On 10 and 11 December, RAUN held its online closing event for this year’s program “Partnership and Cooperation for the Future: 75 Years of UN Action”. This event is particularly important as it highlights the results of each research group and gives them the opportunity to present their outcomes to their mentors and peers. At the end of the 2-day conference, the RAUN scholars received their well-deserved certificates, even if only virtually this time.

The Ban Ki-moon Centre participated in Session II called “Citizen and Community Education” on the first day of the conference. CEO Monika Froehler gave an input speech about the challenges and opportunities of quality education. She stressed that discrimination, nationalism, human rights abuses, and corruption can be fought through global citizenship education (GCED) and communal sports, referring to the topics of the session’s research groups.

The BKMC RAUN scholars presented the methodology and results of their paper on “Global Citizenship Education in the European Union: Dimensions and Differences”. With the creation of 114 qualitative indicators, Andreas, Helena, and Jülide tackled the blind spots of GCED and investigated its concrete application. They concluded that in GCED, the focus lies on the learning process, moral development within, dialogue, and empathy.

Jessica Besch, Executive Assistant to Co-Chairman Heinz Fischer, commented on the group’s work and her experience as a mentor.

The second group presentation on “Promoting Peace and Security through Sports: Lessons Learned from Selected Youth Programs (OSCE)” was followed by a panel discussion, opening the floor to the audience to ask questions about the respective research topics.