Blogpost by Atamfon Wilson Udofia* – CSII Student
Earlier this month, as I stood with my fellow students at the United Nations Convention Centre in Bangkok, it was a daunting moment. Yet, for the nine of us, this was a rewarding experience that we will cherish for the rest of our lives. Representing the Chulalongkorn School of Integrated Innovation (CSII) at a UN event was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
We attended the Seventh South-East Asia Multi-Stakeholder Forum on 6-7 November 2023, hosted by UN ESCAP. With a focus on innovative solutions for sustainable resilience in the face of global crises, we had the extraordinary opportunity to engage with experts and voice our perspectives on critical issues related to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), development issues, resilience, and innovations.
Our team, consisting of me, Atamfon Wilson Udofia, Bisma Putra Rana, Vorapon Kachapornkul, Sala Wiangkao, Xu Nuo, Rajanand Gambhir, Thanaphol Sookkarnkha, Thanapat Kijjadhip, and Chinnakrit Aroontheerapoj, attended the event themed ‘Seventh South – East Asia Multi-Stakeholder Forum “Reinforcing the 2030 Agenda and Eradicating Poverty in Times of Multiple Crises: The Effective Delivery of Sustainable, Resilient, and Innovative Solutions in Asia- Pacific.
Our participation went beyond mere attendance; we actively seized opportunities to deliver interventions during panel discussions. I spoke on Climate Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), Bisma Rana addressed the panel regarding Synergies of the Global Compact for Migration (GCM) in Southeast Asia, and Sala Wiangkao contributed to the discussion titled ‘Reducing Inequalities: Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Development – Catalyzing Inclusive Development & Sustainable Progress in Southeast Asia.
As the other student delegates spoke, I looked around and was truly humbled by the experience. Not only did this UNESCAP forum offer us a platform to discuss a life-changing personal experience I once had, but it also presented an opportunity to inspire action and encourage stakeholder engagement through my speech.
In addition to giving me the chance to lend my voice, the discussions with industry experts enlightened us about global challenges previously unknown to us, like the lack of migrant safety and basic rights. Initially overwhelming, the enrichment of my vocabulary through each guest speaker’s presentation became a rewarding aspect. Overall, I dare say my experience was exceedingly worthwhile.
The biggest honor was not our attendance as undergraduate students. Nor was it our active participation. The true highlight is that our presentations have now been featured on the UN ESCAP website—a testament to our engagement and efforts. We invite you to view our work at the provided link. We extend our sincere gratitude to the United Nations and the Chulalongkorn School of Integrated Innovation for granting us this extraordinary opportunity.
(* An international student from Nigeria, Atamfon Wilson Udofia is a second-year student in the Bachelor of Arts and Science in Integrated Innovation (BAScii) program at CSII.)
