The MCC UN office serves as a platform for churches and MCC partners across the world to advocate, communicate and educate regarding social and political policies and practices that promote justice, peace and reconciliation. The MCC UN student seminar happens annually in November.
“Does the United Nations matter?”
Forty young adults from the U.S. and Canada carried this question as they gathered on the grounds of United Nations (UN) in New York City for the annual Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) UN Student Seminar in November 2024.
Through engagement with UN diplomats, UN peacebuilding staff and grassroots civil society peacemakers, the seminar was designed to provide students from Anabaptist colleges and universities an opportunity to look closely at the UN system – its gifts, challenges and opportunities for authentic peacebuilding.
MCC UN office staff Chris Rice and Victoria Alexander warmly greeted students from Goshen College, Messiah University, Bluffton University, University of Winnipeg and other institutions. Seated at carefully assigned small group tables to encourage exchanges across schools and regions, students quickly sparked new connections and lively conversations over New York City pizza.
Rice, who serves as Director of the MCC United Nations office, says the seminar reflects MCC’s role and mission in peacebuilding. “This seminar is very unique to MCC because it creates space to engage the question of political power and what is the relationship of political power to MCC's work of relief, development and peace.”
From the devastation and injustice in Palestine-Israel to decades of violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, military rule in Myanmar, the Russian military invasion of Ukraine and the 70 years of a divided Korean peninsula, MCC is present in many places of deep conflict, division and violence. In MCC's work across 45 countries, political power is a major dynamic – either obstructing efforts toward relief, development and peace or serving as a necessary catalyst to move them forward.
MCC’s advocacy ministry starts with the people. As a partner-centered organization, MCC is in relationship with partners on the ground, and together, empowers communities to meet local needs and build peace by sharing God’s love and compassion for all.
The MCC UN office serves as a platform for churches and MCC partners across the world to advocate, communicate and educate regarding social and political policies and practices that promote justice, peace and reconciliation.
“The gift that we have is nourishing, ground-up peacebuilding,” said Rice. “The UN seminar brings the grassroots peacebuilding into relationship with the top-down political power. It brings those two worlds into conversation with each other.”
Pilgrimage and exchange
Over the course of the three-day seminar, participants embarked on a “pilgrimage:” they welcomed surprises, interruptions, curiosity, lament and hope.
They toured the United Nations headquarters, located just across the street from MCC’s UN office at the Church Center of the United Nations (CCUN). Students pondered a devotion from a fellow young adult peacemaker, Yujin Kim, MCC East Coast Communications Associate and a Korean American third-generation member of an uprooted family. They engaged with UN Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Guyana’s Permanent Representative to the UN and elected member of the UN Security Council.
They heard from grassroots peacebuilder and MCC partner Pastor Victor Dogos, the first recipient of MCC’s Michael J. Sharp Global Peacemaker Award and a national leader in Chad who advocates for peaceful coexistence among people of all faiths. They explored the intersection of faith, diplomacy and peacebuilding through conversations with Faith Kroeker-Maus, a Foreign Service Officer and Economic Advisor at the U.S. Mission to the UN and Rev. Dionne Boissiere, Chaplain of the CCUN.
Of all of these unique interactions, Alexander says, “This seminar is not just students coming and listening to people preach at them or lecture them. It’s truly at its core an exchange of information and ideas.” Alexander serves as MCC’s UN Advocacy Associate.
“When elephants are fighting, fleas can make a difference”
Interacting with UN Ambassador Rodrigues-Birkett helped Anna Bolembach, a student at Messiah University, become more hopeful and more aware of the different ways to achieve peace. This seminar was Bolembach’s second time attending MCC’s UN Student Seminar.
Ambassador Rodrigues-Birkett is one of the ten elected members of the UN Security Council – one of the most powerful international bodies in the world. During her time with students, she discussed some of the challenges the UN faces. While many parts of the UN work on peacebuilding and improving social and economic conditions, the five permanent members of the Security Council – China, France, Russia, the U.K. and the U.S. – can block any decisions with their veto power and their decisions are final. The Security Council is also criticized for being undemocratic and unrepresentative. For example, Africa, with its 54 countries, does not have a permanent seat on the Security Council.
However, Ambassador Rodrigues-Birkett is witnessing the growing solidarity among smaller nations at the UN who are committed to peace and justice and building foundations for change. For instance, Guyana, a small nation in northern South America bordering Venezuela, Brazil and Suriname, is unafraid to abstain from voting when a decision conflicts with its values. “I can promise you that we will continue to use our voice for peace,” she affirmed.
Rice remarked, “The ambassador from Guyana provided powerful insights about how to engage the political world in the spirit of justice and peace and truth. We invited her for 45 minutes and I think she spent an hour and a half here. And the exchange with the students, the give and take were so inspirational and deep,” he said.
This type of interaction with ambassadors makes a vocation in peacebuilding feel more tangible and attainable to students. “It's not some abstract person in a suit deciding on policy. These are real people who also have worked in significant advocacy contexts throughout their life,” Alexander shared. “I think that sort of engagement is a lifetime of service towards peace...any way that we can facilitate introducing and making this feel less intimidating to folks is significant.”
Ambassador Rodrigues-Birkett emphasized the critical role of youth and young adults in shaping both the present and future. She expressed that young people should not be viewed solely as the future, but as active participants in today’s peacebuilding. She also reminded the students that small does not mean ineffective: “When elephants are fighting, fleas could make a difference.”
Fernando Daza is a Goshen college student pursuing a double major in business and peace, justice, and conflict studies. Because of the seminar, Daza and his Goshen College peers who attended the seminar are now exploring ways to raise awareness on their campus about the UN’s efforts, its mechanisms and the pressing need for reform within the Security Council.
He shares, “My key takeaway from the experience was that no matter how small your voice is, you can use it to make change,” he said.
Grassroots peacebuilding in action
Hearing directly from peacebuilders resonated deeply with students. “I like to hear from people on the ground working on peacebuilding like Pastor Victor Dogos,” said Shler Ali, who is studying conflict resolution at University of Winnipeg.
A Christian from a Muslim background trained in theology, law and communications, Pastor Dogos has been a national leader in Chad, advocating for peaceful coexistence among people of all faiths. Since 2012, he has led peace and justice work with an MCC partner, the Partnership of Evangelical Churches and Missions in Chad, focusing on peacebuilding capacity of youth and women leaders in the southern part of Chad. Through Pastor Dogos’ stories, students witnessed the transformative power of grassroots peacebuilding in action.
The MCC UN Student Seminar was Pastor Dogos’ first time visiting the UN and his first time engaging with a group of young peacebuilders. Dogos said, “I thank MCC for opening the door for us… I will never forget the time that we shared together. And I saw all these young people are committed to peace. That was really touching.”
The opportunity to connect with peacebuilders and peers who share a vision for peace – being in right relationships and lifting marginalized communities – was equally inspiring for participants.
Bolembach says, “I’m really excited to see a bunch of young adults who share similar perspectives and similar goals for the world.”
Chris Hon, a digital media and biology double major at Messiah University, echoes Bolembach’s sentiment: “Being in a room full of young adults who care so deeply about global issues and global injustice and peacebuilding has been really heartwarming.”
So, does the UN matter?
“I come from a [Syrian] refugee background, and many times I say the UN doesn’t matter. That was a question in my mind. Does it matter? So, that’s why I came,” said Ali.
Ali feels both skeptical and hopeful about the UN’s impact. For individuals in immediate crises, the UN may not always seem relevant, “...especially for people who are living in a situation like a war situation where you don’t know if you’re going to leave tomorrow or not,” she said.
“But I do also see hope in many other situations, especially countries that came out of war.” Ali recognizes the UN’s role in peacebuilding through their engagement with armed groups to remove weapons and help them reintegrate as civilians into society.
“I hope one day I have the resource to take back home to build peace because I’m from Syria and Syria is very divided now.” Ali shared her hope to return to Syria to build long-lasting peace.
Hon shared, “Being an international student from the Global South, it’s kind of hard for me to not be skeptical of the UN. Growing up in a post-9/11 world, I’ve seen how a lot of the policies made by the UN is directly affecting countries surrounding me and even my own and marginalized communities.”
While recognizing the need for reform, especially within the Security Council, Hon found the engagement with UN delegates empowering. “It was inspiring to hear that on a higher level beyond what we see in our day-to-day lives, actions are being made to try to make things better on a global scale.”
The seminar encouraged Hon to be involved in spaces like the UN and grassroots organizations like MCC: “I feel more motivated to be involved in these spaces…people our age and people like us can make change.”
Daza thinks MCC’s presence at the UN is essential. Reflecting on his experience, he noted, “Without MCC, many students, including myself, wouldn’t have had the opportunity to learn about the UN's global peacebuilding and peacekeeping efforts in such an immersive and meaningful way.”
MCC’s gift to the diplomatic world
Elias Stoll, who is studying peacebuilding, development and music at Eastern Mennonite University, found MCC’s role in the UN intriguing. “One of the most fascinating things from the seminar was hearing stories about how a lot of people within the UN, even on the Security Council, aren’t fully aware of what’s actually happening on the ground,” he said. “It puts MCC in a really unique position because they have people working on the ground; they have stories that they can then take to people on the Security Council or other parts of the UN.”
He added that MCC’s ability to inspire personal connection with challenging contexts makes a significant difference in the work of peacebuilding. “It’s really cool that MCC has a role in humanizing the whole situation because the Security Council and UN can be personally removed from [what’s] happening. So, if MCC can play a role in humanizing those situations, I think that’s really valuable,” Stoll reflected.
Rice shared, “The seminar shows how MCC, because of our presence on the ground, in places of pain and hope, knows things that the diplomatic world doesn't know. As a faith-based organization rooted in people in those places, we have a gift to bring that the diplomatic world needs. We have special knowledge, insight and inspiration to bring."
Planting seeds of hope and change
“I'm amazed at how dynamic this space is for learning and igniting imagination. Even just from less than 24 hours into the [seminar], students were telling me the impact that the experience was having on them,” Rice shared with excitement. “So, I know it's planting seeds.”
What motivates Rice and Alexander to organize the annual MCC UN Student Seminar is the opportunity to plant seeds of hope and seeds for change.
Rice explained, “Here at the UN, in the work of advocacy, and even for MCC, we can easily get caught up in firefighting, and there are so many fires raging in the world. But how do we also take time to plant seeds…for fresh imagination? For the lives of young adults to be transformed and to prepare them for service in the world for peace and justice? That really motivates me."
Rice expressed deep hope for the students who participated in the seminar. “I really hope that the students come away with both a deeper sense of the challenge of political power in the world, but also with hope for how we can plant seeds for change.” He also hopes students will consider careers in diplomacy and government, viewing these paths as avenues of moral service as well.
Alexander hopes that, from the seminar, students feel emboldened to act for peace. “We double down on our faith, on our belief, on our prophetic witness, that there is a better world out there. We are called to love our neighbors and to serve them. And so that means putting our faith into action,” she shared.
As MCC’s 2024 UN Student Seminar came to a close, participants joined in reciting the Romero prayer: “…We plant the seeds that one day will grow. We water the seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise…”
Want to learn more about MCC’s advocacy for justice, peace and reconciliation? Sign up for MCC UN Office Global Briefing and engage with MCC’s advocacy offices by visiting mcc.org/advocacy.