The Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS) Community

The Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS) connects over 900 individual and institutional members who share a commitment to the values expressed in the United Nations Charter. Its purpose is to stimulate and support research and teaching on the role of the United Nations. Members are based in over fifty countries with a variety of ideas, interests and professional backgrounds. ACUNS holds annual meetings, summer workshops as well as special conferences, workshops and seminars, and helps bring together researchers, teachers, practitioners, and other individuals interested in issues of international relations.

The Challenge

With such a dispersed membership, ACUNS had no way to efficiently and effectively reach out to their globally distributed network of researchers to promote events, publications and membership. Knowledge sharing was difficult because they did not have a system in place to promote membership stories, expertise and interests. The cultural, geographic and social differences between members, especially between individuals and groups from the North and South, further impeded successful communications and coordination.