way to communicate between individuals from different countries and cultures even if it is not their first language.
English is an essential tool for global cooperation and diplomacy.
We are keeping ourselves busy organising exciting events focused on the SDGs for the upcoming months.
We hope to see you there and also meet more of you at this month’s Mingle- date TBC.
FUN FACT:
On the eve of UN English Language Day, I began to start thinking about the makeup of our very own UNAAV Young Professionals’ committee. This is the finding:
- Of the 13 committee members, more than 10 languages are spoken between us.
This is a wonderful testament to diversity, the power of language, and multilingualism (video message from the UN Secretary-General) and another fantastic video from the UN on the subject.
During the past month, we had many members-only exclusive opportunities to attend events.
Please sign up as a member here if you wish to access these extra benefits and discounts.
Remember to follow us to keep up-to-date with our events and news:
IG @unypvic
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United Nations Association of Victoria Victorian Division
Libby Crozier
Marketing and Communications Coordinator
On behalf of the UNAAV YP Committee