NEW YORK, NOVEMBER 19 – Today at the UN International School Board of Trustees meeting with the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, the Italian Permanent Representative, Mariangela Zappia, highlighted Italy’s longstanding support for Italian language courses at UNIS and encouraged stronger linkages between the school and the United Nations to promote multilateralism, the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, and youth empowerment.
The United Nations International School is a private international school in New York City, established in 1947 by families who worked for or were associated with the United Nations. The school was founded to provide an international education, while preserving its students’ diverse cultural heritages. Today, UNIS has over 1600 students in two locations, serving the United Nations, international and New York communities. The main language of instruction is English and all students study French or Spanish, beginning in elementary school. Arabic, Chinese, German, Italian, Japanese and Russian are also taught beginning in the seventh grade at the Manhattan campus. Additional mother tongues may be studied after school.
The school’s Board of Trustees is responsible for the fulfillment of the mission of UNIS and for policies relating to the conduct and management of the affairs of the School. The members of the Board are appointed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Among the Trustees for 2019-2020 is Roberto Pagan, an Italian statistician who works in cost of living comparisons with the International Civil Service Commission of the United Nations. Pagan, who studied statistics and economic sciences at the University of Padova, has worked in various roles in statistics with the United Nations and served in Bangkok and Geneva between 1998 and 2007. Zappia is an honorary Trustees as Permanent Representative of a member state with more than ten students enrolled in the school as well as of a member state that supports language instruction at UNIS, through sponsorship of a teacher or a direct financial contribution. (@OnuItalia)
