Students and professionals gathered Friday at the university’s ninth annual International Development Conference, an event organized by student group UNICEF-Georgetown.

The conference focused on development of universal education for children worldwide. The keynote speaker for the conference, United Nations Children’s Fund Chief of Staff Cynthia McCaffrey, said that raising awareness of global poverty was the most important mission for college students.

“You have a voice,” she said. “You are among the smartest people in the world, and you have to take that to the people making the decisions.”

Georgetown’s chapter has raised over $6,000 for UNICEF this year, according to President Susan O’Rourke (COL ’12).

“The group and I are committed to carrying on UNICEF’s mission,” she said.

The conference began with workshop sessions in which speakers shared their perspectives on various topics relating to international development. Speakers included World Bank Senior Governance Officer Susan Hume, International Center for Religion and Diplomacy Reseach Associate Henry Burbridge and Vice President of Afghan education for A Better Tomorrow Nahid Aziz.

After the workshops, speakers and students gathered in the Copley Formal Lounge for a dinner and McCaffery’s talk.

Emphasizing the importance of equity in UNICEF’s work, McCaffrey said the group must focus on the poor in both urban and remote rural areas of developing nations.

“Reaching every kid is just the right thing to do,” she said.

McCaffrey concluded her speech with an anecdote about a visit to a center for former child soldiers in the Congo.

According to McCaffery, the teenagers living there told her that they wanted to focus on the future, not their brutal pasts. She thought they would ask her for a new truck or latrine, but, they only wanted to thank her.

“We ask you to tell everyone you meet ‘Thank you,'” McCaffery described them saying. “To UNICEF, to the United States: We will not let you down.'”

Janine Duffy (COL ’14), technology chair for UNICEF-Georgetown, stressed that the opportunity to connect with leaders was important.

“We’re actually interacting with professionals in the field and learning about their hands-on experience,” she said.