UNA Global Young Professionals:Value Add Strategy for UNA-USA YPIC

Project Korea Team

UNA-USA Youth Delegation to the WFUNA Plenary, Seoul, Republic of Korea

Young Professionals for International Cooperation

• Young Professionals for International Cooperation (YPIC) meets the unique needs of young professionals in UNA-USA Chapters

• YPIC seeks to gain more UNA members between ages 21-40, belonging to the Gen-X, Gen-Y, and Millennial generations

• YPIC members come from all backgrounds and hold a variety of interests.

• However, there is one thing that consistently gravitates this group together…

Young Professionals for International Cooperation: The gravity that holds us…

A never tiring desire and fervent passion to:• build and strengthen their local communities • promote the global goals of the United

Nations • in an innovative fashion.

Young Professionals for International Cooperation

• Young professionals range from experts and leaders in particular fields or industries to aspiring future movers-and shakers.

• As with all UNA members: Young professionals tend to be innovative, hard working and are passionate about building a strong bright future for generations to come.

YPIC Growth

• In 2005 the UNA-USA YPIC Leadership Council started looking for new opportunities for growth. The quest to develop more activities, educational experience and networking events that more truly actualize the “INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION” component of YPIC’s name led to something exciting and new…

A network of Young Professional Programs of the United Nations Associations around the world

Global Young Professionals - Task Force

• UNA-USA YPIC’s GYP Task Force is charged with the responsibility to develop opportunities to build “International Cooperation” for members of UNA-USA YPIC, nationally and on the Chapter level.

• In this, the GYP task force acknowledges their special mission of building partnerships must have the outcome of building and supporting their home base – the national UNA and the UNA chapters

UNYA / UNYSA

SA – Student Alliance

WFUNA Youth

UNA

WFUNA

Young Professionals

YPICYPN

GYP

“Plugging the gap”

• UNAs that currently have active young professionals programmes:– Netherlands– United Kingdom– United States of America

• UNAs that have expressed interest– Germany– Switzerland– Nepal– Surinam– Sudan– South Korea– India– Australia– New Zealand– Ireland– China– Sweden

• Aims of GYP:

– To promote stronger cooperation between the young professionals programmes of national UNAs

– To promote the creation of new young professionals programmes

– To provide a ‘hub’ of contact information

– Provide common ‘template’ resources for young professionals programmes

• GYP website

»www.globalyoungprofessionals.org

• Provide links to all member Young Professionals Programmes

• Online resources

• News / blog

• Flexibility to build upon

12

So… We ask, is it possible that the GYP task force to in fact bring to Young Professional groups across the US

new, exciting areas of development, while building the current structure?

Is there a way to give strength to chapter leaders, and find activities that will encompass small groups?

We Believe So, and Here is How:GYP task force Goals: 1. Identify how young professional groups across the

globe are the same, not different – find commonalities and synergies

2. Overcome geographic, cross-cultural and time-zone challenges and find ways to flexibly collaborate on global goals

3. Help find resources to support future joint cross-border programs and expand areas of collaboration

GYP must continually work to build the foundations of national groups in order to ensure opportunities to build

international cooperation continue to exist!

GYP: Planting the Seeds• Mentor UNYSA, UNYA and Student Alliance groups

that comprise WFUNA-Youth as they graduate out of school and out of MUN

• Help give new excitement to UNA young professionals throughout WFUNA

• Offer opportunities for young professionals to engage with each other throughout the world

• Sharing best practices and ideas primarily online, with a possibility of other types of exchanges in the future

GYP- Growing Seedling• Offer seeds of growth that can be adapted in

various environments and cultures (e.g., internationalized/localized YPIC KSG, templates, shared social media/web platforms)

• GYP will offer to local groups in the USA and abroad, opportunities to participate in truly cross-border campaigns that are centered around the goals of the UN and promotion of UNA’s

• Campaigns will be devised so that participants can be involved as individual or as members of organized groups (e.g., UNA chapters). This is one way the GYP will help build UNA-USA as a whole

GYP: Nourishing the Tree

• Goal to have annual signature campaigns • Leverage global social media • Require zero or minimal funding, if any• The first campaign targeted is: YOUNG

PROFESSIONALS DAY- Targeted for Friday, Dec. 6. This is an open event for everyone to participate in- A day in which we honor individuals for their contributions for promoting goals of the UN and the UNA’s.

As the tree grows…• In the future, donations to common identified

causes• Common service, education and advocacy

projects with measurable outcomes • Allow UNA’s to collaborate and pool

resources, thus enhancing each UNA’s impact locally!

GYP: Photosynthesis

• GYP mentorship opportunities• Local groups have subject matter experts in

certain fields• For example, Local Chairs of “European

Affairs” or those studying “East Asian Affairs” can work with young professionals from those areas

GYP: Growing Branches

• Campaigns• Mentorship• Service tripsLike a tree- the branches of

GYP must serve a function of building its base, stretching out and growing its fruit!

GYP: Growing Branches

• Young Professionals, because they are young, are individuals who are looking for ways to grow themselves, get experience in international cooperation and put to action some of these ideals they work so hard to promote– and we can help them do this in a way NO OTHER ORGANIZATION CAN!

GYP: Growing Branches

• Service Trips (like NY’s Haiti Expedition Project?):

• Can be planned around central themes, e.g., Women's health, helping orphans…

• Trips can be scheduled in partnership with emerging UNA YP groups. Bringing together, leaders in the field, opportunity to learn new skill set, engage in true cooperation in a project that benefits a community, as well as, see a new area and exchange with others!

GYP: Growing Branches

• Service trips and group tours are growing in popularity as people grow more inclined to want to see a new area, make difference, but, travel within the safety of an organization.

• Many non-profits are begging to use service trips not only as a way to provide activities for members and provide a service to other groups, but as a fundraiser as well.

Branches take time to grow…

• GYP group recognizes that the foundation of the base of the committee may not yet be ready to promote service trips, however, GYP is researching how this could in fact benefit UNA – USA, giving back to the organization “seeds” to be planted in “other gardens”.

Global Young Professionals Committee

• Serving the unique role of unitingtogether young professionalsaround the globe!

Please share your ideas!