Queen Mathilde visited Da Vinci College (which, in French, means middle school) to meet with students of the last year to illustrate the SDGs, her role as Advocate and, more generally, the institution and function of the United Nations.
The anniversary of the foundation of the United Nations falls on the 24th of October, and, to celebrate, albeit belatedly, the 75th anniversary, the UN has mobilised all willing parties to go in schools and explain the role the UN plays in multilateral pacts and accords and the impact these resolutions have on the global geopolitical balance.
The anniversary should have been celebrated in 2020, but because of health safety restrictions, festivities were postponed to 2021. Back in 1945, following the end of World War II, the United Nations was born in an effort to create a world with more diplomacy and less armed conflict.
To celebrate the UN’s 75th anniversary, all of the ambassadors and representatives are being mobilised to hold informative days for the younger generations on the various topics the UN is engaged on.
Queen Mathilde of the Belgians has had a longstanding relationship with the organisation, serving as an emissary for the year of microcredit in 2005 and as a Special Representative for Immunisation for the World Health Organisation, the UN’s Health Agency. Because of the success she has had in these roles, in 2016 she was named an advocate for the promotion of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
In her role as SDGs Advocate, Queen Mathilde has placed particular attention on the topic of mental health, which was pushed even more under the spotlight following 18 months of on-and-off shutdowns and isolation periods.
And because of her work with children, which dates back to her past as a childhood speech therapist, Her Majesty has a way of speaking directly to the children and making them able to understand the importance of topics such as the SDGs and the impact they will have on their future.
