ISRMUN Embracing our diversity is the first step to unity. THE UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC, AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION

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1 THE UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC, AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION

2 Committee: The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Topic A: The Effect of Technology Advancement on Job Opportunities Written by: Paula Garza, Pedro Cortés, Andrea De Anda and Gabriela Bustani I. Committee Background The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is a specialized agency of the UN that currently has 195 Member States. It was first introduced on November 16th, 1945 in the fallout of the Second World War. The United Nations felt the need to not only restore peace through economic and political agreements, but to also make people acknowledge their own morality. Therefore, the main headquarters for this committee were built in 1958 in Paris, France; where they remain today. The agency s objective is to encourage peace and respect among mankind; this unity must be based off of the morals and intellectual solidarity of humanity. In the same way, they emphasize the capacity of obtaining a higher literacy level, better apprehension of artistic perception, scientific service, and the ability to express one's opinion freely. II. Topic information A) History of Topic The advancements made in technology over the past decades have surpassed that which was foreseen years ago. The breadth of technological advancements is seen on a daily basis, affecting

3 humans on multiple levels, one of which being our ways of communication. More than twenty-five percent of teenagers constantly go online and use their smartphones. Currently, three out of four young adults have the access to a smartphone. As a result of this, a recent study conducted by Pew Research Center affirmed that 56% of teens between the ages of 13 to 17 go online various times a day. Technology started with the human desire to make things faster and easier. It dates back to the prehistoric era, where humans decided they needed an easier way to survive. At that time, they did not have the technology that we have today, consequently they started to create tools. Some of these included the blade core, the bone point and the antler harpoon. As the years went by, humans evolved, and so did their tools. About 2.5 million years ago, the first tools were created. This became one of the most innovative creations there was at the time. Then, 500,000 years ago, fire was discovered, and news of its uses spread from village to village. Then, in 8,000 BCE, bricks were created, which greatly improved the infrastructure found in early civilizations. Afterwards, the wheel was made which aided in the creation of the Spinning Jenny, cars and other means of transportation. These are only a few of the millions of inventions that have greatly helped humans to develop and further improve their way of life. The effect of technological advancement on job opportunities has resulted in many minor and major impacts globally, and even though most people do not pay attention to it, it is a major problem that has to be solved immediately. In many countries, such as Switzerland, Sweden, Finland

4 and Argentina, the unemployment rate has risen exponentially. Those with a higher educational level are less likely to be hired than those with a lower educational level, which means that technology has taken jobs from people with a high level of education. Back in the 1800s, 90% of the general population worked on farms. Currently, less than 2% of people work on them. Technology has changed jobs and routines, and soon, many of them will be replaced with machines and the unemployment rate will continue to grow exponentially. Technology has helped the human race with many things, such as infrastructure, healthcare and employment. However, it has also set us back, employment wise. Unique kinds of technology are now used to make food, wash clothes, teach, fix and create things. These jobs once belonged to humans, but are now being taken over by machines. This is only one of the multiple setbacks that technology has granted us. Another of them being the general risks that technology possesses, such as being hacked, phones being stolen, bank accounts being emptied and people stealing the identities of others. While there have been a lot of setbacks as a result of technology, there are many benefits to it as well. Now, people have more access to the unique world we live in, such as medicine, cures and advancements our ancestors could not even dream of discovering. Humans are now able to achieve things electronically, explore outer space, study animals and plants and cure deadly diseases. Without technology, none of what we have achieved could have been possible, and even though it has taken many jobs from humans, it has also helped many people achieve their goals.

5 B) Current Issues Switzerland: In 2013, 79% of the Swiss population, aged 16 to 64, obtained and maintained a regularly paid job. While in 2015, about 80% of the population had a job that could support them. Ever since the 2000s, the use of technology has changed tremendously. As Kamales Lardi, a social media strategist and author, expressed: At the beginning, a significant part of my work was focused on proving that those technologies were business relevant. Over the last two years however, I have seen social media increasingly becoming a part of the mainstream business environment. Companies understand that they need to use it as part of their business communications because this is the way their key stakeholders want to interact." Sweden: In 2015, 8.4% of the population of Sweden was unemployed, but more recently, the rate lowered to 7.5% (Trading Economics). Currently, the teen unemployment rate has increased from 15.98% in 1983 to 19.6% in Sweden is the largest country with immigrant inequality, since 42% of those unemployed in Sweden are immigrants. Additionally, immigrants with jobs earn less than the average Swedish employee. Sweden s Employment Agency states that the rate of unemployed foreigners will increase from 21.8% to 60% by 2017.

6 Finland: The unemployment rate in Finland has recently increased from 7.8% to 9.2%. In the last 20 years, Finland has had an exponential growth in one of its companies, Nokia. Since its growth in 2012, Nokia has laid off 10,000 of its workers. However, in 2014 the company was forced to sell its mobile products to Microsoft. They then announced that the number of jobs would be reduce by two-thirds. The Ministry of Employment and the Economy mentioned that unemployment continues to grow every month. Uganda: In 2012, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics showed that the unemployment rate in the nation was around 64%. In 2013, statistics showed that young people in Sub-Saharan Africa aged 15 to 24 were twice as likely to be unemployed as to any other age unit in the region. About 24% of people with a job are in wage paying jobs while the rest are either household workers or self employed. From 2005 to 2009, the number of unemployed people in Uganda was at about 209,700. However, between 2009 and 2010 this number increased to 480,300. Israel: Israel s unemployment rate of people aged older than 15 fell to 5.9% from the 6.2% the year before. The number of people in the workforce increased from 223,000 people to 3.78 million. Additionally, Israel's unemployment rate rose in May On December 2, 2015, Hebrew Radio,

7 Kol Israel, announced that the number of Jordanian workers in Israel had increased from 150 to 500, in a step by the Israeli Ministry of Labor to prepare for the incoming businesses. With need of so many workers, the 5.9% of unemployed people will be able to reestablish their jobs. Turkey: Based on the findings of the Statistical Institute of Turkey, in March 2016, the unemployment rate was 9.7%, which is equal to 2 million people. In comparison to 2015, it increased by 0.3%, which means that 251 thousand people have now joined the unemployed in the country. Small and medium sized businesses make up 97% of all Turkey s businesses and employ 80% of its workforce. Additionally, there also are several online pages that allow people in Turkey to apply for a job online that will allow you to work at home. C) UN Action The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, along with the United Nations itself, have taken some actions in order to improve the unemployment rates due to the rise of technology in member countries. Additionally, the Information Technology Service (ITS) is supporting technological research to find ways to improve and promote it for a better use. This are only some of the solutions and plans the United Nations has been implementing in order to help with this issue, but it still needs the help of various non-governmental organizations (NGOs), as well as the help of individual countries in order to reach its goal.

8 III. Conclusion It has been shown in many countries worldwide than human manual labour has been replaced with technology. This topic is crucial to discuss and find a solution to since each day more jobs are being lost, which results in poverty. Moreover, not enough people have jobs to maintain their families and themselves. Unfortunately, this can affect each country's economy. If the world collaborates to stop this problem, the unemployment rate will decrease, which will help the global economy as well as slow unemployed and extreme poverty. IV. Essential Questions 1. How is your country contributing to the United Nations on this issue? 2. How is this problem affecting your country? 3. How did this problem start in your delegation? 4. Who is the most affected by this problem in your nation? Is the government doing anything specific to help them? 5. Is your country helping any other nation to solve this issue? 6. What is your delegation s plan to solve this problem? 7. How is your nation using the advancements of technology in the working area? 8. What is your delegation doing to stop unemployment, yet promote technology?

9 V. Resources "35 Facts about Switzerland." Expatica. Web. 17 Feb < country-facts/35-facts-about-switzerland_ html>. "Automation Technology and Its Impact On Jobs." NASDAQ.com. Web. 10 Mar < "Environment Environmental Innovations and Technology." Finland s Environmental Administration. Web. 17 Feb < Resource_efficiency/Environmental_innovations_and_technology>. "Migrants To Make Up 6 In 10 Of Sweden's Unemployed By Breitbart News Web. 10 Mar < "Nokia Decline: Finland's Tech Workers Face Bleak Job Market." Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg. Web. 17 Feb < Singer, Alan. "Problems in Finland and With the P-Tech Education Miracle." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com. Web. 17 Feb < problems-in-finland-and-w_b_ html>.

10 "Sweden's Ugly Immigration Problem." The Globe and Mail. Web. 10 Mar < "Sweden Unemployment Rate Data Chart Calendar Forecast." Trading Economies. Web. 10 Mar < "Syrian Refugees Aggravate Turkey's Unemployment Problem. Al-Monitor: The Pulse of the Middle East Web. 10 Mar < "Teens, Social Media & Technology Overview 2015." Pew Research Center Internet Science Tech RSS Web. 10 Mar < "UNOV." Information Technology Service (ITS). Web. 16 Mar < management_its.html>. "Why Is Israel Recruiting so Many Jordanian Workers? Al-Monitor: The Pulse of the Middle East Web. 16 Mar <

11 "Youth Unemployment Challenge in Uganda and the Role of Employment Policies in Jobs Creation." The Brookings Institution Web. 10 Mar <