Peace and Conflict Studies students visit the United Nations in New York City
"It's hard to describe, but it hit me right in the heart. I just thought, sometimes things can look one way, but then with a little more context or information, it can completely change your perspective," reflected Nancy Williams(last to the right) on a statue she saw at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City during a multi-day student seminar hosted by Mennonite Central Committee. The statue, pictured on the left, was recovered from the 1945 Nagasaki bombing. "How can something look so perfect from one side but then on the other side, you know there's just absolute tragedy?"
Nancy Williams, a Master of Peace and Conflict Studies student at the University of Waterloo and Conrad Grebel University College, and Natalie Nichol (first to the left), an undergraduate UWaterloo student minoring in Peace and Conflict Studies (PACS), attended the seminar along with several other students from Grebel. The theme was “Peacebuilding: Does the United Nations Matter?” This unique educational opportunity featured several UN speakers, a tour of the building, and daily group discussions.
"We always think the UN is perfect and does its job well, but there's a lot of areas where it doesn't help every single nation that it’s supposed to be helping,” explained Natalie.
During the sessions students discussed the lack of diversity of voices on the UN Security Council. Nancy, who is Indigenous, pointed out the lack of true advocacy for her people within the UN. "I know that we are not at the table, fine. But the five voices that are speaking for me on the Security Council are the last voices that I would want to speak on behalf of me."
Natalie added that Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, the Permanent Representative of Guyana to the United Nations, highlighted a similar example in Africa, where despite being a vast continent, it has no permanent voice on the Security Council.
During a tour around the UN, Nancy realized that there was more to the UN than she first thought. "I used to think everything happened in that one big room that you always see in movies, but I realized that there are a lot of discussions going on inside these special committees. It felt hopeful knowing that behind those doors, at least somebody is talking about some of the specific issues that impact regions around the world. The UN is a lot more segmented than the one big conglomerate I thought it was."
While seminar conversations acknowledged that there are many areas of the UN that need improvement, Nancy noted that the organization does play a crucial role in peacekeeping. "Before going to the conference, my perspective was that the UN doesn't matter because it just seems like it's just a bunch of fingers waving at the bad guys. After the event, I concluded that the UN does matter because at least there is a goal; at least there's hope. At least there's a system we can look at and try to improve."
The seminar also demonstrated various paths that could lead to working in the UN. "There was one presenter, Faith Kroeker-Maus, who is currently an economic advisor at the U.S. Mission to the UN (USUN),” recalled Natalie. “She talked about her educational journey, which started with a bachelor's degree in communications. This surprised me as I was expecting she would be like, 'Oh, I'm a political scientist' or something similar. "Her talk opened my eyes to the idea that people from very different paths in education can potentially work at the United Nations," Natalie added.
“For students attending the student seminar next year, I suggest going in with an open mind about the topic and when talking to peers,” advised Natalie. “Try to engage as much as you can with the lectures and the speakers because they really do make or break an experience.”
As a mature student, Nancy brought a different perspective to the seminar. “It was nice to be in a room full of people who felt passionate about peacebuilding and who wanted to dedicate their futures to that work. There are a lot of young people who are taking up the torch."
By Tasbiha Ansari