Washington, DC, 26 May 2023 - Today, members of the President of the General Assembly (PGA) Fellowship Programme wrapped up a five-day visit to Washington, DC, following meetings with UN offices in the city, the US Government, the World Bank and a number of embassies and other institutions.
The programme brings together a small group of young diplomats from developing countries with the aim of promoting youth engagement in multilateralism and supporting the next generation of diplomats. This year, the Fellows come from Armenia, Botswana, Cuba, Maldives, Rwanda and Samoa. They are trained in such topics as peace and conflict resolution, human rights, negotiation, and public diplomacy. Their trip to DC was designed to examine multilateralism from a Washington lens.
During their visit, the UN Information Centre in Washington hosted them for a briefing on how the UN operates in the US capital. It also arranged a meeting in which the Fellows could hear directly from DC-based representatives of other UN entities about their work.
At the Department of State, they met with officials including Mark Schlachter, Director of the Office of Public Affairs, Planning, and Congressional Outreach. And at USAID, their engagement included a meeting with Asa Piyaka, Chief of the Multilateral Engagement Division.
Additional meetings were held with Lise Grande, President and CEO of the US Institute of Peace, and Peter Yeo, President of the Better World Campaign and Senior Vice President at the UN Foundation.
While in Washington, the PGA Fellows also visited the World Bank, the Stimson Center and a number of embassies. They also toured the White House, US Capitol and National Museum of African American History and Culture.
