My Top 10 Takeaways from the UN Civil Society Conference
In his 2018 BYU commencement address, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said, “So go out there and light a candle. Be a ray of light. Be your best self and let your character shine. Cherish the gospel of Jesus Christ and live it. The world needs you, and surely your Father in Heaven needs you if His blessed purposes for His children are to prevail. You have entered to learn. Now go forth to serve and strengthen. If correcting all the world’s ills seems a daunting task, so be it. Go out there and be undaunted.”
Be a ray of light.
The world needs you.
Go out there and be undaunted.
The 68th United Nations Civil Society Conference took place in Salt Lake City in August 2019 — the first time it was held in the U.S. but outside of U.N. headquarters in New York City. Salt Lake City was chosen as a city that showcases leadership on environmental issues and inclusiveness, which were the themes of this conference: Building inclusive and sustainable cities and communities.
I attended the conference as a member of Mormon Women for Ethical Government. It was an enormously positive experience for me. Here are ten things I took away from the experience:
1. There are so many good people doing so much good in the world.
I was absolutely blown away. Each session I attended had four or five presenters. Each one of them is working to change the world in some way. They are brilliant, organized, and passionate. They are motivated by good. And they are making a difference.
2. Everybody has different passions and different causes.
The various passions we have work together and complement each other. Sometimes, even seemingly opposing viewpoints can provide necessary balance. There is not one single way to fix the world’s problems. No single person can understand every issue. However, every person can choose at least one cause or issue to study and pursue. And we can support each other.
3. Seemingly separate issues are linked together.
In 2014, my son and I attended a panel discussion at the UN headquarters in NYC. It was part of a “Focus on Faith” series, and this one featured the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, specifically the Church’s humanitarian aid. During a question/answer section, someone asked, “What are you doing to promote gender equality in third-world countries?” The director of Latter-day Saint Charities, Sharon Eubank, gave the most interesting response. She said, “We’re building wells.” In many areas of the world, people spend hours every day walking to gather enough water for their families. This job usually falls to girls. If girls are spending four or five hours a day walking to collect water, they can’t go to school. By building wells, we’re eliminating the need for that time-consuming job and freeing girls to go to school. Educated girls become independent women. What a concept! There are so many issues that might seem disconnected on the surface, but are, in fact, linked. I observed the same thing at this conference.
4. Job creation and job opportunities are the way to create peaceful societies.
The thematic session titled “Peaceful Societies: Recovering from Conflict and Nurturing Peace” had five panelists who seemed to have a wide range of causes: refugee resettlement, fighting drugs, crime and corruption internationally, prison reform, creating entrepreneurship opportunities in vulnerable communities, and transparent government that enhances development.
All these people agreed that job creation and job opportunities were at the heart of the solution.
5. We can benefit so much from listening to people with different ideas, life experiences, and cultures.
During a thematic session called “Building Inclusive Communities through Education,” one presenter was from India and another from Singapore. I don’t know how much their culture played into their views on education and how much was personality. But Ramu Damodaran (Chief of UN Academic Impact Initiative and from India) was so fun to listen to. He was inspirational and idealistic. His goals were lofty, but he made you want to reach them. Dr. Reuben Ng began many comments by saying, “In Singapore, we are very pragmatic.” And then he would explain a practical application of educational goals. It was a wonderful balance to have them, and the other panelists, in the same session. I learned from them all.
6. Work is best accomplished through cooperation.
I loved hearing about how my church partners with various more secular organizations, including the UN, to better provide humanitarian aid, self-reliance education, and other worthwhile causes. Corporations, government, and non-government organizations, along with private citizens, need to work together. For example, in a session on human trafficking, we heard from the Utah Attorney General, a man with a non-profit working on anti-slavery worldwide, a woman who co-founded a center to help survivors of human trafficking to heal, and the director of doTERRA’s Healing Hands Foundation.
The man who works to end slavery cannot do what he does without governments who have put laws in place. He needs governments who will prosecute offenders. Without the help of government, his work is useless. The attorney general talked about what he can do from a legal standpoint, but how much he relies on non-government entities. They both deal with perpetrators, and the other presenter had a healing center for survivors. People who were victimized once are easy targets unless they learn what they need to know to heal. The director of doTERRA’s charitable arm really demonstrated what corporations can do. One of the many things doTERRA does is provide employment and fair pay for women in vulnerable communities who might otherwise be trafficked. It was really remarkable to hear how they all work together.
7. Knowing a person’s story is transformative. Learn stories.
When you learn stories, it will transform the perception and, therefore, the reception of refugees. The global system of providing aid to refugees and asylum-seekers has been in place since WWII. People and governments at that time were determined to learn from the mistakes of that era. We can insist our institutions continue to provide aid to those in need.
8. Before Utah became a state, it was called the Territory of Deseret.
Deseret means honeybee. A beehive is still our state symbol. Beehives represent hard work and working together to benefit everyone. The very first laws in the Territory of Deseret included laws regarding stewardship of limited resources. In Utah, trees are very limited. There were laws that regulated the removal and use of trees. These early government regulations were passed to ensure our resources would be available for everyone. Government regulations regarding the environment and climate are necessary in order to have stewardship over Earth’s limited resources.
9. No matter how much individuals do their part (for example, being environmentally conscious), it’s not enough.
Environmental action needs to come from corporations, government, and leaders who hold power. Private sector, government regulation, and individual action work in a delicate balance to combat climate change. Individual action is not enough when corporations aren’t held to environmental standards. Solutions are there. Solutions are already available. We know what to do. It’s up to those in power to implement scientific ideas that are already readily available.
10. Don’t leave solutions to the government or “somebody else.”
Play your part in civil society. Nothing is as desperate as it seems. The world is worthy of our time. Unless we aim for seemingly unattainable, we are settling for mediocrity. Think of relentless incrementalism (this is the title of a book by Ken Battle and used by Melissa Dalton Bradford to describe the small, persistent work required to make monumental improvements). Think small. Small is the new big. Make a small impact. Changing the world is a journey.
Gérald Caussé, Presiding Bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, spoke in the closing plenary. Speaking on behalf of the Church, he said, “We are heartened to see this broad array of nations and organizations united to make this world a better place to live for all mankind. … I’m inspired by the theme of this conference, creating inclusive and sustainable cities and communities. As I travel abroad, I can’t help but also see the need to create communities that sustain one another and include those who may be seen as different or vulnerable. …Together we seek to reach across barriers and boundaries in the great work of creating a world in which we include, sustain, serve, and more importantly love one another.”
Megan Rawlins Woods is a member of Mormon Women for Ethical Government.
