On February 26th, six EMIS students arrived in the US for 6 days to participate in the UNIS-UN 2018 Conference organized by the United Nations International School. The conference's theme was UNDR CRTL (Under Control) Technology, Innovation, and the Future of Work. During this week, they have been involved in several activities where they met EMIS partners such as the Charney Resolution Center that has always supported EMIS projects and initiatives, the Beracha Foundation, which is an organization that thrives for Jewish-Arab coexistence and supports the EMIS for the past years, as well as diplomatic representatives from the EU, Poland, Israel, Ecuador, and Spain. They also had informative meetings with Steve Forbes from Forbes Magazine, Richard Plepler who is the CEO of HBO, and with a representative from the company WeWork. All of this was taking place while they were also participating in several student debates at the UN General Assembly. These were about the effect technology has on security & privacy, and the risks that Artificial Intelligence poses to humankind. Also, they attended lectures about technology in different fields such as politics, media and the management of Big Data as well as workshops of practical uses of technological advancements such as smart guns to decrease violence.
On the 3rd night of our visit, we were very excited to meet up with Tzili Charney, the founder of the Leon Charney Resolution Center who is a very important partner in the development of the EMIS school. We all then attended a theatrical performance by the "Blue Man Group”, a performance art company that combines many different types of music and art. They also involve a lot of participation from their audience during their shows. Afterward, we all had a nice dinner at the restaurant Balthazar in Soho and discussed the political situation and what life is like in the US. The following day, we visited Leon Charney’s office in Times Square, Manhattan where we met with his good friend Steve Forbes. We were all very impressed with how eloquent and knowledgeable Mr. Forbes was. We decided to ask him hard questions about the economies from our home countries as well about Economy issues like financial crises and taxation.
All in all this was a very profound and educational experience that we were excited and honored to be a part of.
L-R: Keren Saban, Hannah Cook, Sebastian Valdiviso, Marion Martin Fernande, Tzili Charney, Beniamin Strzelecki, Anna kraftner, Steve Forbes, Gili Roman, Shana Hazboun, Trang Nguyen, Rachelle Schilo
Content Provided by Sebastián Valdivieso
Student of Eastern Mediterranean International School, Ramat Hasharon, Israel