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PAIS Graduate Wins United Nations Competition

Congratulations to recent PAIS graduate Dessi Ekzarova, who has won an essay competition organised by the United Nations.

Here is what Dessi had to say on her achievement:

'Many Languages One World' is the name of the essay competition I was lucky enough to participate in and become one of the winners. It is organised by the United Nations and its aim is to celebrate the various languages and cultures around the world!

I wrote an essay on the topic of the Post-2015 UN Developmental Agenda and the best ways to put it into practice. The rules demanded that the papers are written in one of the 6 official UN languages (English, Russian, Chinese, Arabic, French or Spanish) and it cannot it be in a language native to the writer.

As a Bulgarian, it was greatly rewarding to write a paper on a topic so important to me, in the language which I feel allows me to express myself best - English.

All the other winners and I get to travel to the UN Headquarters in New York and have a week of exciting projects, while enriching ourselves by getting to know people from all over the world

Dessi flew for a week in New York where she took part in exciting UN projects at their headquarters.

Speaking about her experience in New York, Dessi said:

I just came back home from my week in New York, involving the presentation in the UN General Assembly. Safe to say it was one of the best experiences in my life! The other essay winners in the English group and I got the privilege to speak on sustainable economic growth and the necessity of decent work for all.

The presentation can be viewed online, http://webtv.un.org/meetings-events/watch/english-language-winners-global-youth-forum-on-multilingualism-many-languages-one-world-2015/4378568374001, with Dessi appearing at the 9 minute 30 mark.

Mon 20 Jul 2015, 16:21 | Tags: Staff Undergraduate