Daniel Gordon

​UN Youth Seychelles was honoured to have Mr Daniel Gordon as our Youth Consultant and Ministry of Education Intern for a month (July – August). Daniel is from New York and attended the Youth Assembly at the UN in 2016. He has great experience in organising Model United Nations (MUN) in his school and various other activities. His work at the Ministry of Education focused on programme proposal that will boost kids with collaborative qualities, understanding, and diplomacy along with making a series of presentation to teachers, students, and others about the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals). Such exchange provide a basis of learning from global peers and also sharing with them our own initiatives. It ensures that the SDGs are considered and implemented earlier on in the educational systems at an early stage and maximum educators are aware of it. UN Youth Seychelles would like to thank the Ministry and everyone who assisted to make this programme a productive one.  The proposals and recommendation made will be used to shape UN Youth Seychelles future programmes.

their findings along with the UN Youth members. They stressed on technology and extracurricular activities.
 
The Ministry of Education interns have left the island with a significant impact behind them. Their presentations on the SDGs were enjoyed by the students of all ages: from Anse Royal primary school to the Seychelles Institute of Technology. Other schools visited by the interns included Anse Boileau secondary school, La Digue school and Maritime school. Mr Daniel Gordon is well known for his experience in organising school conferences especially Model United Nations thus his role was to develop a framework for MUN, diplomacy programme and other opportunities that we currently do not have access to.
 
 
Questions for the interns*consultants:

1. What motivated you to come to Seychelles as an intern?

 
Once the CEO of UN Youth Seychelles, Annarose Clarisse, told me about the opportunity to partner with the Ministry of Education in Seychelles, I was eager to delve into the educational policy and the student life in schools. Additionally, visiting schools throughout the country would give me a local and national perspective of the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 which are designed “to take the bold and transformative steps which are urgently needed to shift the world onto a sustainable and resilient path.” Through a partnership with the University of Seychelles as well, I was able to develop a project proposal to introduce Model United Nations across the country as a tool for education and practical leadership skills.
 

Daniel. G with Ms Annarose Clarisse at the UN Youth Assembly 2016 in New York UNHQ

1. Was there anything that surprised you when you arrived?

 
Besides a gecko jumping out over my hand from a box of my cereal, I was surprised by the number of expatriate teachers in secondary schools. At almost every school I visited, I discussed with the head teachers about the lack of human resources within the education system, especially with the shortage of Seychellois teachers. Although there is even a shortage of teachers in the United States, especially in rural and urban low-income areas, the problem is exacerbated in Seychelles due to a unique conundrum of balancing languages in a trilingual system.
 
 
 
Arrival in Seychelles
 

1. What was the most memorable part of your internship?

 
The most memorable part of the internship was working with the students as they were interested in international affairs and the SDGs. All of the students were excited about the opportunity to make a change in a plethora of ways within their own community to create a sustainable future. Whenever I would ask students what they would do to create change, I could see that they were brimming with innovative ideas to integrate within their own community.

1. What do you regard as the challenges of this experience?

 
One of the challenges I faced was traveling alone internationally. Never before had I traveled so far away from home, much less without family. In the United States, very few people even know about Seychelles or where it is due to the immense geographical distance between the two countries. It took two days of travel to arrive. In addition, there are cultural differences between the US and Seychelles ranging from food to technology that required adjustment.

1. What do you think were the benefits of the internship for you?

Although there were a plethora of benefits during the experience, the most important was networking and collaborating with other youth and youth educators. Through UN Youth Seychelles, I expanded my sphere of knowledge in educational policy and received support from a variety of organizations. With the Seychelles National Youth Council, I attended an alcohol and drug abuse awareness workshop and a session of Youth Inspire Youth. The Minister of Education and Human Resources in Seychelles, Joel Morgan, besides partnering with UN Youth for the internship, was also a strong supporter of a national Model UN circuit.

1. What about the benefits and impact for the community?

The benefits of the partnership will manifest themselves with the change the students make in the country. The goal for the program was to ignite a passion for students about the importance of a role in global society. One of the proposals that I am developing for the University of Seychelles is a practical volunteerism competition among secondary school students. The students will create and present charities or non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to a panel of judges. The NGOs can then be implemented in the community as an impetus for local and national change.

1. In your opinion, what should the community of Seychelles start or keep doing for it to be on the right track with implementing the SDGs?

At different points throughout my work at the United Nations, I have been asked whether I thought that the sustainable development goals made a difference. While some countries do not delve deeply into each objective and initiative of the sustainable development goals, the dedication to achieve theses goals in Seychelles is laudable. Throughout the Ministry of Education, ministry members and educators were knowledgeable of the sustainable development goals and their potential impact on the world. The Seychelles community should keep their dedication to the environment and reusability of materials.

1. What do you think was the greatest achievement and your favourite part of the internship?

The greatest achievement of my time in Seychelles was teaching hundreds of students about the United Nations SDGs. My favorite part of the internship was working with students and admiring their creativity and diligence towards creating a better future. In addition, the people at the partner organizations (UN Youth Seychelles, UniSey, SNYC, and the Ministry of Education) were amazing and kind. The sheer number of people who have given me a lift or showed me an interesting place speaks volume of the generosity of Seychelles.

1. What is your preferred SDG and why? Which ones do you think are being implemented in Seychelles right now?

I have two favorite sustainable development goals. Goal 4: Quality Education and Goal 17 Partnership for the goals are both extremely important for the future. Without quality education the next generation is stifled in their ability to continue progress in solving international problems like pollution and when global populations do not work with each other there is often contention compared to cooperation. The goal that is best implemented in Seychelles now is Goal 13: Climate Action as Seychelles has done the most to prevent pollution in its oceans and increase renewable resources.
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