Madagascar's Youth - a UNICEF Study

Nombone, 26, has six children, with whom she lives in a rickety hut in Anjado village. Many Madagascans have been left without a livelihood amid the turmoil and economic decline since a coup in March. (Graeme Williams / UNICEF/ World Food Program / October 14, 2009)

Madagascar was a "least developed country" and one of the poorest in the world when political unrest began in January 2009. Now, nearly a year later, conditions are worse and worsening for the majority of its people. Especially hard-hit are children and youth.

I've just read a report for UNICEF published in June called "Pandora's Box: Youth at a Crossroad," which assesses the status of youth in relation to the socio-political crisis in Madagascar. It's a disturbing picture of societal breakdown related to political unrest, reduced jobs and income, and the hopes, fears, beliefs, expectations and experiences of the mainly urban youth who were interviewed. Worth a read. It will take some while for the country to be restored to peace.

Robyn Dixon of the L.A. Times has also reported on the status of youth in her Los Angeles Times article "Madagascar's children face hunger, abuse and neglect."

Perspectives on the International Criminal Court & US Membership

UNA Westchester will present a discussion on the International Criminal Court in cooperation wih Pace Law School on December 1, 2009 at 5:00 p.m. John Washburn, Director and Convener of the American NGO Coalition for the ICC and Prof. Jide Nzalibe, Visiting Professor at NYU and Professor of Law at Northwestern School of Law, will speak. Prof. Alexander Greenawalt of Pace Unversity Law School will moderate the meeting, which will focus on the different views of the advantages and disadvantages of the Interational Criminal Court and US membership in it.

Co-sponsors include Pace Law School,Citizens for Global Situations, Unitarian Universalist UN Office and the Westchester Bar Association. The meeting will be held at Pace Law School - Preston Hall - Tudor Room, at 52 North Broadway, White Plains, NY. All are welcome. A question and answer period will follow the pogram and refreshments will be served.
For more information, contact: philreynolds60@hotmail.com ; call him at 914-472-5490.

Exciting Times / Challenging Times

I'm grateful and honored to be the President-Elect of the UNA Southern New York State Division, and to work with the team that includes Catherine D. White and Marcia Brewster, Vice Presidents, Margaret Shannon, Secretary, and Lee H. Bloom, Treasurer, as well as the rest of the UNA Southern New York State Division Board.

I've been approached in the last few weeks by several prospective UNA volunteers who are offering their time and talent to the UNA Southern New York State Division. In this new era of U.S. multilateralism, it's exciting to meet people who have found us on-line and want to become part of the UNA-USA mission to support the United Nations.

Ambassador Tom Miller, who has been President of UNA-USA just since May, has asked Chapters, Divisions and individual members to step up their volunteer support as well as financial support, so that we can together bring to the American public the important news of the important work of the UN. Tom's remarks and Jeff Laurenti's remarks to the Annual Meeting of the UNA Southern NY State Division are posted on our new Youtube channel: www.youtube.com/UNAsouthernNYStatedv

Several of us will be calling UNA friends to encourage greater involvement as well as the needed financial support. I hope you will step up, volunteer your time and enthusiasm, and lend your strong support to the United Nations. Email or call me to become part of this volunteer effort or just to learn more. jinka.stillman@gmail.com

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

UNA Connecticut Division and Connecticut Post Publish Supplement for the Schools

The Connecticut Post has published a supplement "The United Nations and You" for UN Day 2009. This Newspaper in Education supplement was spearheaded by Division member Mary Keane and includes a welcome letter from Division president Dr. Joseph Baxer. Lafayette College senior Alina Stelman served as editor. The supplement has been distributed to schools in Bridgeport, as well as electronically. Hard copies distributed by the Division included the excellent annual Peace Calendar. Congratulations to all involved!

I particularly enjoyed a recipe for "Peace Pudding", which starts with "In a large bowl, gently sift 1 c. tolerance, 1 c. respect, 1/2 c. empathy, 1 tsp. patience...."

The Supplement includes articles on the United Nations, Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, US Ambassador Susan Rice, and pieces on a number of Connecticut people who have devoted their time to global issues and the United Nations. Other articles are on Sports and Peace, Model UN, UNA-USA Student Alliance, and UN Peacekeepers. Some articles first appeared in supplements produced by The Journal News Newspaper in Education program.

If the supplement becomes available on-line, this blog will let you know!

Development jobs

I came across a very interesting resource for international development jobs that might be of particular interest to UNA Young Professionals for International Cooperation, or anyone seeking employment in the international development area. There seems to be a broad range of positions, in the US and UK and generally internationally.
http://www.indevjobs.org/subscribe.htm

UNA-USA Southern New York State Division Elects Officers

At its Annual Meeting on October 20, at the National Arts Club in Manhattan, the UNA-USA Southern New York State Division elected officers for 2010-2011. Elected are: Jeanne Betsock Stillman, President; Catherine D. White and Marcia Brewster, Vice Presidents, Margaret Shannon, Secretary, and Lee H. Bloom, Treasurer. The two-year terms begin January 1, 2010.
You can double click on the photo to get a larger size.

Ambassador Tom Miller, President of UNA-USA, spoke of his vision for UNA-USA and especially work with the Chapters and Divisions. He mentioned that the strength of UNA-USA is in its 12,000+ members, and its 135 chapters. The challenge is to educate the American people about the UN, and to work on certain policy issues. He concluded by saying, "We have the wind at our backs, with an administration that 'gets' multilateral diplomacy, and the challenge for us is to take advantage of this."

Jeffrey Laurenti, UNA-USA Board member representing the Mid-Atlantic Region, spoke on international policy issues before the Obama administration as well as how chapters, divisions and individuals can be strong advocates for a positive US policy vis-a-vis the United Nations. Laurenti is senior fellow and director of foreign policy programs at The Century Foundation.

Dr. Joseph Baxer, president of the UNA Connecticut Division, spoke about his travel to South Korea to attend the International Plenary of the World Federaion of United Nations Associations (WFUNA), held in Seoul from August 10-12, 2009. He, Ambassador Miller and Jeff Laurenti were part of a 10-person U.S. delegation to the conference. He gave some of the history of WFUNA, and UNA-USA's important role in it. He urged that chapters and divisions should consider partner relationships with other countries' UNAs. Bilateral relationships were good, but chapters and divisions could also become involved. For example, the Connecticut Division had for some time partnered with the Dominican Republic.

Patricia Sacristan, Chair of the Division's Young Professionals for International Cooperation group, spoke of the upcoming travel by YPIC members to Haiti, as part of their flagship program, The Haiti Expedition Project. The group planned to fly on UN Day to Port-au-Prince, and to return to New York on November 1. They planned to meet with UN, Inter-American Development Bank and other officials and to volunteer with several non-profit organizations.

For more and links to photos, see the UNA Southern New York State Division website.

UNA-USA Student Alliance Program

The very exciting UNA-USA Student Alliance Program is successfully re-launched, with groups starting up at colleges, universities, high schools and middle schools around the country, including in Westchester County and elsewhere in New York State.

The program is designed to meet "the needs of today’s globally minded middle school, high school, and undergraduate college students. UNA-USA Student Alliance is dedicated to educating, inspiring, and mobilizing American students to support the principles and vital work of the United Nations, strengthening the United Nations system, promoting constructive United States leadership in that system, and achieving the goals of the United Nations Charter. With the spirit of change in the air, UNA-USA's Student Alliance seeks to engage students in a nationwide network of motivated individuals, student advocacy groups, international affairs clubs, and Model UN teams who stand poised to collectively sound their voices and make their opinions heard amongst their peers, in their communities, across the nation and around the world! President Obama and his top officials have pledged to strengthen America’s global leadership through a renewed emphasis on international cooperation, diplomacy, and active participation at the United Nations."

The four areas of focus currently are: "Human Rights and International Justice," "Building a Consensus on Climate Change," "Strengthening the United Nations," plus a UNA-USA Student Alliance group can identify a priority interest of their own. Setting up a group is easy, and student leaders can participate in leadership training through periodic telephone calls with UNA-USA leaders and others. For more information, go to: http://www.unausa.org/studentalliance#