On April 16, Seton Corridor, School of Diplomacy and International Relations, hosted His Excellency, Ambassador Philemon Yang, president of the 79th Session of
the United Nations Normal Meeting, on the World Leaders Discussion board. This marked a historic
second at Seton Corridor, bringing collectively future leaders and the president of the UNGA.
The World Leaders Forum (WLF) is an inspiring speaker collection held since 1999, aiming to carry collectively Diplomacy
college students with inspiring leaders in world affairs. All through its historical past, the WLF
has hosted many outstanding leaders, together with UN Secretary-Normal Kofi Annan, Former
Prime Minister of Israel Shimon Peres, Former President of the Soviet Union Mikhail
Gorbachev, United States Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield
and others. The WLF is a conventional signature program that makes Seton Corridor’s College
of Diplomacy distinctive.
Hosted within the Chancellor’s Suite of the College Heart, the WLF introduced collectively
college students, college and distinguished company from the sphere of diplomacy. The environment
blended the thrill amongst college students with their hope for the long run. Madeline Rowe,
a Diplomacy and Worldwide Relations undergraduate pupil, shared her pleasure
about welcoming President Yang. ”Over the previous couple of years, WLF hosted a number of
officers from the United Nations. I’m excited to listen to the place President Yang overlaps
with them and his insights on present worldwide diplomacy.”
The morning started with a gap speech by Dean Courtney Smith, Ph.D., who mirrored on the College of Diplomacy’s long-standing dedication to the
UN Group and the will to organize college students to construct peace and social justice.
Following Dean Smith, Jehangir Khan, Secretary Normal of the UN Council of Presidents
of the Normal Meeting (UNCPGA), approached the rostrum to introduce President Yang.
Khan’s remarks particularly emphasised the College of Diplomacy’s affiliation and collaboration
with the UN. ”Seton Corridor is contributing to the United Nations agenda and to strengthening
multilateralism,” Khan famous. He went on to introduce President Yang, highlighting
the UNPGA’s impactful diplomatic profession and the Normal Meeting’s latest adoption
of the “Pact For The Future,” which Yang has prioritized to implement throughout his administration.
Following Khan’s tackle, President Yang stepped to the rostrum for his keynote tackle:
Distinguished School,
Pricey College students,
Women and gents,
I’m honored to hitch you right now on the World Leaders Discussion board. You’re as the long run diplomats,
leaders and thinkers who will form our world.
President Yang continued his speech highlighting the three pillars of the United Nations:
Peace and Safety, Sustainable Improvement and Human Rights. He acknowledged the
significance of the Normal Meeting as essentially the most consultant, deliberative physique of
the group, which has 193 member states. In his compelling tackle, he famous
the optimism he holds in direction of a greater world.
The nations of the world and worldwide organizations should replicate and suppose correctly.
We should uphold the rules of the United Nations Constitution and respect worldwide
legislation. We should respect and promote human rights and human dignity. We should push ahead
all the things we will do to attain the Sustainable Improvement Targets. And to all this,
we search options by diplomacy and dialogue.
President Yang emphasised the necessity for the “Pact for The Future,” adopted by world
leaders in September 2024 and by heads of state and authorities in New York. All through
his speech, he urged member states to play a higher function within the implementation of
this pact, which provides a shared imaginative and prescient for a multilateral system that’s extra simply,
extra inclusive, and more practical. He shared that The Pact for the Future presents
a multilateral system that upholds peace, respects human dignity, and drives transformative
motion for the achievement of the world.
He concluded his speech with a strong reminder of the obligations and potentialities
that the present era of scholars can maintain: ”You aren’t simply observers of
world affairs. You’re contributors, and in lots of circumstances, practitioners. Armed with
your crucial pondering and ambition to serve, you carry the power that this world
system urgently wants. This session of the Normal Meeting has opened area to confront
the world’s hardest challenges. Your process is to maintain that area open — and fill it
with concepts which might be daring, sensible and inclusive.”
World Leaders Discussion board Pupil Panel
College students had the prospect to work together with President Yang through the tackle’s Q&A bit.
Throughout the pupil panel, Trenton Stevens, Diplomacy and Worldwide Relations undergraduate
pupil, requested; ”How do you envision fostering unity on a world scale, particularly
in occasions of accelerating polarization?” President Yang’s response mirrored upon the
theme of “cooperation.” He reminded the viewers that unity on a world scale already
began in a regional and world context by emphasizing the hassle of the European
Union, the United Nations, and different worldwide organizations to return collectively
and communicate relatively than combat. ”We’re not in heaven, however we aren’t in hell both,”
he mentioned. President Yang’s tackle sparked deep reflection on the facility of diplomacy
and negotiation, notably amongst college students and different audiences.
Amongst different pupil panelists, Nicholas Kimble posed a crucial query; ”Underneath
your tenure, how would you prefer to see the UN Safety Council reformed?” In response,
President Yang once more famous the significance of Pact for the Future, which was adopted
by consensus within the UNGA, ”Pact for the Future attracts one conclusion, that the UN
Safety Council requires reform.” President Yang went on to focus on the latest
progress on the negotiations with member states and the optimism he holds. He famous
the significance of equitable illustration and the geopolitical actuality of right now’s
world.
The most recent World Leaders Discussion board concluded, and plenty of viewers members left with a transparent
sense of optimism for the world’s future. President Yang’s speech reaffirmed the important
fact that there’s nothing diplomacy can’t clear up. Dialogue, respect and cooperation
stay keystones for reaching world peace and safety.
Diplomacy and Worldwide Relations graduate pupil, Ousmane Dansoko, described
the day as diplomatically and academically motivating. ”As we speak was a historic day
for partnership between Seton Corridor College and the United Nations,” Dansoko mentioned.
”That is basic for all college students to have the ability to be impressed by UN officers to
construct a greater future. It was a terrific honor to fulfill and listen to immediately from His Excellency
President Yang and attending to know his enduring imaginative and prescient of positivity for worldwide
diplomacy and multilateralism.”
The World Leaders Discussion board brings officers from the sphere of worldwide affairs to
the campus the place current and future immediately interact, encourage and uncover from every
different. WLF not solely serves as an educational expertise but in addition as an energetic demonstration
of the important qualities that world diplomacy calls for. The WLF goals to organize Seton
Corridor college students to interact with world-level policymakers, leaders, and advocates as half
of their profession growth and preparation for a vibrant future.
Classes:
Nation and World
