The following post and images were contributed by Kailene Jackson.
Kailene Jackson is entering her final year of her Honours BA in Political Science and Sociology, and she plans to complete an MA in International Relations next year. She currently attends Brock University and she is the Secretary General of Brock’s Model United Nations (MUN) team. Kailene is also an executive on First Vote, a non-profit organization that helps youth get involved in political processes. She is a Brock employee and works as a tutor, workshop facilitator, and events planner.
Throughout her academic pursuits and co-curricular activities, sustainable development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been common themes. Kailene has been able to learn about the SGDs and she has had the privilege of teaching other Brock students about the SDGs in Model UN. She is also in the process of collaborating with Brock’s Sustainability Research Center to plan a SDG Youth Training conference at Brock for this Fall.
In her role as Secretary General of Brock MUN, Kailene regularly leads workshops on issues related to Sustainable Development and the SGDs. As is the case in the real United Nations, the SGDs are included in every speech, position paper, and resolution paper our students create. The goal of Brock MUN, and Model UN at large, is to empower young people to be global citizens and advocates for sustainable development.
This past March, Kailene brought 40 Brock students to New York City to attend a Model United Nations conference. As part of this conference, students got to see the United Nations Headquarters.
At the UN HQ, Kailene also gave a 30 second speech on SDG 5 — Gender Equality — which was an amazing experience. At this conference, students from over 200 schools internationally debated issues, and wrote policy, relating to sustainable development ranging from renewable energy to peacebuilding. In the four years Kailene has been involved with Brock’s Model UN attending MUN conferences, her knowledge of sustainable development practices and the SGDs has grown significantly.
Kailene is most knowledgeable about SDG 5, SGD 8, SDG 16, SDG 7, and SDG 10, as well as United Nations history and procedures. She is also knowledgeable about development economics, conflict and security studies, gender studies, as well as sustainability best practices.
Although Kailene is not a trained educator, she is eager and excited to share her knowledge about the SGDs with students! Kailene is happy to present/speak with students about any of the SDGs she’s listed above. She would love to connect with students for video conferences, Q&A, or whatever suits the needs of your class. She has also found that sharing her experiences as a young person getting involved in sustainable development, including why she cares about sustainability, has been beneficial to students because they can relate to her feelings and experiences.
Kailene is very excited to continue advancing the SDGs and working with educators and students. If you want to connect your students with Kailene, please register, and then log in to dHL to search for her in our Video Conferencing Expert Catalogue!
This post is also available in: Français (French)
