Rongchang Scholars Training Seminars

The Rongchang Scholars Training Seminars (hereinafter also referred to as “the Training Seminars”) are a tailor-made course designed in collaboration with and for the Rongchang Scholars Program of of Fudan University, Shanghai, China. The Training Seminars equip a cohort of students selected and fully funded by Fudan University with the theoretical and practical tools to pursue careers in support of efforts aimed at achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, particularly within the United Nations system – including the ILO –and other International Organizations. This is achieved by relying on a combination of face-to-face plenary sessions and a study tour in Rome under the guidance of a core faculty of ITCILO, ILO and UN officials, diplomacy, mediation and negotiation experts. OBJECTIVES By the end of the course, participants have: • Explored the purpose and structure of the United Nations system, with a particular focus on the priorities identified by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals; • Identified the main characteristics of the UN Reform process and UN Leadership; • Compared the concepts of “multilateralism” and “global governance” as understood in the European Union (EU) and in China • Interpreted the relevance of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in relation to how the academic literature defines “multilateralism” and “global governance” (both in the EU and in China) • Run a guided simulation of the final round of a trade policy agreement to grasp the complexity of global governance in action; • Traced the evolution of the concept of “Sustainable Development” by relying on legal primary sources; • Examined the role of the ILO in the “"Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus” and that of the United Nations on the “Women, Peace and Security Agenda”; • Explored a variety of diplomacy, mediation and negotiation approaches and skills for the resolution of practical simulations created around two multilateral negotiation scenarios; • Completed a study tour to main UN Agencies based in Rome, Italy. CONTENT The Training Seminars have been structured around the needs of the Rongchang Scholars to hone their international competencies for a career as international civil servants of the United Nations System and other International Organizations. Over the course of two weeks, participants have joined plenary sessions and a study visit to Rome, Italy structured around the following macro-subjects: (i) Understanding the UN System and Building a Career for Impact in the UN; (ii) A Changing Multipolar Order; (iii) The International Legal Foundations of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its SDGs; (iii) Diplomatic Skills Training; (iv) Negotiation and Mediation Skills for Multi-Stakeholder Forums; (v) UN Study Visits to the World Food Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organization and the UNDP Rome Centre for Sustainable Development; (vi) Cross-Sectional Challenges for the UN. NUMBER OF WEEKS: 2 weeks