Yachay Tech student in UN`s Summit
Nicolás Serrano represented the SDSN Andes Youth before the highest international body.
Nicolás Serrano is the kind of student who gets involved in so many things that he never has time to lose. He is not only part of the Student Council of Yachay Tech University, but also Principal Investigator on a project seeking internal grants for research. However, his most important responsibility besides his studies is to be the General Secretary of the SDSN Youth – Andes, a branch of the United Nations. Its work is to promote and measure compliance with the Sustainable Development Objectives (ODS) established by the UN in 2015.
Without an allocated budget, the SDSN Youth has initiated youth projects related to ODS reaching every corner of the world. In the case of SDSN Andes, Nicolás, as coordinator, and representatives of the Network in Argentina and Peru have managed to implement projects such as talks and promotional events of ODS, and recycling projects, among others.
In the specific case of Ecuador, Nicolás started two major projects this year: Yachay Trail Race, a race to raise funds and promote awareness of ODS, and Chamanga, a handmade plastic recycling machine at a very low cost. He also took part in the event of the location of ODS in the Andean Region. All projects have been carried out with the collaboration of sponsors and through self-financing.
Between September 18 and 22, 2017, Nicolás presented all these initiatives to Siamak Loni, director of SDSN Youth, in New York during the United Nations summit. He also found collaborative work for the entire network, from local and educational approaches.
These meetings contributed greatly to the conception of the objectives for 2017 of the SDSN-Youth, among these are expanding the network to include more countries and organizations. Currently, the network only has the participation of Ecuador, Argentina, and Peru, but may have representation in Venezuela, Colombia, Bolivia, and Chile. It also seeks to promote more projects and attract the private sector to collaborate with the Network.