ABOUT THE MILLENNIUM FELLOWSHIP - CLASS OF 2022
United Nations Academic Impact and MCN are proud to partner on the Millennium Fellowship. Over 31,000 young leaders on 2,400+ campuses across 140+ nations applied to join the Class of 2022. 200+ campuses worldwide (just 8%) were selected to host the 3,000+ Millennium Fellows.
UNITED NATIONS ACADEMIC IMPACT AND MCN PROUDLY PRESENT JOHN REILLY BURGESS, A MILLENNIUM FELLOW FOR THE CLASS OF 2022.
University of Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania, United States | Advancing SDG 10 & UNAI 1
" People are my passion. Their stories, creative pursuits, shared values, and ability to lead a life of dignity and equity. By uplifting intenational human rights by pursuing humanitiy, love, and authunticity. By being involved with the Milleniuim Fellowship, I am excited to engage with the UN Sustainable Development Goals to make tangible impact with in a variety of fields. It will improve by oranization and planning skills from my Fellow change makers. "
Millennium Fellowship Project: iDev: the International Development Organization at Penn
My millennium project is the founding of the Penn International Development Collective. As a student on the University of Pennsylvania’s campus interested in international sustainable development, I’ve found a lack of community for students interested in this social sector. Having a structure for mobilization is one of the most pivotal steps to success. This assembly of students will be launched next semester (January 2023). It will be structured around the sustainable development goals of the U.N. and serve as a framework for the ensuing years for project organization. The Penn International Development Collective will contribute to SDG #17: Partnerships for the goals. We will work on semester-long projects with different international development firms, global non-profits, and grassroots campaigns around the world. We will also sort into regional groups so that each issue can be tackled by a different group of people engaging in that area. It will also be an opportunity to host leadership in international social entrepreneurship, sustainable development, etc.
Our inaugural project will be associated with SDG #7 and #8. During the summer of 2022, a fellowship took me to South Africa where I met with numerous community leaders, grassroots organizations, and stakeholders. Seeing firsthand the energy and economic crisis in many of the townships there was shocking. I hope that the PIDC can partner with organizations like House of Basadi, Power Africa, and Uthando to help gain awareness of the crisis of energy inequality and weak economic markets and provide them with funding for the development of technology, human, and physical capital. The cornerstone of our work will truly be combating Inequality (SDG #10).
About the Millennium Fellow
John Burgess is a young community organizer and changemaker. A champion of developing his home community in Massachusetts, United States, as well as the greater international community, he is a student of the world. John is a student at the University of Pennsylvania located in Philadelphia, Pennslvania where he is studying International Relations, human rights, and development economics, on a pre-law track. His drive for community and change making comes from unique experiences he had in high school, where he organized a several service campaigns surrounding hunger, clothing access, veterens affairs, and equitable education development. Most recently, he traveled to South Africa to study grassroots social mobiliazation in a divided nation. He is excited to give his career new bredth with the UN Millennium Fellowship and give back to the Philadelphia area and beyond.
