Photo taken prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
To celebrate United Nations Day, Mercy’s Center for Global Engagement (CGE) hosted a virtual event featuring His Excellency Dr. Martin Sajdik, Ambassador to the UN and former president of the UN’s Economic and Social Council. The Ambassador, who previously served as a lecturer at Mercy College, conducted a presentation titled “Sustainable Development Goal 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions." The event is part of the Center’s International Speaker Series.
Michiko Kuroda, an international relations and diplomacy lecturer and a visiting fellow for U.N. Affairs, organized the event. She was assisted by Mercy College students Jordyn Brambley ’22 and Anna Engle ’22, Mercy’s youth representatives to the United Nations. The event included welcoming remarks from Mercy College President Tim Hall.
United Nations Day, held annually in October, marks the anniversary of the formal establishment of the UN Charter in 1945. It provides nations and individuals an opportunity to recognize the agenda and principles upheld by the UN since its beginning.
The CGE program title refers to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, or SDG. SDG 16, Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, has 12 target actions that will bring about the aims of SDG 16. During his talk, the Ambassador explained the context in which SDGs and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were formed and the importance of SDG 16. “Rule of law is the key to the implementation of SDG16,” he stressed.
"We are very fortunate to have H.E. Ambassador Martin Sajdik join us for this event,” said Kuroda. “Aside from playing a major role in the UN’s adoption of the SDGs, the Ambassador was actively involved in peaceful settlement efforts for Eastern Ukraine as the special representative from the Organization of the Security and Cooperation in Europe. In many ways he was the ideal speaker for this UN Day event.”