PARALLEL EVENT ON MARCH 6, 2023
The Utah International Mountain Forum (UIMF), a coalition of student clubs at Utah Valley University, advocated for mountain women through hosting the parallel event “Empowering Mountain Women through Inclusive Student-Engaged Learning Educational Initiative” during the 67th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW67) on March 6th, 2023.
28 members of UIMF, including 24 Rotaractors, spoke in person and virtually at the event, co-sponsored by the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, an NGO in General Consultative status under the ECOSOC. UVU Rotaract is a student club of Rotary International (RI), also a registered NGO under ECOSOC. One of the CSW67 Rotaract goals was to gain a similar co-sponsorship from the RI for future UN activities.
For the first time, the visit was implemented by integrating extracurricular activities with the UVU Political Science Globalization and Sustainable Development class as a capstone project. Students studied different aspects of sustainable mountain development in Utah and compared with other mountain nations worldwide, then combined their research and created the agenda of the visit, prepared statements, and promotional materials and ran all events logistics. They raised funds for the trip through service projects with Orem-Lindon Rotary club as well as different sources at UVU.
Student-Engaged Learning model (SEL) encourages students to inclusively work together to solve practical problems, with faculty serving as mentors. UIMF serves as a core by allowing students through extracurricular activities to implement UN activities which very often could last longer than regular semesters. The UVU SEL model ensures inclusivity by involving both traditional and non-traditional students. Non-traditional students, who are 25 years or older, balance their education with work and family responsibilities. At the same time, non-traditional students possess such qualities as maturity, responsibility, and experiences related to local life. Therefore, they can both contribute to the model projects toward SMD advocacy and teach their traditional peers how to implement them.
The inclusive co-curricular SEL model for advocacy for mountain women and girls based on student clubs as a simple educational tool that can be used by any academic institution worldwide. At the same time, its inclusivity ensures that the model is student-driven and makes students full-fledged contributors to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
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STATEMENTS BIOS
Dr. Rusty Butler Bio
Mrs. Wendy Jyang Bio
Dr. Jay DeSart Bio
Alitha Thompson Bio
McKay Brooks Bio
Samantha Davis Bio
Joshua Kooyman Bio
Rachel Welker Bio
Hendrix Bailey Bio
Mary Cisneros Bio
Chandler Davis Bio
Winnie Jada Bio
Smith Griggs Bio
Lisa Jones Bio
Alex Jessop Bio
Emmanuel Omaria Bio
Jake Lamoreaux Bio
Sophia Pang Bio
Laila Mitchell Bio
Rusden Scott Bio
Maren Ostlund Bio
Nikki Smith Bio
Handen Torsak Bio
Chance Simons Bio
Natalie Williams Bio
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SIDE EVENT ON MARCH 8, 2023
A side event titled “Advocating for Mountain Women and Girls’ Education Globally Through Student Engaged Learning” was co-hosted by the Permanent Mission of the Kyrgyz Republic and the Mountain Partnership (MP) on March 8, 2023 during the 67th session of the Commission on the Status of Women.
The event featured an inclusive co-curricular student engaged learning (SEL) model to advocate for mountain women, which was developed in 2011 at Utah Valley University (UVU) in a partnership with academic institutions from the Kyrgyz Republic under the umbrella of the MP.
In the model, the Utah International Mountain Forum (UIMF), a coalition of student clubs at UVU, allows students through extracurricular activities to implement UN activities which often last longer than regular semesters. SEL encourages students to work as a group to solve real-world problems, with faculty serving as a mentor. The model involves both traditional and non-traditional students. The latter ones are 25 years or older, balance their education with work, family responsibilities and possess qualities such as maturity, responsibility, and experiences related to local life. Therefore, they can contribute their knowledge toward advocacy activities, teach traditional peers how to implement them, and make the model student-driven.
In preparations for the event, students studied different aspects of sustainable mountain development in Utah, Kyrgyz Republic and other mountain nations worldwide, created the agenda of the visit, prepared statements, and ran all events logistics. They raised funds for the trip through service projects and other different sources.
Side event was moderated by Alitha Thompson, the first female President of UIMF, and mother of five children. Panel of speakers included the Member of Parliament of the Kyrgyz Republic Sharapat Mazhitova who addressed the need for women and girls in STEM programs, the Permanent Representative of the Kyrgyz Republic to the UN, Mrs. Aida Kasymalieva, the Permanent Representative of the Principality of Andorra to the UN, Mrs. Elisenda Vives Balmaña, the Deputy Permanent Representative of Austria to the UN, Mr. Jochen Hans-Joachim Almoslechner, Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, UNEP, Mr. Jamil Ahmad, and Ms. RosaLaura Romeo, Coordinator a.i. and FAO Officer, Mountain Partnership Secretariat. The Permanent Representative of Uzbekistan to the UN, Mr. Bakhtiyor Ibragimov intervened in support of the initiative at the end of the event.
In addition, the panel also included students and faculty from UVU, Osh Technological University in Osh, Kyrgyz Republic, Kunming Institute of Biology in Kunming, Republic of China, and a researcher from India. All of them spoke on the challenges facing their mountainous homes and how SEL can empower them first and then allow them to help their loved ones and local communities.
The Permanent Representative of the Kyrgyz Republic to the UN, Aida Kasymalieva, stressed the importance of similar simple initiatives focusing on education and the self-development of mountain women and girls, within the implementation of the Five Years of Action for the Development of Mountain Regions, a resolution adopted in 2022 by the UN General Assembly.
Tristin Juarez-Smith, President of the UVU Rotaract
STATEMENTS BIOS
Aida Kasymalieva - opening Bio
Alitha Thompson Bio
Elisenda Vives Balmaña Bio
Jochen Hans-Joachim Almoslechner Bio
Jamil Ahmad Bio
RosaLaura Romeo Bio
Baldomero Lago Bio
Rusty Butler Bio
Jay DeSart Bio
Gulnura Amatova Bio
Baiyel Abibilaev Bio
Qian Li Bio
Aida Kasymalieva - closing remarks Bio
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Written Statement from RANS and Utah-China F.I.S.H.D.&.C.
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MEDIA OUTLETS ABOUT UIMF DELEGATION VISIT TO CSW67
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UVU Students Make Big Impact at United Nations1
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UVU Students Make a Big Impact at the United Nations 2
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Preparations for the visit to the 67th session of the Commission on the Status of Women
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UIMF to Host a Parallel Event at the CSW67 Foreign Affairs Club Contribution to the Visit of the Ambassador of Kyrgyzstan to UVU
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Raising Hope for Utah Students UIMF Preparations for the CSW67
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13th International Mountain Day Observation held at UVU Giving Warmth This Holiday Season
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Rotaractors Donated Dictionaries at Schools with Orem-Lindon Rotary Club World Polio Day 2022 Observation at UVU
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