Spring Updates

 On February 20th, the board members of the UPenn chapter met with senior UNICEF and UN Department of Political Affairs (DPPA) staff members. After initial partnership pitch meetings, UNICEF and DPPA staff requested that PPC develop an in-depth research and briefing on Youth, Peace, and Security and agreed to organize presentation opportunities with internal staff members.

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 PPC staff also met with high-level diplomats who head the human rights and SDG implementation at the Permanent Missions of European Union and Republic of Korea to the UN. The diplomats also agreed to facilitate a diplomatic presentation opportunity at their Embassies once the group concludes its research and preparation on youth, peace, and security.

 

 Building on last year’s success in briefing 15 UN Permanent Missions on deterring faith-based conflicts, PPC expects to present final findings on the importance of youth education in facilitating peace, peacebuilding, and conflict resolution at UNICEF, DPPA, and various Permanent Missions in late April. The group has already completed expert interviews with high-level staff members at UN Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) and UNICEF and will complete all preparations by this summer.

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Summer Updates

 This week, PPC will be traveling to the UN to discuss progress on the project and interview with the Heads of the UN’s Global Coalition on Youth, Peace, and Security (YPS). The final project and report, which are at a finishing stage, will be presented at the UN DPPA, Global Coalition on YPS, and the European Union Permanent Mission to the UN this August. Along with the report, PPC will also present a global coalition letter documenting youth groups’ support for YPS and using education as a peacebuilding tool; the group expects signatures from 200 US and South Korea-based student groups.