Reflections

2009 is a real year of change for America and US-UN relations and also now for UNA-USA. Dr. Thomas J. Miller, recently named UNA-USA's new president, will take his position on May 11. He's a former U.S. Ambassador to Bosnia & Herzegovina and to Greece, taught at George Mason University, and, most recently, was CEO of Plan International (formerly Foster Parents Plan), a large non-profit with headquarters in the UK which works with children and their families. Tom is an advocate of the Model UN Program, having established one in Washington, DC, and another in Bosnia & Herzegovina.

The National Convention, scheduled for June 12-14 in Washington, DC, will give an opportunity for UNA members, Council of Organization members, and others from throughout the country to meet and get to know him. Chapter / National Relations will be an important topic for discussion, and I am especially interested in the development of outreach to students through the Student Alliance program, which is being revamped. I understand that Tom is a strong advocate for Chapters, and plans to visit many in the coming months. In June I'll be stepping down from four years as a Middle Atlantic Representative to the Council of Chapters and Divisions Steering Committee, but will remain active with the Southern New York State Division of UNA. For more, see http://www.unausa.org/ and http://www.unasouthernny.org/

UNA-USA, like most non-profits, is experiencing shortfalls in fundraising. How to take advantage of the new national spirit toward working multilaterally is bound to be a major focus of discussions at the Convention.

Meanwhile, the Public-Private Alliance Foundation is planning an event on ethanol, especially sugar-cane based ethanol, that will take place at the UN on May 7. This will be PPAF's third annual Partners Against Poverty event, which will bring together people from the business world, UN agencies, non-profits, academic institutions and foundations and others. The purpose is to develop new business models that will contribute to reaching the Millennium Developmen Goals and help people lift themselves out of poverty. The website is: http://www.ppafoundation.org/ Focusing on a small, high-level group of participants, PPAF expects the event to result in practical actions toward sustainable development that will benefit local economies and boost peoples' incomes as well as improving availability of biofuel.

PPAF's Executive Director, David Stillman, will speak at a UNA Council of Organizations event at the Church Center for the UN on April 23. The panel's topic is The Changing Nature of Corporate-Civil Society Partnerships in the Global Economic Downturn. Olajobi Makinwa, Civil Society Coordinator, UN Global Compact will also speak. The third speaker is Tom Kadala, President of ResearchPAYS, which is partnering with PPAF on the Ethanol event.

It is fascinating to be involved in work that can directly affect the top universal issue of climate change through promoting sustainable development, and at the same time improve lives of families. Corporate social responsibility, research-based decision-making, ecology, globalism, technology, family economics, the global financial crisis, social and cultural preservation, two billion people living in poverty, international flow of capital and goods are all relevant topics. Passions run high around all these issues and their political and economic ramifications, and the resulting debates and actions are vital to our future.