In 2020, the CYA program was absorbed by the Center for Advanced Study in Education (CASE) at the CUNY Graduate Center after its initial adoption by CASE in fall 2018.

As this process was underway, the directors published a book chapter describing and outlining the CYA Program, from its beginning stages to how students and their mentors prepared for the Winter Youth Assembly. The chapter appeared in the book titled Preparing Students for Community-Engaged Scholarship in Higher Education as follows:

Global Pull of Community Engagement: Urban Students Growing Into Youth Ambassadors, Samar El Hitti,  D. Hecht, Preparing Students for Community-Engaged Scholarship in Higher Education. Aaron Zimmerman, editor. Texas Tech University USA: IGI Global Information Science Reference, 2020. 264 – 283. IGI Global book series Advances in Higher Education and Professional Development

For further information about the publication, please contact the authors.

For further information about the current status of the CYA program, please contact CASE.

By Tareen Haque:

Throughout January, I took my first steps as the 2019 CUNY Youth Ambassador by researching and reading about the position and responsibilities. I was able to learn more about the Sustainable Development Goals as well as the previous GEM Youth Reports. As I was reading the reports, I was amazed at everything. Throughout my entire life, education was always a guarantee for me. I grew up knowing that not getting a bachelor’s degree was not an option, because my parents taught me the value of education since I was young. As the child of two immigrants who didn’t have a college degree, I’ve seen my parents continuously struggle to make ends meet through various jobs. My mother constantly taught me that getting a job with a bachelor’s degree was necessary to make sure I was financially stable. I never challenged this notion because I knew deep down that my mother truly didn’t want me to live like her and my father. Yet as I grew up, I’ve heard numerous jokes about people wanting to drop out of school because of the workload.  During a conversation with my mother, I repeated the joke to her, only to see that my mother had given me a stern look. As she angrily told me about her hardships throughout her life without an education, it dawned on me that many of the people in my school took the right to an education for granted. They constantly complained of the stress and how boring they found the classes, but never seemed to appreciate the fact that they even had the opportunity to learn. While reading the GEM reports, I realized that I too was taking my education for granted. I also became overwhelmed with the stress and began complaining of all the work I was getting. Learning of the #FeesMustFall protests in South Africa reminded me of how lucky I was to even be attending a college, nonetheless for free. I never understood how fortunate I was to even have the opportunity to learn about the world. I hope that through my role as the CUNY Youth Ambassador and my signature project, I can bring people to appreciate education again, even if education is not presented in the typical humanities or STEM fields.

After a successful 2018 CUNY Youth Ambassador Program at City Tech with Farjana Shati as the first CUNY Youth Ambassador, we were very pleased to have the opportunity to expand our 2019 search beyond City Tech and reach other CUNY campuses. We are excited to announce that Tareen Haque is the 2019 CUNY Youth Ambassador. Tareen is an outstanding Macaulay Honors student at the City College of New York, CUNY. She is an active advocate for sustainable living, in particular responsible consumption and production. We are very encouraged by her energy and ideas in promoting SDG4 and the SDGs among the Macaulay students and delivering her CUNY Youth Ambassador Signature Project to raise awareness and engage CUNY students. She will be representing CUNY at the UN’s Winter Youth Assembly this February and we cannot wait for the spring semester to unfold. Read more about Tareen in her bio and stay tuned for her upcoming blog posts as she assumes the role and responsibility of the CUNY Youth Ambassador for 2019!

The application for the 2018-2019 CYA position is now open to all City Tech Students. For more information about the application process, please see the attached flyer and visit our Apply page.

By Farjana Shati:

Baked goods and GEM reports for all

It was a sunny mid-spring morning on Tuesday, April 24^th as I geared up for our first open table event of the semester; my signature project as the 2018 CYA. I was very excited and anxious to meet students and engage in conversations and share ideas on UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, the 2030 Agenda, and issues on global education. As I was sitting in my Arabic class that morning, learning new vocabulary and listening to new sounds and words, my mind was wandering to the ground floor of the Atrium building thinking about the infinite possibilities that could arise during the event in the afternoon. Part of my Signature Project is to interview City Tech students on issues related to the SDGs and gender equality, As I sat through that Arabic class, I kept wondering whether my fellow students will be willing enough to do an interview or agree to be filmed, let alone, share their ideas and thoughts on the global issues I am proposing. The afternoon came quickly and to my pleasant surprise, I was overwhelmed to see many students and professors interested, excited, and very supportive of our initiative. My Open Table event only lasted a short hour, but the response I received from the City Tech community could have been spread out over an entire day!

I was not surprised to hear that most of students were not aware of the UN SDGs or UNESCO’s efforts towards SDG 4: Quality Education. However, the professors I had interacted with were aware about the UN SDGs, which was very encouraging! When I asked students about their views on quality education, it was fascinating to hear their different perspectives. Most of them expressed that quality education should be “affordable”, “easy to excess”, “equitable”, and “inclusive”. Others mentioned that it should be “enjoyable”, “up to date on modern curriculum”, and “sustainable through our life span”. There was no doubt that the group felt that education is beyond a basic human rights. Much of what was shared by my fellow students echoes the global perception on this issue.

My fellow students also contemplated whether our institution was providing quality education and expressed their beliefs on the role that each of us can play in achieving it. One fellow students shared that “we are the future of the nation and we need to start playing roles right now.” Another student shared that the main motivation to get involved is because “youth who form the next generation are the most affected by the consequences if quality education is not attained” – that response resonated profoundly with me! Professor Urmi Gosh-Dastidar from the math department shared that youth are “open minded people” who “bring fresh ideas”. I kept thinking how our active participation in quality education is crucial to bring peace and unity in the world as education is the key for a peaceful world.

Students also reflected on gender equality, a topic that was of concern to many. Interestingly, one student mentioned, “we have not been able to achieve gender equality yet as there is still pay disparity around the world.” Students believed that we need to raise awareness that gender diversity “is an issue” and then educate “students to not label others”, to see the “strengths and uniqueness of each gender”, and to realize “that both genders are needed “to build a sense of community.” Most importantly, students mentioned the need for role models, especially, STEM female role models. One student wished to have more gender diversity in his Computer Science field as female colleagues were a rarity.

I wrapped up our first event feeling fully energized and inspired by all the interactions. Soon enough I had to bury myself with coursework specifically in prep for the Calculus III exam. As I was writing this blog it struck me that within less than a month I will be graduating with my bachelor’s degree and my term as the first CUNY Youth Ambassador will come to an end. I hope I can squeeze in another Open Table event before the summer rolls in and I move on to my next career phase!

By Farjana Shati:

The bitter cold weather seems to be never ending as the semester is progressing. Just as I am eagerly waiting for spring warmth, mild weather and flowers, I cannot wait to finish my midterm exams, especially my Arabic exam. I am a fulltime student after all and my studies are among my top priorities and they occupy most of my time. Along with prepping for the midterms, I have been reflecting on interactions and conversations with my fellow City Tech students regarding the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as I gear up towards my signature project as the CUNY Youth Ambassador (CYA).

Few weeks ago, in my environmental economics class (ECON 2505ID),I asked my fellow classmates if any of them had heard or was aware of the UN or UNESCO. To my surprise, only 15% of the students mentioned that they had heard of the UN and only one students had previously heard of the name UNESCO. I am certain that if I had pushed on and asked about the specifics of their knowledge about these global agencies, I would have been even more surprised! In this class, we are learning about environmental and food sustainability, yet, none of my fellow classmates knew anything about the UN’s SDGs or the 2030 agenda! My econ professor gave me the opportunity to briefly promote the campaign run by UNESCO to call on governments to make the right to education enforceable in national law in all countries. I was very excited to bring forward to my class the possibility to put the coursework and curriculum into a relevant and current global context, and to invite them to become actively involved in sustainability issues and quality education. I was able to persuade 20% of the students to sign the online petition. Of course, I wanted to have a 100% success rate, but, it was a good start, and it made me think about more creative ways to advocate what I believe is crucial and essential for a better future.

As I continued to interact with my friends, classmates, and other students on campus to promote the campaign to sign the online petition, I unfortunately discovered that the majority were unable to mention anything about the SDGs. The blank stares from my fellow peers when asked about the UN, UNESCO or SDGs was playing on repeat in my mind as I continued to develop and plan my signature project as CYA. When I was thinking of ways to raise awareness among the student body at City Tech on issues on quality education, gender equality and UN SDGs, I knew that my campus was a lush field! Many of us have never had the chance to think on a global scale and explore issues on sustainable development at the level that encloses governments, the private sector, the public sector, universities and individuals all together – something that the 2030 agenda challenges by its ambitious SDGs and its 15-year delivery timeframe. I have high hopes for my signature project. I want to have deep conversations with students during my video project and open table events on these issues. Ultimately, to advocate involvement and commitment from them. It is crucial that we students get more involved on our campuses and in our societies to bring change for ourselves and for the world we live in.

What would the world look like if we can harvest the energy and passion from our youth and pour it into goals like quality education and sustainable development? I can only imagine, but I am thrilled that I can be an active player in trying to explore the answers to this powerful question!

By Farjana Shati:

It has been almost three weeks since I have attended the United Nation 2018 Winter Youth Assembly at the UN headquarters in Manhattan, New York. As the weeks passed by, I found myself reflecting still on my jam-packed experiences at the Assembly. I still feel the excitement and uplifting and burning energy within me. I cherish the memories from my journey at the assembly and I have a feeling that I will keep coming back to those 3 February days for a long time!

What still resonates loudly today is meeting so many young delegates at once from all around the globe! I was most amazed that there were young delegates of all ages and the majority of the youth I had interacted with were high school students. Their stories inspired me and the impact they were already making towards a sustainable world was pleasantly shocking.  At the same, I found myself then, as I do now, asking why communities are not doing more to build a sustainable future? I am also asking myself the same burning question!

Of course, reality is quick to hit! I am after all, a full-time student and as soon as 2018 Winter Youth Assembly ended, I was struck by my course work and academic responsibilities. I also ended up getting sick, like most New Yorkers this season, but pushed and motivated myself to finish my assignments, portfolio, and study for my Calculus III exam. I knew that my commitment to be the CUNY  Youth Ambassador carried with it the expectation to to balance my school work and find ways to be a full-time student and a full-time Sustainable Development fan and advocate!

Which brings me to my signature project for 2018! My experience at the youth assembly has trigged many ideas to move forward with my project for the semester. I wanted to develop a project that will raise awareness and advocate involvement from the student body at my campus, City Tech. Initially, I was struggling to decide on what kind of activities I can facilitate to engage the student population on quality education and gender equality within the eight weeks remaining in the semester, but, my close work with the program directors Prof. ElHitti and Prof. Bonanome is shaping up my aspirations and I have started to take the first few steps in realizing my project, which I will write about in my next blog post. In the meantime, back to my Arabic homework, and to my flashbacks from the time I was actually at the General Assembly at the UN Headquarters!