Student attends international symposium on U.N. global development
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Jivetti is attending the symposium, “Global Third Way: Intellectual Property Rights
at the Forefront of the U.N. Millennium Development Goal 8, Developing Partnerships
for Development,” at the University of California-Los Angeles. The conference, which
began Wednesday and concludes today, is a forum focusing on intellectual property
rights as a part of U.N. MDG 8, the U.N.’s plans for global development this century.
The event is a presentation of ATHGO (Alliance Toward Harnessing Global Opportunities)
International, a U.N. sanctioned organization that prepares young people to become
diplomats and international policy-makers by involving them directly in the work of
global decision making. Jivetti and other college students chosen to attend had the
opportunity to interact with leaders and professionals in a series of workshops, panel
discussion and other activities all culminating with the participant’s development
of a summary resolution that will be forwarded directly to the U.N. Permanent Missions.
Jivetti was selected to attend the conference based on his paper and proposal detailing
how the social support groups formed by rural African women can also serve as a force
for small-scale business enterprises. A native of Kaimosi, Kenya, he based the paper
on his own experiences. Led by his mother, Rose Jivetti, a group of Kaimosi women
who met to discuss everyday concerns such as feeding their families and educating
their children formed a tie-dye operation that eventually employed 50 women.