Chief of Partnerships and Global Engagement in the Department of Global Communications (DGC) at the United Nations to Speak at NC State
Robert Skinner, Chief of Partnerships and Global Engagement in the Department of Global Communications (DGC) at the United Nations, will visit NC State on September 1, 2021. Mr. Skinner’s talk, “The Sustainable Development Goals: Connecting the Global to the Local”, will help launch NC State’s SDG Campus Programming Initiative and provide insights from his experience working with the United Nations and the Sustainable Development Goals. Adopted by the United Nations in 2015, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a collection of 17 interlinked global goals designed to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all by 2030.
- To view the recording of this event, please click here.
SDGs at NC State
Beginning this fall, NC State Global will host a wide array of programs for the next 2 years focused around a cluster of SDGs. The purpose of the SDG Campus Programming Initiative is to educate students at NC State as to what the SDGs are, why they are a blueprint for peace and prosperity in the world, and inspire them to take action in support of the goals on their campuses and in their local community. This initiative is part of NC State Global’s new initiative, Global Learning for All, and is scheduled to last through the 2021-22 and 2022-23 academic years. It will feature a wide array of programs each semester focused around a cluster of SDGs.
The first cluster, offered this Fall 2021 semester, will focus on Quality of Life (SDG #1 no poverty, #2 zero hunger, #3 good health and well-being and #6 clean water and sanitation).
Previously, NC State Global, together with the Office of Sustainability, participated in the first-ever SDG action and awareness week from March 1 to 5, 2021. Additionally, to make SDGs more accessible for students, the Office of Sustainability has created a Sustainable Development Goals Course Inventory which allows students to search for classes filtered by specific SDGs.
About Robert Skinner
Robert Skinner is currently serving as the Director of the United Nations Information Center (UNIC) in Washington, DC, a position he returned to in April 2021, having begun his tenure with the United Nations in 2015 in this post. He will be serving in his role new as Chief of Partnerships and Global Engagement in the Department of Global Communications (DGC) at the United Nations starting September 1. He previously served as a Senior Special Advisor in the UN’s Department of Global Communications, focusing on the UN’s COVID-19 Communications Response Initiative. He also spent time as the Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Partnerships. Prior to joining the UN, Skinner was the Executive Director in the New York Office of the United Nations Foundation. Before joining the Foundation in 2006, Skinner held several positions in the United States Department of State, including as Deputy Spokesperson at the United States Mission to the United Nations in New York, and as Public Affairs Officer for the United States Embassy in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. He also held posts in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire and San Salvador, El Salvador. Robert was an attorney in the Office of the Cook County Public Defender, Chicago, Illinois before starting his diplomatic career. Skinner holds a law degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Oakland University in the United States.
About Global Learning for All
NC State Global’s new strategic framework entitled “Global Learning for All: building a more equitable and sustainable world” supports the new university strategic plan for the next decade. Specifically, the expansion of online, hybrid and campus-based models for engagement across cultures will make global learning more inclusive and accessible for the entire campus community.
For example, Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) promotes virtual, interactive educational opportunities by connecting faculty and students through shared experiences across international borders. As part of a successful pilot program between NC State, the NC Japan Center and Nagoya University (Japan), students from MSE 556 and COM 112 participated in a virtual exchange to enrich their global classroom experience.
Engaging students, faculty and staff in various activities, collaborative SDG programming under the Global Learning for All umbrella will provide participants with a better understanding of the SDGs, their importance in a global context and NC State’s contribution to addressing these critical issues.