For the first time in 2018 the UN Student Prize will be
awarded to an individual or an organisation that has worked
continuously and tirelessly to promote vital global issues.
The selected nominees have been chosen due to their
dedication to the universal human rights and sustainable
development goals, as put forth by the United Nations. The
purpose of the UN Student Prize is to recognise the work of
these individuals and promoting their efforts, so that they
may reach new heights through increased awareness about
their work.
We welcome you to read more about the nominees and visit
their personal website for in-depth information about their
work and visions.
Crimefight Football
The volunteer-based project, Crimefight Football (CFF), started
its journey in 2011 after a group of football enthusiastic boys
snuck into Plasthallen at Mortensrud and disturbed the Christmas
Eve of gym-inspector Mario Rinaldi. CFF, which today is run by
Karar Al-Zayadi, Mario Rinaldi, Thomas Haile, Waled Al-Zayadi
and Hassan Abdullah, has a membership of about 500 children and
adolescents aged 11 years and up from various districts in Oslo.
The organization which is now in its seventh year, has had a
strategic long-term plan to prevent juvenile delinquency, which
often occurs in gangs. Through football and with role models to
look up too, CFF keep youngsters away from gang-environments and
crime. The very first youngsters under Crimefight Football are
said to be the most successful generation at Mortensrud. The
boys who took an active part in football have now an academic
background and are making a career for themselves. Not in the
least, the football evenings throughout the years have
contributed to reap several professional football players on the
national and international arena, including Nicolai Næss
(Heerenveen), Amin Nouri (Vålerenga), Ghayaz Zahid (APOEL) and
Adnan Haidar (Al-Ansar and the Lebanese National Football Team).
In a multicultural district like Søndre Nordstrand, football is
the common language and an arena connecting children and youth
across cultures. With its effort and the positive influence on
children and youth, Crimefight Football is an excellent
candidate for this year’s UN Student Prize.
Stopping climate change and preserving marine life are both
UN Sustainable Development Goals. There is no doubt that
these concerns are highly relevant in the complex
environmental situation the world is in today. Our nominee,
Hanna Bauge, is a contributor in both fields with the ocean
as her expertise. She is active in the fight against marine
littering, both in her work and in her spare time.
After surfing waves all around the world and seeing what
state the ocean is in, Bauge was inspired to make a change.
Today, she works as a Legal Adviser at the Norwegian
Directorate of Fisheries, and is a contributor to the Nordic
Ocean Watch collective. One of her main tasks is to secure
that the aquaculture is done with the environment in mind.
With the vision “life in the ocean – our shared
responsibility,” Bauge believes that awareness on the field
is not only particularly important, but also the biggest
challenge in terms of making a change. She also believes
that easy steps such as using reusable shopping bags are
important moves in the right direction.
Since October of 2016, the Colombian government after 50
years of conflict, singed the peace accords with the
guerrillas known as FARC. Thanks to the support of several
international organisations such as the Norwegian Refugee
Council (NRC) or The United Nation's mission verification in
Colombia, most of the implementation process has been done
with great success. The peace accords, give to women a very
important role, prioritising their rights and protection as
victims or reincorporated people.
Since April 2017, the organisation Refugee 4 Refugees has
supported refugees in their desperate journey towards Europe and
the forefront of this humanitarian crisis; the shores of Lesvos,
Greece. The organisation was founded by Omar Alshakal who is a
24-year-old Syrian refugee. He brings a unique perspective as
someone who arrived in Europe in 2014, after swimming for 14
hours from Turkey to Greece. He started the charity to tackle
the weaknesses of the asylum process, bringing his former
lifeguard experiences to use in improving boat spotting and
landing on the South shore of Lesvos.
In 2017, R4R assisted more than half of the 12 795 people who
arrived at Lesvos. Additionally, R4R is focusing on helping the
residents of Moria detention center by hiring a warehouse 200 m
from Moria, the largest camp on Lesvos which currently holds
around 6000 people (their capacity is 1800). More than half of
the residents are living in small tents without access to water
or sanitation. R4R saw the need to provide a safe space to
distribute clothes and necessities in a dignified and fair
matter.
The organisation distributes to 250 residents a day and over
3500 a month. Their vision is to empower and include refugees in
their work. They believe that this is a way to both integrate
and ensure that needs are met, as the refugees themselves know
best what is needed.
Wid Al-Saedy and her family fled to Norway from Iraq as
political refugees when she was only five years old. Due to her
background, Al-Saedy relates to refugees who flee from war and
struggle to integrate into a new society and culture. With an
increasing focus on the flow of refugees coming to Europe in the
course of these past few years, it is clear that the challenges
of integration and inclusion have become more difficult to
handle.
Our nominee, Wid Al-Saedy, has taken this challenge that is at
the forefront of our society, and opened a volunteer-based
pop-up hair salon in Tøyen, with the goal of promoting inclusion
of refugees into the Norwegian society. Drawing from her own
experience, Al-Saedy has shown great dedication to local issues
with a wider focus on universal human rights.
Her work clearly promotes fundamental principles from the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and shows, in practical
terms, the importance of equality and inclusion of all people.
The right to food is a universal human right. But one of
the biggest challenges the world faces is to get enough
food for everyone. In September, the United Nations
published a report showing that climate change is one of
the main causes of more hunger and greater food crisis in
the world. One of nine people on earth is starving,
according to the report. How does this happen and how can
we face this enormous challenge?
Since October of 2016, the Colombian government after 50
years of conflict, singed the peace accords with the
guerrillas known as FARC. Thanks to the support of several
international organisations such as the Norwegian Refugee
Council (NRC) or The United Nation's mission verification
in Colombia, most of the implementation process has been
done with great success. The peace accords, give to women
a very important role, prioritising their rights and
protection as victims or reincorporated people.
On the occasion of Karriereuka at UiO, the UN Student
Association Oslo invite you all to a panel conversation
about innovation in the humanitarian sector. We will also
have a visit from the United Nations Association, holding
a brief presentation on where we stand on the Sustainable
Development Goals, before we finish the event off with
some information about internship-opportunities.
