Student attends international symposium on U.N. global development

Thursday, November 16, 2006

School of International Studies graduate student Billy Jivetti was one of 200 college students asked to join ambassadors, diplomats, human rights experts and other senior officials this week at an international symposium on United Nations policy.

Jivetti is attending the “Global Third Way: Intellectual Property Rights at the Forefront of the U.N. Millennium Development Goal 8, Developing Partnerships for Development” symposium at the University of California-Los Angeles. The conference, which began Wednesday and concludes Thursday, is a forum focusing on intellectual property rights as part of the U.N. Millennium Development Goal 8, the U.N.’s plans for global development this century.

The event is a presentation of ATHGO (Alliance Toward Harnessing Global Opportunities) International. This U.N.-sanctioned organization prepares young people to become diplomats and international policy-makers by involving them directly in 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 discussions, and other activities, all culminating in the participants' 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 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.