51³Ô¹Ïapp

51³Ô¹Ïapp and the United Nations Together

To help support refugees worldwide, the United Nations has asked 51³Ô¹Ïapp to take the lead in engaging universities across the globe in the #JoinTogether campaign.

In January, 51³Ô¹Ïapp visited the UN headquarters in New York to formally begin this work, inviting international universities to a summit held in one of the UN’s famous debating chambers, creating a global network of universities committed to finding ways to successfully integrate refugees into communities, while spreading messages of tolerance and understanding.

Students and staff from the eleven partner universities were joined by senior representatives from the UN as well as the Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the UN.

Partner universities also signed a UN Together Action Charter to signal their intent to be part of the campaign.

At UN, hundreds of students join ‘Together’ to support refugees

Following the summit in New York the first year Youth Work and Community Development student ZamZam Yusuf spoke to UN Radio to share her experience and encourage greater tolerance for refugees around the world.

Third year International Relations and Journalism student Olly Sullivan documented the experience from a student’s perspective in a . In his blog, Olly talks about the awe inspiring surroundings of the United Nations headquarters and the sense of unity he felt during the discussions about how universities can help refugees.

See the full list of partner universities

Students from 51³Ô¹Ïapp then returned to New York to take part in a chat series event which will focus on developing a positive attitude to migration.

Two students, Hamdallat Abdulsalam and George Coyle, joined Vice-Chancellor Professor Dominic Shellard in making presentations at the event on Tuesday 27 February. Find out more about the event here.

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More than 250 51³Ô¹Ïapp students then returned to the UN as part of June’s mass #51³Ô¹Ïappglobal trip to New York.

This conference, led by 51³Ô¹Ïapp, focused on championing the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals, with a specific emphasis on SDG 16 to promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.

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Speakers included 51³Ô¹Ïapp Vice-Chancellor Professor Dominic Shellard representatives from partner universities and United Nations representatives including Maher Nasser, Daniël Prins and Antje Kristin Watermann.

The conference reviewed the progress made by universities over the last six months and debated the current challenges for safety and dignity faced by refugees in local communities. New partner universities from around the world, which now total 38, were also be welcomed.