UNICEF USA Student Summit

I have certainly had my fair share of traveling this year.  I've been to so lucky to see so many different cities, town and even countries during my year abroad, so much to the extent that I feel as my friends and family at home can't keep up with my whereabouts !

One of the cities I've really wanted to go back to was Washington D.C. and the past weekend provided the perfect opportunity to follow my passion for global affairs and politics and travel because it was the UNICEF annual student summit.  I've been a member of the club this year and so jumped at the opportunity to attend the annual summit along with hundreds of other high school and college students from all around the USA.

Like any trip that begins in State College (a.k.a. the middle of absolutely no where) it began early with a 5.15am wake up call.  Groggily I gathered my bags and sauntered over to the hub where all the members of PSU UNICEF going gathered to wait for our bus at 6am.  Here's a wonderful photo of us, clearly excited for the day ahead ...

UNICEF USA pulled out no stops when it came to holding their annual summit. The weekend long event took place at the Omni Shoreditch Hotel about 20 minutes from the centre of D.C and this hotel was incredible. From the chandelier filled lobby, the cherry blossom garden or the photos of Ethiopian Kings and royal family members staying it was a first class place to be.  UNICEF even provided discounted hotel rates for the weekend and free food, meaning as college students we got to stay five star.  My only concern about this is does UNICEF really need to host events in a five star hotel, it's definitely not necessary !

Anyway, once we arrived we filled up our UNICEF bag with free merchandise before heading into the first session of the day - speeches from Paul Telfyan and Martin Rendon.  . Phil is the executive director of Equal Justice Under Law, an organization dedicated to ending to inequality in the justice system. I was really inspired by his decision to donate the majority of his income to charity every year and his decision to give up corporate to law to legal battles for those who can't afford lawyers in their own cases.

 Martin on the other hand is the vice president of Public Policy and Advocacy at UNICEF. He spoke about the power of the student voice and our ability to influence legislators to vote for foreign spending.  Following this there was a number of workshops where we discussed issues and how UNICEF clubs can address them, such as the Syrian Refugee Crisis, human trafficking and immunizations.

After another classic 'Southern' dinner  we heard  Cynthia McAfferty, the director of innovation at UNICEF and Lyn Stratford, vice president of program and community speak. Both these speeches we great, in particular I was blown away by the type of technology out there for improving health services in the developing world. UNICEF for example has even developed drones that can quickly transport HIV tests to hospitals from rural areas so people can begin to be treated quickly and properly.


After these speakers we then went into Washington D.C itself and wandered round the national monuments. Unlike last time we were able to get right up close to the White House ( last time we were held back by security guards on the other side of the road). We also went to Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial and the National War Memorial and we managed to take hundreds of photos doing so !

Trumps house

After not very much sleep in our luxury hotel rooms on Saturday night we headed into out second day of workshops and keynote speakers. I went to a presentation about identity and understanding how you can use the advantages and disadvantages of your identity ( e.g. female, minority) for better within UNICEF. We also discussed how UNICEF needs to change part of its identity - there needs to be more people of color and other minority groups at the executive level.

Finally after waiting all day in anticipation we heard Caryl Stern, the CEO of UNICEF USA speak which was incredible ! Whilst she spoke about the mission of UNICEF and students role within the organization she was inspiring in herself - her mission, her work ethic and the way she has continued to combine family and work priorities.  We got the opportunity to quickly chat with her afterwards which really made me appreciate how much she manages to combine work, family and also having fun at the same time.

PSU UNICEF club

It was another great weekend in which we finally had some good weather ! As our bus left D.C I certainly felt so much more inspired and refreshed than I did driving in less than 48 hours earlier.  I hope that I can put into practice what I learned at the student summit and bring some of these resources back home with and get much more involved with UNICEF in New Zealand !