On the early morning of March 7th, 2023, members of the Utah International Mountain Forum (UIMF) a coalition of student clubs at Utah Valley University (UVU), the core of the UVU student delegation at the 67th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW67) arrived at the United Nations to be involved with multiple activities. Some delegation members planned to obtain tickets to the morning session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
Tickets for the morning session of the General Assembly
Tickets were open to all sponsored attendees. Because of the sponsorship of our visit to CSW67 by the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, a non-governmental organization in General Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), ten members of our delegation were able to wait in line and obtain tickets to the morning UNGA session.The leadership of our group asked another portion of our delegation to attend a side event hosted by the Italian government with student leader Stephan Atkinson. For Rachel Welker, Vice-President of the Foreign Affairs club at UVU and myself, this was a time to learn practical skills and experiences in preparation for our own side event the next day. Our responsibility to prepare for the side event was to research and prepare background information for states such as the Kyrgyz Republic, China, Andorra, Austria, South Sudan, and India, who were participating in our side event on March 8th, 2023, hosted by the Permanent Mission of the Kyrgyz Republic to the United Nations. We researched how the countries were involved with the State of Utah, Utah Valley University, and UIMF and the work we had done jointly with them relating to mountain women. This was a great opportunity for us to learn the importance of working on a deadline, how to quickly synthesize extensive information, and expand our knowledge of the work UVU students have done with the international mountain forum.
Afterward, Rachel Welker and I headed to the UNGA session. We were impressed by the equal treatment of all countries as each was given only three minutes to speak. I heard statements regarding women in STEM from Slovenia, Serbia, Liechtenstein, France, Morocco, Luxembourg, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Austria. Some of the speeches were given in French or Mandarin, two of the official languages of the UN. Members of our delegation who are learning those languages at UVU, such as myself, Camilla Pendleton, and Chance Simmons, were able to practice our comprehension skills while listening to these speakers. This experience exemplified how bilingualism is a vital aspect of our political science education at UVU.
UVU students attending the General Assembly morning session
Halfway through the UNGA session, our delegation leaders Tristin Juarez-Smith and Alitha Thompson informed us that the Permanent Mission of the Kyrgyz Republic as the official co-host of the event finalized the list of all presenters for the side event and as a result, it was necessary to ensure that all fifteen presenters fit their presentations within 1 hour and 15 minutes. Our leaders needed assistance preparing the script of presentations for the side event for the next day. Nikki Smith, UVU Rotaractor, McKay Brooks, Vice-President of the UVU Rotaract, Rachel Welker, and I met them in the UN library for this purpose. I was able to find out how to add captions to the videos of our virtual side event speakers. Tristin and Alitha continued to work on the script for the event, Rachel Welker edited speeches of three official presenters from UVU as well as a draft of statements for Alitha Thompson and Tristin Juarez-Smith, and Nikki Smith sent headshots to McKay Brooks, who was responsible on preparing the combined PowerPoint for the side event. This was a great opportunity for us to gain practical experiences in multitasking responsibly, by supporting and sharing skills with each other. By working together and accepting the delegated roles our leaders gave us, we were able to get the work done much faster than Tristin and Alitha would have been able to alone.
UVU students in the UN library preparing for the side event hosted by the Permanent Mission of the Kyrgyz Republic to the United Nations
After lunch, Mckay Brooks, Rachel Welker, Tristin Juarez-Smith, and I met with Dr. Hong Pang, Dr. Baktybek Abdrisaev, and Dr. Kumar, mentors of our student delegation to continue editing the script for the next day's side event. Because information about the event was constantly changing, as per the direction of the Permanent Mission of the Kyrgyz Republic to the UN, the editing and preparation process was extensive. While McKay Brooks, Rachel Welker, Tristin Juarez-Smith, Alitha Thompson, and I worked with our mentors on the script, the rest of our delegation attended events being put on as a part of CSW67. Members of our delegation recognize the professional development and career experience attending CSW this week provided. We were able to see what a job as a political science major could look like and ask professionals in the field about their experience. Stephan Atkinson, President of the Foreign Affairs club at UVU, and UVU Rotaractors such as: Chance Simons, Hendrix Bailey, Smith Griggs, and Handen Torsak were asked by our delegation leaders to observe a side event “Integrating Women Refugees: NGOs as Key Partners and a Force for Change” hosted by the Permanent Mission of the Czech Republic to the UN and the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the UN during 1:15 PM - 2:30 PM. Our student delegates left the UN headquarters and went to the Permanent Mission of the Czech Republic to the UN, which is located at One Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza, 885 Second Avenue, 48th Floor. The purpose of their observation was both to learn about support from NGOs to women refugees who left Ukraine as a result of the war waged by Russia and also how the hosts operated the technological aspects of their event so the next day at our side event the same operations could be applied.
UVU students attending side events at CSW
We left the UN when it closed at 7:00 PM and returned to our accommodation for one last delegation meeting to assign tasks for the next day's side event. As part of student-engaged learning, each student was given a specific job by our delegation leaders for hosting the side event, including, but not limited to microphone checking, camera angle switching, and other technological tasks. Because of the success of this meeting and the details of our preparations, I had a feeling that the side event would run smoothly and hoped that all tasks were handled properly and everything would work well as planned by our leadership.
UVU students handing out stress balls and pamphlets to other CSW67 participants
At the start of the trip, our delegation leaders asked all delegation members to create goals concerning what we wanted to accomplish and learn at CSW this week. One of my goals was to make the effort to interact with attendees from other nations. Today, I took three stress balls with the Utah Valley University Global Engagement Office logo on them with me to the UN headquarters to help me reach this goal. While Rachel Welker and I were eating lunch, three women from a Chinese non-profit approached us. We talked with the women about their nonprofit and told them about the student-engaged learning model that brought us to CSW. Speaking with these strangers pushed me out of my comfort zone, but helped me practice casual diplomacy and networking skills. I was proud that I was able to accomplish CSW goals during this interaction.
Samantha Davis, Utah Valley University Rotaractor
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STUDENT REFLECTIVE ESSAYS
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23-03-08-Chance Simons-My Day 2 at CSW 67 on Tuesday, March 7, 2023
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23-03-08-Priyanka Prem Kumar My Day 2 at CSW 67
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23-03-07-McKay Brooks Sprinting to the Side Event’s Finish at CSW67
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23-03-03-Rachel Welker Attending Side Events at CSW67 Helped Me Hone Collaboration Techniques
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