Past Conferences

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.

2026 Working Paper

More information about the 50th Annual UNIS-UN Conference

The 2024 UNIS-UN conference, Equal Rights Equal Heights: Climbing the Ladder of Gender Equality, will address the continuing issue of gender inequality through meaningful discussions and debates that develop solutions and ways in which to bridge the gap between the genders. Gender inequality is a worldwide global issue affecting over half of our population. The issue has persisted throughout history where women continue to be denied the same opportunities and privileges that men are given. The 2024 Conference will address topics such as access to education, gender stereotypes and their portrayal in media, the impact of gender on mental health, gender inequalities in sports and leadership roles, and gender expression and identity. Additionally, discussions will be centered on the future of gender equality addressing such topics as violence and conflict against women, the intersection of race or refugee status and gender, equitable access to education, law, and policy.  

2024 Working Paper

This year’s conference title will be Food for Thought: A Sustainable Approach to Food Security. Food is fundamental for human life and affects every individual. The hunger crisis has had a tremendous global impact and been exacerbated by climate change, inequality, and a growing population. Hundreds of millions of people go to bed undernourished and hungry every night. Without sustainable change, this crisis will only become worse. The 2022 UNIS-UN conference will investigate the possible approaches to a more sustainable future of food. We will investigate how economic inequality has intensified the issue, while also exploring modern technologies that present new opportunities to cultivate food. Furthermore, we will explore how education and policy play important roles in overall health. 

2022 Working Paper

This year’s conference title will be Megacities: A Sustainable Future. Rapid urbanization is shaping our future. We live in a world where the majority of society already lives in urban areas. As a result of rising populations and increasing migration, megacities are emerging across the globe. In order for us to achieve sustainable development, we must make significant changes in the ways in which we build and manage our urban environments. The 2020 UNIS-UN conference will examine the implications of the increasing concentration of population, goods, and services seen in these urban areas. We will investigate the role of government as well as the roles of AI and surveillance. In addition, we will explore the vulnerability faced by cities regarding environmental threats, and discuss how we can work to make cities resilient against them.

2020 Working Paper

This year’s conference topic will be Under CTRL: Technology, Innovation and the Future of Work. We will be exploring present innovations and the possible social and political implications. It is clear technology is already shaping our lives significantly, in terms of production, energy use, development and security. The 2018 UNIS-UN conference will explore questions regarding the way in which innovations will improve not only lifestyle, but also efforts in development. We will investigate how our increasing use of technology may also be a risk to our privacy, and the profound social and political effects, the rapid rise in automation may have on future generations of workers. As ambassadors for the future, these issues will have the greatest impact on our own lives, and therefore, it is critical that we develop a deeper understanding of these issues and how to address them properly.

2018 Working Paper

The 2016 UNIS-UN conference will focus on Media’s Influence: Opinions, Activism, and Outcomes. Media has a tremendous impact on global politics and societal issues, especially in today’s technologically driven and rapidly evolving world. Students from thirty different countries will explore media related topics such as propaganda, social reform, activism, political unrest, and the ways in which media shapes statistics and trends. We will investigate social media as a source of change and as a platform for propaganda. Social media enables businesses to advertise their products in an inexpensive and effective manner, allowing companies to enhance brand image. Social media has inspired mass movements in many countries, as well. Traditional forms of media such as television, newspapers, and magazines also have a major influence on our international relations. Traditional media offers an alternative and fascinating perspective on many issues. Nevertheless, it is important to question how this form of media has been forced to adapt to our technologically advanced generation. How has traditional media changed in the last twenty years and will it survive in the future?

2016 Working Paper

This coming year’s conference, to be held on March 6-7, 2014 is Globalization: A World of Exchange. We will examine the socio-cultural effects and repercussions of an increasingly interconnected world. As young people who have grown up in a world more interdependent than ever before, it is important for us to come together to learn about and discuss the new socio-cultural landscape of the world we will inherit.

We hope to do this through exploration and dialogue about issues such as the impact of social media on cross cultural ties, the displacement of refugees in war ravaged areas, and the effects of immigration.

We are aiming to find dynamic speakers, who can describe how they chose to make a difference in their lives and in the lives of others through a passion that they have. This exchange of knowledge will be enriched by the sharing of perspectives of young minds from around the globe and cultivated by the presentations of speakers from various facets of the globalization issue in hopes of inspiring awareness and new outlooks on the state and future of our world.

2014 Working Paper 

The 36th annual UNIS-UN Conference highlights the unique connection between the United Nations International School (UNIS) and the United Nations. It will be held on March 1 - 2, 2012, in the General Assembly Hall of the United Nations. The title of this year’s conference is “Human Exploitation: Exposing the Unseen.”

This year’s conference aims to explore the hidden world of human exploitation through the various subsets of the topic, including child labor, human trafficking, and the sex trade, often caused by poverty, conflict, and more. The goal of this year’s conference is to view the topic of Human Exploitation through a global perspective.

Over the course of the conference, distinguished guest speakers will address the various aspects of Human Exploitation. Afterwards students will be given the opportunity to interact and engage in dialogues with the speakers in question-answer sessions. There will also be opportunities for students to discuss the conference topic and gain further insights through the Student Panel and Student Debate sessions.

We aim to develop a better understanding of Human Exploitation and its implication in our global society and in culture, and expose its many facets whilst encouraging participants to objectively develop their own opinions. Our ultimate goal is to raise awareness to the participants on Human Exploitation, a topic sometimes obscured from the media and news spotlight.

2012 Working Paper