2026 Conference - United Nations International School

Conference Information

UNIS-UN 50 The Price of Progress: Rethinking the Next 50 Years of Global Economics

The 50th Annual UNIS-UN Conference took place on 16-18 March, 2026 at the UN General Assembly Hall

This year’s conference theme, The Price of Progress: Rethinking the Next Fifty Years of Global Economy, explores how economic systems evolve in a rapidly changing world. As nations grapple with technological innovation, shifting labor markets, and the growing tension between economic growth and sustainability, the conference provides an opportunity for reflection on how the global economy can adapt to serve future generations. Through dialogue and debate, participants examine the forces shaping prosperity, inequality, and cooperation in the decades ahead.

Elements of the Conference

Making CENTS of Change: Student Impact Projects and Speeches

Following the success of last year’s BYTE of Innovation presentations, we are thrilled to launch this year’s edition: Making CENTS of Change: Student Impact Projects and Speeches! To encourage students to engage personally with the conference theme, we invite them to develop their own economics projects and submit them for a chance to present and discuss their work with fellow young innovators in the United Nations General Assembly Hall.

Students should create projects that use economics to accelerate positive change in their communities. The Student Impact Project should harness economics to drive meaningful change at the school, local, national, or global level. Examples include, but are not limited to:

Developing a local business model that supports underprivileged communities or small entrepreneurs.
Producing a short film or documentary exploring the economic effects of a social or environmental issue.
Building an app, tool, or interactive website that helps communities save, invest, or use resources more efficiently.
Proposing policy recommendations to improve financial literacy among peers or community members.
Using behavioral economics to design experiments or interventions that encourage healthier, greener, or fairer choices.

You have the option to work individually or in small groups. Those who develop and implement the most innovative projects will have the opportunity to present them at the United Nations General Assembly in front of more than 600 international students. The projects that are not selected to be presented at the UN will be featured on the UNIS-UN website and recognized for their impact.

We encourage participants to document their journey with photos and videos, reflect deeply on their impact, and push creative boundaries. This is your chance to use economics to spark real change and inspire others to do the same!

After Conference Registration: Advisors will receive an application form to share with students to apply for the Student Impact Project. Students will be asked to submit a 3-minute video outlining their project, explaining how they used economics in creating positive change in their communities, and describing how they would present this project at the UNGA. From these submissions, we will select the most impactful projects. These projects will be presented live by the student creators during the conference at the UN.

Student Debate

Visiting school students will have the opportunity to participate in a student debate on an economics-related motion. Two students will argue in favor of the motion, while two will argue against it. Students interested in participating must submit a three-minute video explaining their interest in debating and providing evidence supporting or opposing the motion.

After Conference Registration: Advisors will receive an application form for students to apply for the debate. The form will include information such as the debate motion, a brief description of the topic with guiding considerations, and a section for submitting the three-minute video. The four strongest candidates will be selected to debate at the United Nations General Assembly in front of more than 600 international students!

Cultural Showcase

The Cultural Showcase offers a unique opportunity to promote cultural appreciation among students from around the world attending the conference. This is your chance to share a tradition, ritual, song, dance, or any aspect of your country’s heritage.

After Conference Registration: Advisors will receive a form to indicate their school’s participation, type of performance, and any items needed.

Visiting Student Working Paper Contributions

The Working Paper is a 50-page physical memento of the conference, exploring the subtopics related to economics. Our Digital Working Paper is a site containing articles, infographics, film, poetry, photography, and other multimedia pieces related to the subtopics of the conference. We are looking forward to including articles and multimedia created by students from visiting schools in the working paper, to highlight the diverse perspectives brought to this conference.

Articles are short (800-1000 words) research papers relating to a specific conference subtopic. Please note that these articles are solely research-based and do not involve any opinion-making or in-depth analysis; these articles aim to share research findings with conference participants to ensure that the conference is as informative as possible.
Multimedia elements include: poems, artwork (digital or a clear image of painting/drawing/sculpture/etc), photographs, animation, short film, or any other creative media.

For this working paper, each subtopic relates to economics. This year’s subtopics and guiding questions can be found here: Subtopics and Guiding Questions.

Writing an article or creating a media piece for UNIS-UN allows you to take part in another facet of the conference, having your work published in a physical paper or online for all of the conference guests to see. It is also an opportunity to become more informed about the world around you. Additionally, students who are selected to contribute to the working paper will be assigned an editor from UNIS, presenting another occasion for students from visiting schools and UNIS to connect and interact.

Please keep in mind that not all articles or multimedia can be chosen to be published in the physical working paper. However, articles and media that are not included in the physical working paper will be published on the UNIS-UN website.

For reference, here is a digital copy of a previous working paper: Link to 2023-24 Working Paper

After Conference Registration: Advisors will receive an application form for students to submit their articles and multimedia pieces.

Ambassador Program

We are excited to introduce the inaugural UNIS-UN Ambassador Program! Through this program, UNIS students will be paired with visiting schools, engaging remotely before the conference and in person during the event. Student ambassadors will serve as points of contact, welcoming delegates and helping facilitate conference activities, promoting further cross-cultural understanding and connection.

After Conference Registration: Advisors will receive more information regarding the specifics of their UNIS Ambassador connection.

Workshops

Workshops hosted by UNIS student organizations allow visiting students to deepen their understanding of this year's conference topic. Each workshop will explore and discuss a different facet of economics, followed by an interactive portion. Students will participate in two workshops held at UNIS during the Welcome Day.

After Conference Registration: Advisors will receive a form with choices and descriptions of all available workshops.

UN Tour

We’re excited to once again offer visiting schools the opportunity to take a guided tour of the UN Headquarters after the conference on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons. Participants will visit the General Assembly Hall, the Security Council Chamber, the Trusteeship Council Chamber, and the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Chamber (subject to meeting schedules) while learning about the history and mission of the Organization.

On the conference registration sign-up form, you can indicate the number of participants from your school, choose between two tour dates, and complete the payment process.

NBA Basketball Game

We are pleased to once again offer visiting students a chance to experience an NBA (National Basketball Association) game during their stay in NYC! Tickets are on a first-come, first-served basis.

The game will be on Wednesday, March 18 at 7:30 p.m. It will be the Brooklyn Nets vs. OKC Thunder!

On the conference registration sign-up form, you can indicate the number of participants from your school who would like to attend and complete the payment process.

Conference Speakers

Dominique Bichara

Marcos Athias Neto

David Firestein

Estub Kassie

Conference Programme

Working Paper

Student Organizers

UNIS-UN Co-Chairs 2025-2026

Ulysse Rombaux Pérez '26

Ulysse Rombaux Perez '26 is a senior at the United Nations International School in NYC. He has attended UNIS since sixth grade and began his UNIS-UN journey during his sophomore year. As a junior, he served as a Head of Finance, leading the most financially successful conference in the club’s history, and now has the honor of serving as Co-Chair for the 50th annual conference. Ulysse is passionate about using engineering to advance sustainable and high-performance systems that can help address the global climate crisis. As a fluent speaker of English, French, and Spanish, he believes deeply in international collaboration and the role of diverse perspectives in solving shared challenges. Outside the conference, Ulysse surfs year-round and spent the summer working as an internationally certified surf instructor.

Hahnah Hochman '26

Hahnah Hochman is a senior at the United Nations International School in New York City. She has attended UNIS since first grade and has participated in UNIS-UN since her freshman year, with the privilege of serving as Co-Chair for both the 49th and 50th annual conferences. Hahnah is a strong believer that UNIS-UN provides an unparalleled opportunity for international students to engage in meaningful discussion and effect concrete change around the world. She is fluent in English and conversational in Spanish and Mandarin. She hopes to use these language skills to pursue a career in economics and global politics, with a focus on public health. Hahnah is a passionate soccer player and avid reader who loves spending time with her two German Shepherds.

Along with our Co-Chairs, six student led committees collaborate to plan the conference.

Committee Co-Heads

Speakers: Noelle Schulze, Maya Athias and Meera Surana
Visiting Schools: Girum Allehone and Maria Cejudo Valdes
Logistics: Rafi White and Chloe Bogalho

Editing: Dora Dulge and Ananya Ghose
Tech: Alex Jiang, Nicholas Bojic and Neel Kapur
Finance: Latricia Aaron and Sophia Abdellatif Chaves

Student Responsibilities & FAQs

Etiquette at the United Nations

Within United Nations premises, all persons are required to comply with safety and security regulations, as well as the rules and procedures of the organization. Any act that disrupts the normal functioning of the organization’s programmatic activities, such as public displays of any form, including, but not limited to, clothing, banners, placards or other written or visual means, as well as vocal/audio sounds, gatherings, or demonstrations of any kind, including passive, is not allowed.

All individuals present on the United Nations premises are expected to fully cooperate with United Nations security officers at all times. Refusal to comply with applicable regulations may result in temporary detention or removal from or denial of access to the premises in accordance with Section 10 of the United Nations Headquarters Agreement and ST/AI/2019/5, entitled “Authority of United Nations Security Officers”.

Have questions?

Email us at info@unis-un.org.

Code of Conduct

Core Values

The United Nations International School (UNIS) is committed to providing a safe and inclusive environment for all students and individuals attending the 2023 UNIS-UN Conference on Tuesday, 14 March and Wednesday, 15 March. Such an environment precludes behaviors that are disrespectful of, and physically and/or emotionally harmful to, others. All participants play an important role in maintaining these standards to ensure that the Conference runs uninterrupted and successfully.

UNIS expects all conference attendees to treat one another with respect, and to interact (electronically or otherwise) honestly, politely, and appropriately. Before acting, participants are reminded to consider how their communications—whether through words, appearances, actions, or otherwise—do not (negatively) impact others.

UNIS believes that open communication is integral to fostering a culture of responsibility, accountability, and positive peer relationships. Should participants have any questions about UNIS’s expectations, or if they are concerned about another participant’s conduct, they should contact: Zakaria Baha, Director of Student Activities at zbaha@unis.org or call (212) 584-3026.

Behavior Code

The following rules are to be observed without change or exception by all students.

Students are not to bring food, drinks, candy, gum, etc. into the General Assembly Hall at any time during the conference.
Students are not to touch, tamper with, or remove any microphone, earplugs, country plates, or materials that have not been distributed by UNIS. Do not touch any United Nations equipment.
Students are representing their schools and the UNIS community. Please act accordingly. Behave with courtesy and self-control. Do not leave your valuables unattended.
Clean up after yourselves. Do not leave papers, booklets, or any other materials at the country desks. Students will be kept back at the end of the conference if this rule is not complied with.
Remember that there will be many dignitaries present at the conference on both days, so be respectful and thoughtful of all personnel and staff. Always be polite.
Cellular phones are NOT permitted in the General Assembly Hall.
Do not bring laptops to the Conference.
Smoking is strictly prohibited in the United Nations building. Any student found smoking anywhere in the building or on United Nations grounds will face serious consequences.
Students are to return to the General Assembly Hall after lunch, at the specified time.
Students must sit in their assigned seat, and follow all instructions given by ushers and advisors.
Any students who are found to be acting in violation of these guidelines may be removed from the conference, and will face disciplinary consequences.

Dress Code

Every year, students from around the world meet for two days in the General Assembly of the United Nations to participate in the UNIS/UN conference. The Student Organization Committee feels that the attire worn by each individual should reflect the level of integrity, which is synonymous with the conference.

Please do not wear any of the following on either day of the UNIS/UN Conference:

Jeans, Sneakers, Hats, Keds, or moccasins or
Baggy or ripped clothing
Sweatpants or athletic attire
Tight, revealing clothing or see-through clothing

Students should wear western business attire.

It is also suggested that students carry only small bags, NO large bags will be permitted, as it will make security a lengthy procedure. Do not bring backpacks.

Consequences for Misconduct

Should UNIS determine that any participant has violated the UNIS-UN Code of Conduct, acted inconsistently with its spirit or purpose, or otherwise negatively interfered with the UNIS-UN program or its mission, that individual may be precluded from further participation in all UNIS-UN sessions and activities and may be subject to other consequences, as determined appropriate by UNIS. Additionally, the actions of others connected with the participant (e.g., parents or others in the participant’s home) may warrant limitations or removal from UNIS-UN and other consequences, as determined appropriate by UNIS.

Disclosure to member schools

Planning For The Conference

Can an individual register for the conference?

Where will the conference take place?

Do I have to be affiliated with a school?

How can I participate in the student debate?

Finding Hotel Accommodation

Home2 Suites By Hilton New York Times Square, Address: 150 W 48th Street, New York, NY, 10001
Courtyard by Marriott, Address: 866 3rd Ave, New York, NY, 10022
Millennium Hilton New York One UN Plaza, Address: One UN Plaza, New York, NY, 10017
Hotel Park Ave, Address: 444 Park Ave S, New York, NY, 10016
Little Charlie Hotel, Address: 837 2nd Ave, New York, NY, 10017
EVEN Hotel New York - Midtown East, an IHG Hotel, Address: 221 East 44th Street, New York, NY, 10017
Hyatt Grand Central New York, Address: 109 East 42nd Street, at Grand Central Terminal, New York, NY, 10017
Untitled at 3 Freeman Alley, Address: 3 Freeman Alley, New York, NY, 10002
Hampton Inn Manhattan Grand Central, Address: 231 E 43rd St, New York, NY, 10017
Hyatt Place New York Midtown South, Address: 52 West 36th Street, New York, NY, 10018
Hotel Stanford, Address: 43 W 32nd St, New York, NY, 10001

Is the conference in person or online?

How do I register to come to the conference?

Where do I find the schedule?

What do I wear?

What is security like at the UN?

Airport style security, but you can keep on your shoes. Please don’t bring a large bag or backpack. No outside food or beverages will be allowed in and water bottles must be empty. You will be issued a pass to gain entry to the UN, if you loose this pass you won’t be able to participate in the conference. Please make sure to abide to the rules so that passing through security is fast and efficient.

Can I suggest a speaker for the conference?

During The Conference

How do I gain access to the UN?

Your advisor will be issued a UN grounds pass for the two days of the conference. Please do NOT misplace your pass, as they are printed only once and cannot be reprinted. A chaperone must accompany students to gain access to the UN. These passes are non-transferable, as each pass will say the respective student's name. Security measures to enter the UNGA may include cross-referencing the pass with a valid form of identification. Please bring an ID that matches the name you submitted for the conference. To streamline the process, UNIS recommends that students bring their school IDs instead of passports.