• Omega & UN
•   | 
• 2010 UN VC

OMEGA AND THE UNITED NATIONS

In the spring of 2008, Omega school was invited to participate in the 11th annual United Nations Student Video Conference on Human Rights.  They were the only school in India and one of just two from Asia invited to participate. 

Due to both the enthusiasm of the students and the positive feedback about Omega from the conference organizers, participation has continued for three years running.  Each year the videoconference has a specific theme.  The past three conference themes were ‘Climate change and human rights', ‘Human rights education' and in November 2010, the students worked on ‘Fighting poverty through working to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals'.

The United Nations Department of Public Information (UNDPI) hosted the first student video conference on Human Rights in 1998.  The purpose of these annual conferences is "to offer youth the opportunity to interact directly with Human Rights experts, to study and debate human rights issues, and to propose recommendations that they can implement as young people."

 

Senior students from Omega school prepared for the video conference with intensive study and thorough investigation about the topic.  Through case studies students see how the issue impacts people locally, nationally and internationally.  Then they develop a plan of action, which addresses key issues and provides practical and implementable solutions.  These action plans are shared with students from schools all over the world via online exchange.

 

The process culminates in a live videoconference where students from participating sites hear presentations from UN experts on the topic. They listen to presentations from each participating site, are able to ask and answer questions about their action plans and engage in discussions with each other about the issues impacting people specifically in their community and country.  Via online exchange they submit recommendations and amendments to create a common, global plan of action.

 

Following the conference students are encouraged to begin implementing some of the action steps that came out of the conference.  In the year 2011, the follow-up session is during May 2011, where participating sites will share what they have been doing to address the challenges of fighting poverty.