ABOUT THE MILLENNIUM FELLOWSHIP - CLASS OF 2019
United Nations Academic Impact and MCN are proud to partner on the Millennium Fellowship. In the three months the application was open in 2019, over 7,000 young leaders applied to join the Class of 2019 on 1,209 campuses across 135 nations. 69 campuses worldwide (just 6%) were selected to host the 805 Millennium Fellows.
During the Millennium Fellowship, Millennium Fellows' dedicated 96,705 hours and their 422 unique projects positively impacted the lives of 564,366 people worldwide.

UNITED NATIONS ACADEMIC IMPACT AND MCN PROUDLY PRESENT EILEEN JOSEPH, A MILLENNIUM FELLOW FOR THE CLASS OF 2019.
Furman University | South Carolina, United States | Advancing SDG 13 & UNAI 9

" I am thrilled to be a Millennium Fellow because of the opportunity to meet like-minded individuals so we can work together to build a just and sustainable future. "
Millennium Fellowship Project: The effectiveness of PES in Costa Rica
I researched Costa Rica's payments for environmental services (PES) program to assess its effectiveness and efficacy. PES is a conservation policy that directly pays landowners for environmentally beneficial land practices. Through my analysis of legal documents, interviews with Costa Rican stakeholders, and a cost-benefit analysis of conservation programs, I found that PES was not able to meet all of its stated goals. Additionally, the program has allowed for the emergence of a local conservation elite, sometimes to the detriment of smallholders the program purportedly benefits. As a popular conservation tool, I am contributing to the universal understanding of the effectiveness of the program through the writing of my research paper and a presentation of my research at a national conference next spring.
About the Millennium Fellow
Eileen Joseph is a senior at Furman University studying both Sustainability Science and Politics and International Affairs to combine her passions of caring for the environment and helping people. In her free time, Eileen enjoys spending time in the great outdoors, participating in campus musical theater productions, dancing, and eating ice cream.





