YPIC's Haiti Expedition Project Launched

Those of you who read the UNA Southern NY Division website will see a longer article about the Young Professionals for International Cooperation (YPIC) recent fundraiser to launch their Haiti Project. Congratulations to YPIC and all who were involved. On March 25, YPIC brought together over 140 members and friends for this launch, a cocktail party held at the 92Y Tribeca center. Please take a little time to read about YPIC's Flagship Program: The Haïti Expedition Project , which is worth supporting.

David Stillman and I greatly enjoyed the event (though we don't fit in the 21-40 age group). The slide show was both inviting and poignant. The program was just long enough to invigorate an audience to become involved. Conor Bohan spoke about HELP, the program he started, which gives scholarships to help some of the poorest Haitian students to attend college. Martina Bruno, a Haitian-American singer, treated the audience with "Summertime" and with a lively call-and-reponse piece.

On a personal note, I worked in Haiti in public health, most recently about 15 years ago; David has traveled there twice in the past three years, and is currently developing two projects related to Haiti. We were the lucky winners of two of the four pieces of artwork that were part of the silent auction -- both by Richard Rapoport, a peace artist whose website is http://www.peacefreedom.com/ The art pictured above I purchased at a street market in Port-au-Prince.

YPIC Chair Patricia Sacristan, VP Michele Chaplin, Kevin Jamison, director of YPIC's European Affairs Committee and members of several other committees were responsible for the excellent planning and implementation of the event. Brava and Bravo!

John Carey's United Nations Week blog

John Carey, a member of the United Nations Association Westchester Chapter, is now posting on his blog his weekly notes on the TV program he hosts on Rye TV (NY) and Greenwich CT TV. He is former Vice President, American Society of International Law; Board of Editors, American Journal of International Law; Alternate U.S. Member, UN Human Rights Sub-Commission; TV producer, United Nations Week: News and Views. He is also a former Judge and former Mayor of the city of Rye, NY.

His contact information is:

UNITED NATIONS WEEK
News and Views
Rye NY Channels 76 and 33
Greenwich CT Channel 79
John Carey, Editor
J_PCarey@verizon.net
http://unweek.blogspot.com

To give an example, his posting for 3/29/09 starts with an analysis of the upcoming Durban Conference on Race (full title below). He writes:

"Durban Review next month: should we participate?

Next month many nations will gather for a look back to the 2001 Durban Declaration and pronounce themselves again on the subject of racism. Up to now, Washington has not said we will attend. In 2001, we and Israel walked out, and I have been trying to figure out why.

An “outcome document” for next month’s meeting has been under discussion for quite some time. In the latest draft, dated March 17th, there are certain provisions that bear examination, such as #10 referring to “Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, Christianophobia[1] and anti-Arabism.” Paragraph 11 raises free speech issues since it states that certain advocacy shall be prohibited by law. On the other hand, paragraph 64 “Recalls that the Holocaust must never be forgotten, . . .”

The outcome document speaks in favor of the rights of indigenous peoples, for instance in paragraphs 42 and 43.

But the real problem for those who are reluctant to have anything to do with the Review Conference may be found in the very first paragraph of the outcome document. It reads: “Reaffirms the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA) as it was adopted at the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (WCAR) in 2001.” This reaffirmation means one must study the DDPA, as I have done. Is there anything in the DDPA that poisons the outcome document?"

He goes on to analyze the related issues. To read more, visit his blog.

Good going, John!!!

The Century Foundation Posts Mid-Atlantic Conference Video

You can view the video feed from the February 6th "Year of Change" UNA Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference on The Century Foundation website at http://www.tcf.org/list.asp?type=EV&pubid=246. Also look for a 5-minute "highlight moments" video from the morning session, as well as the results of the survey questionnaire about foreign policy priorities that participants have recommended to President Obama.

Thomas Friedman on the US Economy and Global Warming

Thomas Friedman's column in the New York Times on March 8, 2009, depicts 2008 as the beginning of "The Great Disruption" -- a momentus era which reforms the global economy and particularly that of the United States. It's worth reading - the article is called "The Great Inflection". It seems that historians may view 2008 as the antithesis to Aldous Huxley's "year of our Ford 632".

Blogs to Watch

I was wondering who out there is blogging about UNA, and was happy to find a number of brave souls. Look to the right and below the UN headlines those I've been able to find. UNA Michigan is maintaining a blog, as is Sultana Ali of the UNA Greater Orlando Chapter, who started one for the Young Professionals for International Cooperation (YPIC) group. Sultana's is called "a single flame". The United Nations Association Eastbay Chapter (Berkeley, California) is maintaining an interesting, substantive blog. UNA Iowa has also started a blog. The UNA Midpeninsula (California) Board also has an impressive blog. Just found another blog, from UNA Columbus (Ohio). I look forward to reading more from colleagues around the country.

I was delighted and surprised to find a blog by Bono and Bobby Shriver, on the Red campaign. A recent article notes that UNA-USA honored the Red campaign in October 2008.

If you know of other UNA bloggers, let me know! Also - I've just added Nasa's Earth Observatory Image of the day (as a gadget, below right), to help us focus on the critical issue of climate.

Commission on the Status of Women, March 2-13, 2009

Over 4,000 women and men are expected to converge on the United Nations in the coming days. The 53rd session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women will take place from March 2 to 13, 2009, in New York. A few related events start on February 28. The main theme will be “The equal sharing of responsibilities between women and men, including caregiving in the context of HIV/AIDS” The session will be attended by representatives of Member States, UN entities and of ECOSOC-accredited non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from all regions of the world. A "Backgrounder" is available.

This is a Complete List of the NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) Parallel events to the official UN meetings. Over 200 events are scheduled. Many take place in the Church Center for the UN, while others will take place in the UN General Assembly building.

Here is the Official Documentation of the conference. It includes statements of the UN Secretary-General, which summarize the status and thinking across the UN System with regard to the main topic and related topics, and also statements by selected NGOs in Consultative Status with the UN Economic and Social Council, including, for example, Zonta International, the International Planned Parenthood Federation, the World Association of Girl Guides and Scouts, the International Federation of University Women and others.

Philanthropy and Global Public Health

Yesterday (February 23) I attended a Preparatory meeting for the 2009 High-level Segment of the UN Economic and Social Council on the theme of Philanthropy and Global Public Health. The meeting explored collaborative opportunities in advancing progress in maternal and girls' health and neglected tropical diseases. The aim was to share best practices and lessons learned and to build new innovative partnerships and alliances to address the Millennium Development Goals. Links to websites of co-convenors of the meeting are available.

It was brought out that half a million women die annually of consequences of childbirth, many from postpartum hemorrhage. That number hasn't changed in a decade or two (but denotes some progress, as the global population has increased). Another 300 million are debilitated by childbirth. The statistics are horrifying; young women, aged 19 and below, are particularly vulnerable.

Excellent papers were prepared before the event, and are available on the UN ECOSOC Website:
Background note:
Leadership for Health: Harnessing Business Skills with Social Needs

Issues note on Improving the Health Outcomes of Women and Girls

and
Issue note on Raising the Profile of Neglected Tropical Diseases

A UN webcast of the event is available. Look for the February 23 Special Event.

President Bill Clinton synthesized the meeting, giving a well-received keynote closing address in which he offered his ideas about the direction of philanthropy in the current tough economic situation globally. His remarks start at about 2 hours 48 minutes and I encourage you to watch.