Six Brooklyn schools or programs today were named as part of the Mayor’s Office for International Affairs selection of the 2016-2017 cohort of NYC Junior Ambassadors.
The innovative program empowers 7th grade students across the city to see themselves as global citizens through a connection with the United Nations.
Close to 100 applications were submitted by educators and twenty diverse classrooms and after-school programs were chosen by a Selection Committee comprised of local and global leaders.
Among the six programs from Brooklyn chosen included 7th-graders from Children of Promise, located in Bedford-Stuyvesant, and which is the first and only after-school program and summer day camp specifically designed to meet the needs, interests and concerns of children left behind by parents serving time in prison.
Among the other schools and programs chosen include the East New York Middle School of Excellence, 605 Shepherd Avenue in East New York; The Boerum Hill School for International Studies, 284 Baltic Street in Boerum Hill; the Montauk Intermediate School (J.H.S. 223), 4200 16th Avenue in Borough Park; the NIA Afterschool at the Christa Mcauliffe School (I.S. 187), 1171 65th Street in Bay Ridge; and the Robert Fulton School: The Magnet School for Exploration, Research and Design (PS/ MS 8), 65 Middagh Street in Brooklyn Heights.
Approximately 600 middle school students citywide will participate in the program, almost double the number of those who participated in the inaugural year. Students will learn about international affairs through the integration of the UN and its work into their curriculum, teaching students about human rights and gender equality, migration and refugees, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, among others.
All participating sites will receive a behind-the-scenes look at the UN through curated tours of the campus where they will engage with UN experts and through visits to their classrooms by an Ambassador to the UN.
The NYC Junior Ambassadors program is made possible through partnerships with local and international organizations, including the New York City Department of Education, the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development, the United Nations and the United Nations Foundation. The partners are critical to the ability to effectively engage NYC Junior Ambassadors and their educators in learning about the UN and its work.
To learn more about the program please visit nyc.gov/nycjuniorambassadors
