Note to Correspondents

Some 700 Participants Expected for UNIS-UN International Student Conference,

 

in General Assembly Hall at Headquarters, 1-2 March

 

The thirty-sixth annual UNIS-UN International Student Conference will be held at the United Nations General Assembly Hall on 1 and 2 March.  Approximately 700 students will participate in the Conference, including more than 270 guests from international schools around the world.

Visiting school delegations will represent over twenty countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Luxembourg, Norway, Spain, Japan, India, China, Ghana, Togo, Argentina, Jamaica, United States, Turkey and the Russian Federation.

UNIS-UN is a student-run organization that was founded at the United Nations International School in 1976.  The committee coordinates an annual conference that calls attention to a contemporary global issue.  This event acts as a means of forging stronger connections between the school and the United Nations.

As one of UNIS’ former directors once said, “We are the only school in the world that can offer this kind of learning experience, and I am amazed at the high quality and professional standard of the Conferences our students organize.  The UNIS-UN Committee has done an exceptional job this year in assembling such an eminent panel of speakers.”

This year’s conference is entitled “Human Exploitation:  Exposing the Unseen”.  Distinguished speakers including Asha-Rose Migiro, Katherine Chon, Kenneth Johnson, Daniel Persico, Radhika Coomaraswamy, Lynn Stratford, Johanna Esposito, Helen Benedict and Rachel Lloyd will be in attendance to address the conference participants.

Ms. Migiro of Tanzania has been the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations since 1 February 2007.  She has served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Tanzania.  She helped coordinate elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and supported the elections in Zambia and Madagascar.  Ms. Migiro obtained a Master of Laws degree from the University of Dar-es-Salaam and a Doctorate in Law from the University of Konstanz in Germany.

Ms. Chon is the Co-Founder of Polaris Project, a leading non-profit organization combating modern-day slavery in the United States and Japan.  Sparked by a local newspaper article describing the enslavement of women in a brothel a few miles from where she lived, Katherine has spent the last ten years creating innovative solutions to fight human trafficking.  The organization works directly with victims, operates the national hotline on human trafficking, and has passed landmark legislation across the country. Katherine received her Master of Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School, Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Brown University, and completed the Executive Program for Nonprofit Leaders at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Ken D. Johnson is part of Devconia LLC, an international development and cross cultural management firm specializing in private sector development and sustainability management with a focus on Africa.  He has worked with several African Governments and local businesses, to promote economic growth and reduce poverty.  Mr. Johnson has received a certificate in business studies from the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Royal Society of Arts, and is a Baruch College alumnus.

Daniel F. Persico, Vice President, Strategic Marketing and Business Development, was named such in July 2007.  He originally joined KEMET in November 1997, and served as Director of Tantalum Technology, Vice President of Tantalum Technology, and Vice President of Organic Process Technology.  Prior to his return to KEMET in December 2006, he held the positions of Research and Development Director at Cabot Corporation and Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of H.W. Sands Corporation, a manufacturer and distributor of specialty chemicals.  Dr. Persico holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry from the University of Texas and a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from Boston College.

Radhika Coomaraswamy is the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict since April 2006.  She serves as an independent moral voice for the rights and protection of boys and girls affected by wars.  Ms. Coomaraswamy, a lawyer by training and formerly the Chairperson of the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission, is an internationally known human rights advocate who has done outstanding work as Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women.  Ms. Coomaraswamy has won many awards from the International Law Award of the American Bar association to the Robert S. Litvack Award from McGill University for her outstanding achievements.  Ms. Coomaraswamy is a graduate of the United Nations International School in New York, Yale University (Bachelor of Arts), Columbia University (Juris Doctor) and Harvard University (Master of Laws).  She has written extensively on ethnicity, gender and human rights issues.

Lynn Stratford is the Senior Vice President of Program and Strategic Partnerships and oversees the work of the United States Fund for UNICEF with United States based non-governmental organizations, educators, school children, campus groups, and other volunteers.  Lynn is also responsible for helping ensure program coherence between UNICEF and the United States Fund staff in areas related to child survival.  These include health care, nutrition, clean water and sanitation, education and protection.  Previously, Lynn served as Chief of Staff at the United States Fund for UNICEF, where she was responsible for working with the Board of Directors and staff across the organization, managing the organization's strategic planning process, the Management Council and the United States Fund's Annual Meeting.  Ms. Stratford has been with the UNICEF family since 1991.  From 2002 until 2007, she helped create and manage UNICEF's Global Campaign on Children and AIDS.  She has worked with UNICEF in New York and various country offices.  Her positions at the United States Fund have included Director of Marketing and Development, Special Assistant to the President and Assistant Director of Communications.  Ms. Stratford is a graduate of the Catholic University of America with a degree in International Relations.

Ms. Esposito has been a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in New York for over 15 years.  She currently investigates civil rights violations which include matters involving human trafficking and hate crimes.  Special Agent Esposito has also conducted extensive investigations into international major theft rings and was an original member of the FBI's Art Crime Team.  Prior to joining the FBI, Special Agent Esposito was a practicing attorney in downtown Manhattan specializing in labour and employment as well as entertainment law.

Helen Benedict is the author of five novels and five non-fiction books.  Her novels include Sand Queen, which is composed of real life stories of female soldiers and Iraqi civilians.  Helen Benedict's books Sand Queen, and The Lonely Soldier, along with her articles on the sexual assault of women in the military, were the inspiration for the award-winning documentary The Invisible War.  She is now a professor at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.

Ms. Lloyd is the Executive Director and Founder of GEMS and the author of Girls Like Us (HarperCollins).  Girls Educational & Mentoring Services (GEMS) is the only organization in New York State specifically designed to serve girls and young women who have experienced commercial sexual exploitation and domestic trafficking.  She earned her Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Marymount Manhattan College, and a master’s degree in applied urban anthropology from the City College of New York.  She has received numerous awards, including the prestigious Reebok Human Rights Award.  Lloyd is an Ashoka Fellow and a Prime Mover Fellow, and was a leading advocate for the Safe Harbor for Exploited Youth Act, which made New York the first state to protect, not prosecute, sexually exploited children.  She lives in New York City.

For more information on UNIS-UN, please visit www.unis-un.org.

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For information media • not an official record