Cedarcrest High school Graduate Sam Linnerooth '14 interns as a UN advocate

Colgate University student spends summer at the United Nations as an advocate

HAMILTON, NY (10/06/2013)(readMedia)--  (The following story is blogspot release written by Charity Whyte '16 in collaboration with Sam Linnerooth '14 and Elise Van Gelder '15)

Three of us from Colgate University spent this summer in New York City, interning at the United Nations (UN). We worked for the Non-Governmental Organization Committee on Ageing to the UN under the coordination of Gray Panthers. This intergenerational education and advocacy organization, chaired by Jack Kupferman '77, is dedicated to achieving social and economic justice and peace for all people.

As interns with the NGO Committee on Ageing, we researched and identified government and civil society entities on aging. We produced useful reference documents for UN delegates, and we created a website directory that will act as a handy human rights instrument for the UN and affiliated representatives looking to contact aging-advocacy organizations worldwide.

In preparation for the UN's Open Ended Working Group on Ageing conference, we met with and catalogued our meetings with UN diplomats of member countries. The purpose of the meetings was to discuss the challenges that countries with elderly populations face and propose possible strategies that UN Missions' Ambassador staff could implement to protect older persons globally.

Mr. Kupferman also supervised Sam, who worked with the Gray Panthers Task Force for Emergency Planning and Response for Special Needs Populations. Sam conducted research and wrote position papers, op-eds, and executive summaries on the issue of emergency management for older persons. Targeting audiences that included the educated general public and policy makers, Sam aimed to increase public awareness and raise the political priority-level of issues related to older persons in disaster situations.

Our internship experiences combating ageism on the regional and global level concluded last week with the fourth session of the Open Ended Working Group on Ageing.

This summer has been an incredible learning experience, and we have appreciated the opportunity to do meaningful work that will have a positive impact on the lives of the global community.

Colgate University is a highly selective residential liberal arts institution distinguished by the dedication of its faculty and its commitment to global engagement, student-faculty research, off-campus study, sustainable practices, and utilizing technology to enhance the teaching and learning experience.