FES New York Summer Academy

Senior researcher Lara Nassar is one of twelve young policy makers, selected from a pool of candidates from 44 countries to take part in the FES New York Summer Academy in June.

The policy makers are active in civil society, trade unions, think tanks or academia. Together, they will explore ways to turn the UN Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development into transformative policies on the national level. They will reflect on the Sustainable Development Goals’ (SDGs) potential to revitalise democracy and facilitate debate between government and civil society.

The participants will engage in group discussions, role plays and simulations, watch live United Nations discussions and conduct expert interviews. The group will also hear from diplomats, NGOs and United Nations staff about broader themes within the UN system. Throughout the week, they will develop skills to influence the political agenda associated with the implementation of the SDGs in their home countries.

The backbone of the academy, however; will be the interactive discussions among the participants. As a starting point, they will review their home countries’ SDG implementation plan and identify opportunities and challenges. At the end of the week, all participants will have produced individual position papers that outline synergies between their work for political transformation and the implementation of the SDG agenda in their home countries.

Lara’s focus will be on SDG6 (Water), SDG7 (Energy) and SDG13 (Climate), three goals that are directly linked to the environment. Her participation will strengthen her continued efforts for the WANA Institute’s project ‘Roadmapping Pathways Towards the Sustainable Development Goals: Jordan and Beyond’.