UBC has been invited to join the Global Roundtable program, an initiative started by the Ivy Council, which represents the eight Ivy League institutions in the United States.
The Global Roundtable is a program meant to bring together youth leaders from across the world to discuss global issues. Students will discuss topics such as government policy, education policy and responsibility.
“Some of the discussions we will be having will be submitted to NGOs, the government and even the UN, [allowing] youth leaders to have a voice on issues discussed at the world stage,” said Jude Crasta, AMS VP External.
Crasta hopes that UBC will be able to take the forefront on discussions on environmental sustainability and push it forward as an issue to be further examined.
“There is a lot of potential over there as to what we can learn as Canadians and what we can even contribute for people who want to know about our experiences and how our geopolitical climate affects the climate essentially,” said Crasta.
The first conference will take place at Harvard sometime in October or November. Neither the number of universities attending nor the number of total delegates participating has been confirmed.
“Right now what I do know for sure is that it’s the eight Ivy League institutions, it’s us and there have been talks and previous partnerships with institutions in China and in Russia,” said Crasta.
The Global Roundtable Program consists of a series of discussions with delegates meeting multiple times each year. However, it is a relatively new idea and many aspects of the program are very much a work-in progress.
This program is a step forward for the Ivy Council along with UBC. Although UBC has partaken in a couple international summits since 2009, this program will be the first to not be geo-specific. Crasta has high hopes for the conference’s ability to provide international exposure.
“This is going to be really interesting. It will give a nice cross-border tie-in into how student associations co-operate in North America,” said Crasta.