A side event hosted by the Blue Tree Foundation at the 61st Session of the United Nations Commission for Social Development is held at the UN headquarters in New York, Monday. (Blue Tree Foundation)

The Blue Tree Foundation, an institution for victims of school violence, held a meeting Monday on the sidelines of the 61st Session of the United Nations Commission for Social Development, to discuss the prospect of sustainable development in the era of digital transformation.

The 61st plenary session of the UN Commission for Social Development was held online and offline at the UN headquarters in New York from Feb. 6 to Wednesday with the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations and European Youth Information and Counselling Agency.

BTF is the only Korean nongovernmental organization to host side event of the plenary session this year. In order to host side events alongside the plenary session, NGOs must go through a rigorous qualification review process.

The event's theme was “Achieving Digital Well-being and Addressing Digital Inequality for Sustainable Employment and Decent Work of Youth.” During the first half of the session, the prospects of sustainable development in an era of digital transformation triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic was discussed. The second half of the session focused on the countermeasures to achieve digital well-being in the post-pandemic era, especially about the resolution of the cyber violence.

Meanwhile, PUNCO, a UN teen delegation selected by BTF, participated in the plenary session and side events, expressed various opinions and communicated with international speakers.

BTF is a South Korean NGO specializing in youth violence prevention that has been devoted to preventing violence and bullying in schools for 28 years. The foundation was granted a special consultation position by the UN Economic and Social Council in 2009. Every year, foundation members attend the plenary session of the UN Commission for Social Development and deliver a message to the international community to prevent and resolve school violence and cyberviolence.