Somaya Faruqi is the former Captain of the Afghan Girls’ Robotic Team – nicknamed the ‘Afghan Dreamers’. She and her team made international headlines when they built a ventilator from used car parts in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Afghanistan. Faruqi was born in Herat, Afghanistan in 2002. She cultivated her love of engineering in her father’s mechanic shop. Her high school career was cut short by the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan. She and the rest of her teammates had to flee the country in August 2021.Currently an engineering student, Faruqi has received several awards over her career, including being named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia in 2021, BBC’s 100 Women in 2020, and the 2017 Silver Medal for Courageous Achievement at the FIRST Global Challenge – in recognition of science and technology in the US. She is a Global Champion in the UN’s Education Cannot Wait Program.

Rachel Pittman serves as Executive Director of the United Nations Association of the USA (UNA-USA), a grassroots movement of more than 20,000 Americans in over 200 chapters across the U.S. who are dedicated to supporting the work of the United Nations in communities, on campuses, and on Capitol Hill. Prior to joining UNA-USA, Rachel served on multiple leadership teams for several professional associations that represented lawyers, surgeons, regulators and engineers. UNA-USA helps Americans develop a broader understanding of the United Nations. Not only does the UN Security Council strive to reduce dangerous conflicts, but there is a larger humanitarian operation that is absolutely critical such as working with over 80-million refugees, teaming with Rotary International to eliminate the scourge of polio and a myriad of other programs confronting climate change, hunger, poverty and empowering women. Other programs include assisting with the movement of aircraft, ships, mail and weather information in international space.

David Swanson, author, activist, journalist, and radio host, is executive director of WorldBeyondWar.org and campaign coordinator for RootsAction.org. His latest book is: “NATO: What You Need to Know.” NATO, which is approaching its 75th Anniversary, is not the UN or a stand-alone nation. Swanson suggest that NATO not pursue destructive arms races, an irrational fear of Russia and a democratic military force to abide by international treaties, work with the UN, reduce the arms race, and promote international understanding. In the Israeli-Hamasa War, it is critical to stop providing unlimited numbers of weapons by the US and other participants. The recent Biden proposal, which has been rejected by Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, will be futile until the flow of weapons is halted. The military-industrial-academic-Congressional-media complex is completely out of control and has taken over US society. Over $2 trillion is spent on the arms race internationally.

Professor Thomas Just serves as an Assistant Teaching Professor within the Future Security Initiative at Arizona State University. Professor Just served as Assistant to the Director of African and Middle Eastern Affairs within Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and is the author of “Combating Antisemitism in Germany and Poland: Strategies Since 1990.” Antisemitism is often defined as hostile acts against Jews based on religious, political, economic, and racial grounds. Two major programs to reduce antisemitism in Poland and Germany are through legal measures and public diplomacy. It is illegal in both countries to deny that the Holocaust existed. Conspiracy theories related to the Covid-19 pandemic have contributed to antisemitism in the USA. Unfortunately, social media outlets were critical to disseminating misinformation about Jews. Jewish people cannot be blamed for Netanyahu’s disastrous policies in Gaza, and a person is able to be pro- Palestinian, pro-Israeli and anti-Netanyahu’s’ prosecution of the war.

Charles Moxley is the principal of Moxley ADR, a law firm specializing in arbitration and mediation. He is an Adjunct Professor of Law at Fordham Law School. His recent treatise on “Nuclear Weapons and International Law” highlights the major challenges with nuclear weapons. The UN’s Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty has kept the numbers down somewhat; however, some countries are looking at upgrading their aging nuclear stockpiles that will cost trillions of dollars. Years ago the US spent $150 million per day on maintaining the aging nuclear stockpile. 90% of the 13,000 nukes today are held by Russia and the USA. Media, educational system, and Members of Congress must be educated regarding the potential threat. Several Congresspeople and politicians put out misinformation that we could do a limited nuclear exchange. As an example, former president Donald Trump cavalierly said he would destroy North Korea with nuclear weapons, which displays his ignorance of the issue.

Paula Caballero is the Regional Managing Director for Latin America at The Nature Conservancy. Previously, Paula Caballero was Senior Director of the World Bank Environment and Natural Resources Global Practice, and she was the creator of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Her recent book is “Redefining Development: The Extraordinary Genesis of the Sustainable Development Goals.” Colombia created the concept of the SDGs which were adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2015. The SDG concept was geared to a universal agenda because all countries have development issues and there are common global problems, such as climate and migration, that needed to be confronted. The SDGs were laudable in that the emphasis was to eradicate poverty, eliminate hunger, empower women and girls, combat climate change, and 13 additional goals. The corporate sector was very supportive because the SDGs were concrete proposals to confront problems from a macro-standpoint with systemic solutions.

Dr. Winston Langley is Professor Emeritus, Department of Political Science and International Relations and

Senior Fellow at McCormack Graduate School for Policy & Global Studies. He has written widely on the United Nations, disarmament, human rights and women’s rights in the US. His recent book is “Abolishing War.” A major problem is that we have a “Culture of War” that glorifies war and makes heroes of its participants; the Military, Industrial, Media, Academic Complex justify militarization and the media is complicit because they want to please advertisers, many of whom have a direct financial or political interest in launching a war. The UN could play a major role in abolishing war, but there must be some changes: UN Secretary-General would have a seven-year term, the World Court would accept charges by individuals; UN would establish a Court of Humans Rights; and, Security Council is expanded to include other key countries.

Dr. Margaret P. (Peggy) Karns is a Senior Fellow in the Department of Conflict Resolution, Human Security and Global Governance at the University of Massachusetts Boston and Professor Emerita of Political Science at the University of Dayton. She is coauthor of “International Organizations: The Politics and Processes of Global Governance (4th ed., 2024)” and “The United Nations in the 21st Century (6th ed., 2022).” She lived and taught in both China and Vietnam in the 1990s. Global Governance is not a one-world government, but it is a way to bring together the norms and institutions to recognize, understand and deal with the major challenges confronting them. The UN is the epicenter, while the states, other intergovernmental organizations, non-state actors/NGOS, are critically involved. The UN is a complex system that works to confront problems, such as climate crisis, wars, humanitarian relief, diseases, as well as helping move ships, aircraft, mail and weather information safely worldwide.