UN Spokesman Dujarric Speaks at JCCC

Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for UN Secretary-General António Guterres, addressed students and community members at Johnson County Community College on crisis communication.

Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in International Relations

Brick and glass academic building on a flat campus lawn beneath an open autumn sky, with a bare flagpole and stone walkway in the foreground. — UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric spoke Oct. 26 at Johnson County Community College about communicating policy and credibility through global crisis. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for UN Secretary-General António Guterres, visited Johnson County Community College on Oct. 26, 2026, for a talk titled "When the World is Watching: Communicating through Global Crisis." He spoke privately with students in the Global Awareness Program and the Model United Nations team.

Why it matters

Dujarric described how he communicates complex policy and maintains credibility when audiences are polarized, drawing on daily live-streamed briefings, official statements, media interviews, and off-the-record conversations. His team advises the Secretary-General and senior UN officials on media interactions, making his perspective relevant to Overland Park readers following international affairs.

The college's Global Awareness Program includes an eight-week orientation and a capstone course on the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The Model UN team's 2026 Outstanding Delegation award at the National Model United Nations Conference spans an 18-year award record, though the attendance size of the talk was not reported.

The players

Stéphane Dujarric

Dujarric is the spokesperson for UN Secretary-General António Guterres and leads the team that provides information to global media and advises senior UN officials on media interactions.

António Guterres

Guterres is the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the organization's top administrative officer, whose office Dujarric represents.

The details

The event was hosted at JCCC and interviewed by student journalists from The Messenger, the college's student newspaper. A UN flag preserved in JCCC's College Archives flew over Kansas City's Wheeler Field on June 27, 1945, during Truman's return to the city.

- June 27, 1945: UN flag flew over Wheeler Field during Truman's return to Kansas City
- 2015: JCCC Model UN hosted a United Nations Foundation regional conference on campus
- Oct. 26, 2026: Dujarric gave the crisis communication talk at JCCC
- 2026: JCCC Model UN earned the Outstanding Delegation award in New York

Historical Thread

The UN flag preserved at JCCC traces back to the era of the 1945 San Francisco UN Conference that founded the organization. Dujarric's 2026 talk on crisis communication shows how the UN's messaging work has continued in the decades since.

Johnson County students and community members gained direct access to a UN spokesperson's perspective on communicating policy under polarization. The visit also brings the college's Global Awareness Program and Model UN team into view for local residents interested in international affairs.

The takeaway

Communicating complex international policy to polarized audiences depends on consistent, transparent channels, from daily briefings to off-the-record conversations. Local students and residents can follow these practices by engaging directly with global affairs programs such as JCCC's Global Awareness Program.