Category: Biden School
Biden School doctoral student attends the 2024 United Nations Summit of the Future
September 30, 2024 Written by Biden School Staff
John Oluwadero, a student in the education and social policy doctoral program attended the special event on Sept. 20-23, 2024
In the fall of 2024, doctoral student John Oluwadero represented the Center for Research in Education and Social Policy (CRESP) at the University of Delaware at the United Nations Summit of the Future. Oluwadero is a student in the education and social policy doctoral program, an interdisciplinary degree offered by the Biden School and the College of Education and Human Development. CRESP, a research center housed within the College of Education and Human Development, works to address critical issues in education, community health, and human services.
At the summit, Oluwadero participated in a side event organized by the School of International Futures (SOIF), as a panelist alongside Senator Ledama Olekina (Kenya Parliament) and Kenneth Nsah (Mala), PhD (UNESCO-Bridges, Cameroon). At the panel session, he discussed implementing the Future Generations Declaration and the Pact for the Future in Africa, emphasizing the need for a systems-based approach to reform African institutions.
Additionally, he attended several impactful sessions, including one on empowering African youth through foresight and reforming the UN Security Council, featuring Amitabh Behar (Executive Director at Oxfam International) and Prof. Ibrahim Gambari (Former Chief of Staff to President Buhari and Former Under-Secretary-General to UN). Another standout session for Oluwadero focused on the role of parliaments in multilateralism organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Union, chaired by Dr. Tulia Ackson, President of the IPU and Speaker of Tanzania.
Other key discussions included strengthening international financial architecture, where John Kerry (former White House Secretary and United States Special Presidential Envoy for Climate), José Antonio Ocampo (Former UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs), and Mary Robinson the Former President of Ireland and Chair of The Elder.
At the summit, Swedish Deputy Prime Minister Ebba Busch spoke on the Global Digital Compact, a global initiative for digital transformation and governance on AI and Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced a $120 million 'Global AI Opportunity Fund'. Pichai said that the initiative will invest "one hundred and twenty million dollars to make AI education and training available in communities worldwide.
At the summit's close, world leaders adopted the Pact for the Future, including commitments to ending hunger and malnutrition. "I’m excited to see that Action 3 of the Pact focuses on food security and resilient agrifood systems which are central to my research," said Oluwadero, who offered his thanks to his advisor and CRESP co-director Allison Karpyn, PhD, for the opportunity to attend.
"I look forward to applying these experiences to my work as a researcher and development practitioner."
