75 years of the United Nations

'UN needs to pay more attention to plastics'

Nine pupils from The Hague visited New York last summer to learn about the United Nations. Some of them met again a few months later to discuss the subject.

Hague schoolchildren UN sparrows

DATE

03 September 2020

TEXT

Marloe van der Schrier

IMAGE

Frank Jansen

75 years of the United Nations

'UN needs to pay more attention to plastics'

Nine pupils from The Hague visited New York last summer to learn about the United Nations. Some of them met again a few months later to discuss the subject.

Bhe return meeting at Museon is hosted by Hajar Yagkoubi (19). She is Youth Ambassador Human Rights & Security and regularly visits the United Nations (UN) in New York to represent young people by setting up actions and projects. "I met UN ambassador Karel Oosterom and he said: 'You really have to meet the schoolchildren in the Netherlands. They ask difficult questions about the UN'."

 

Read also:
A double interview with former mayor Jozias van Aartsen and associate professor Alanna O'Malley.
'Without the UN, the world will not be a better place'

 

New York

The pupils - from Edith Stein College, Rijswijks Lyceum and the Johan de Witt School - visited New York as part of the Van Aartsen Honours Program, an educational programme (including a chair) aimed at raising awareness of the United Nations in The Hague. "It was through that trip that I really got to know the organisation," says Sofia (18), a vwo pupil at the Johan de Witt School. "When I was still a baby, my parents came to the Netherlands from Somalia. We only knew the UN from their role as a peacekeeping force there, but they do much more."

Attendees pose near a picture of New York at the Museon. From left to right Nadjma, Sofia, Hajar, Kyara, Alanna O'Malley and Benita, who organised the meeting at the museum.

Nadjma (16) and Kyara (16) from Rijswijks Lyceum agree. Unesco (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation), for example, was unknown to the pupils: the organisation focuses on poverty reduction and sustainable development in addition to protecting heritage.

UN

Students notice that the UN is often on the News. Sometimes they think: yes, I really know a lot about that. Unanimously, the pupils are glad they took part. "It was really cool," says Nadjma. By the way, it wasn't just the UN, they admit, but also the visit to the city, to Roosevelt Island, the food together and the cosy evenings.


'We only knew the UN from their role as a peacekeeping force there, but they do much more'

In a room at the Museon - chosen because the museum will focus on 75 years of the UN - the students sit around a large, round table. Also present: UN professor Alanna O'Malley, who briefly shows an organisational structure of the organisation. "We need to move away from the traditional view of the UN as a peacekeeping force and show what is happening in New York," O'Malley said. That is where the university wants to get more people involved with this special programme.

Climate targets

Youth ambassador Hajar already knows all about it. The Brabant guest talks about her role and the petition they sent in response to the climate targets. "That has been signed one and a half million times. So we can definitely influence decisions," she says. Talking about a UN meeting, which the students also attended briefly, Hajar says: "They often use a lot of words, but secretly they don't say that much at all. You just have to find the red line."


The biggest challenge in the coming years? 'Plastic'

UN

Kyara looks admiringly at Hajar, who talks enthusiastically and fearlessly about her role. She just doesn't see herself doing that yet. "I find presenting a bit scary," she says. Nevertheless, in preparation for their visit to New York, the students had to make a presentation on what the UN means for themselves and for the future. Much more than they thought. "How did we ever miss all that?", they wonder. The biggest challenge in the coming years? "Plastic," nods Nadjma and Kyara. The UN needs to pay more attention to that."

date 03 September 2020
text Marloe van der Schrier image Frank Jansen

Bhe return meeting at Museon is hosted by Hajar Yagkoubi (19). She is Youth Ambassador Human Rights & Security and regularly visits the United Nations (UN) in New York to represent young people by setting up actions and projects. "I met UN ambassador Karel Oosterom and he said: 'You really have to meet the schoolchildren in the Netherlands. They ask difficult questions about the UN'."

 

Read also:
A double interview with former mayor Jozias van Aartsen and associate professor Alanna O'Malley.
'Without the UN, the world will not be a better place'

 

New York

The pupils - from Edith Stein College, Rijswijks Lyceum and the Johan de Witt School - visited New York as part of the Van Aartsen Honours Program, an educational programme (including a chair) aimed at raising awareness of the United Nations in The Hague. "It was through that trip that I really got to know the organisation," says Sofia (18), a vwo pupil at the Johan de Witt School. "When I was still a baby, my parents came to the Netherlands from Somalia. We only knew the UN from their role as a peacekeeping force there, but they do much more."

Attendees pose near a picture of New York at the Museon. From left to right Nadjma, Sofia, Hajar, Kyara, Alanna O'Malley and Benita, who organised the meeting at the museum.

Nadjma (16) and Kyara (16) from Rijswijks Lyceum agree. Unesco (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation), for example, was unknown to the pupils: the organisation focuses on poverty reduction and sustainable development in addition to protecting heritage.

UN

Students notice that the UN is often on the News. Sometimes they think: yes, I really know a lot about that. Unanimously, the pupils are glad they took part. "It was really cool," says Nadjma. By the way, it wasn't just the UN, they admit, but also the visit to the city, to Roosevelt Island, the food together and the cosy evenings.


'We only knew the UN from their role as a peacekeeping force there, but they do much more'

In a room at the Museon - chosen because the museum will focus on 75 years of the UN - the students sit around a large, round table. Also present: UN professor Alanna O'Malley, who briefly shows an organisational structure of the organisation. "We need to move away from the traditional view of the UN as a peacekeeping force and show what is happening in New York," O'Malley said. That is where the university wants to get more people involved with this special programme.

Climate targets

Youth ambassador Hajar already knows all about it. The Brabant guest talks about her role and the petition they sent in response to the climate targets. "That has been signed one and a half million times. So we can definitely influence decisions," she says. Talking about a UN meeting, which the students also attended briefly, Hajar says: "They often use a lot of words, but secretly they don't say that much at all. You just have to find the red line."


The biggest challenge in the coming years? 'Plastic'

UN

Kyara looks admiringly at Hajar, who talks enthusiastically and fearlessly about her role. She just doesn't see herself doing that yet. "I find presenting a bit scary," she says. Nevertheless, in preparation for their visit to New York, the students had to make a presentation on what the UN means for themselves and for the future. Much more than they thought. "How did we ever miss all that?", they wonder. The biggest challenge in the coming years? "Plastic," nods Nadjma and Kyara. The UN needs to pay more attention to that."