Daria Kotenkova – SDG 6 Youth Ambassador in Russia: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.
Daria is from Kazan. She has been interested in ecology since the 8th grade and has repeatedly become a winner at various national and international conferences and contests. Thus, Daria is a laureate of the «Eco-heritage of Tatarstan. Let’s save and multiply», the winner of the MGIMO competition of environmental cases «ECO Solution Cup 2018», the VIII International competition of research and applied development of students «Biotope», the All-Russian scientific-practical conference «The future of Russia — in high technology», the Russian National Junior Water Contest and others.
Currently, Daria is studying in MGIMO at the School of Applied Economics and Commerce with specialization on ecological issues. She is an activist of the environmental student club “MGIMO Goes Green” and member of the organizing committee of «ECO Solution Cup 2020». She is also working on a case concerning the mechanisms of political management of the Black Sea and she is developing an educational course for school and university students on the importance of environmentally conscious lifestyle.
– Has the COVID-19 pandemic influenced your views on cooperation between countries?
– In my opinion, the COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly had a strong impact on cooperation between countries in both positive and negative ways. On the one hand, the pandemic has become a call to the international community to act responsibly in the face of global challenges, to unite and develop international cooperation as a response to a major threat. On the other hand, when some states became directly affected by the COVID-19, they were alarmingly too soon to forget about international solidarity and globalization. In any case, the world will no longer be the same after the epidemic. The main task of the international community after the pandemic is to analyze the situation and learn from it.
– What would you advise the UN Secretary-General to do to address the global challenges?
– The coronavirus epidemic has become a serious test for the global community, highlighting all the issues of healthcare systems around the world and pointing out the problem of social inequality. Thus, due to the recent developments, there is a strong need to implement large-scale and comprehensive measures aimed at promoting and strengthening healthcare systems in the most affected countries through the development of a global partnership network. An important factor will be the facilitation of the data transmission system to achieve faster and easier access to reliable information in order to foster cooperation between countries and increase the capacity to respond to emerging threats.