INTRODUCTION TO THE UNITED NATIONS
Since its formation in 1982, PCI has worked with, and for, the United Nations, creating books, conferences, seminars, broadcasts and other events to promote UN goals to youth and the wider public around the world. But what is the UN? Where did it come from? How does it work? Why is it important? PCI’s resources help you answer those questions in a fun and accessible way.
INTRODUCTION
What is the UN? Where did it come from? How does it work? Why is it important? Peace Child International has worked with, and for, the United Nations since its formation, winning the UN Peace Messenger prize in 1986, and being awarded Consultative Status with UN Ecosoc in 1997. Each of the following are learning resources that explain, in simple language, pictures or stage scenes, how the UN works, how it has developed over the years and how young people can re-imagine the way it works so that it can actually deliver some of its magnificent global ambitions – like “saving succeeding generations from the scourge of war;” and achieving “health, education and decent work for all,” + “Halting and reversing climate change, biodiversity loss and planetary pollution….” All these, and many other threats to life on earth remain for the generation passing through our schools today to solve: the least we can do is to educate them about those threats and introduce them to the United Nations – the only institution that has the potential to resolve them in a global way.
- Our 1995 book, a Children’s History of the Past, Present and Future of the UN (sponsored by the UN Secretariat) celebrated the UN’s 50th Anniversary;
“During Covid, Peace Child International presented
this Online Global Concert to remember the founding of the UN in San Francisco,
and pay tribute to some of the Heroes and Heroines of the UN’s long and
remarkable history.”
- Our 2020 online Concert marked the UN’s 75th with a look back at some key personalities and moments in the UN’s history:
- 1945 - The Founding of the UN in San Francisco introduced by Bay Area resident and long-time Peace Child Intl. Music Director and Exchange Programme manager, Steve Riffkin;
Steve Riffkin San Francisco Music Director and Exchange Programme Manager
- 1948 – Eleanor Roosevelt & the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; an appreciation by the Actress, Jane Alexander, who played Eleanor in two films about her life;
- 1953-61 – Dag Hammarskjold – Secretary General of the UN: a tribute by the actor, Dominic Maffham who played the Boy in the original Royal Albert Hall Peace Child; includes a reading of some of Hammarskjold’s moving poetry, Markings, published after his death;
Eleanor Roosevelt & the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; an appreciation by the Actress, Jane Alexander, who played Eleanor in two films about her life
A tribute to Dag Hammarskjold, Secretary General of the UN by actor Dominic Maffham
- 1980-95 – James Grant – legendary Director of UNICEF who transformed the agency into the world’s major Children’s protection agency, and coordinated the passing of the Convention on the Rights of the Child; remembered by his deputy at UNICEF, Sir Richard Jolly;
- 1969-2003 – Sergio Vieira de Mello charismatic UN servant and legendary Peace negotiator tragically assassinated in Iraq – one of over 3,900 UN staff members killed in the service of the UN; here remembered by Samantha Power and Fabrizio Hochschild;
A tribute to James Grant, legendary Director of UNICEF by Sir Richard Jolly
A tribute to Sergio Vieira de Mello charismatic UN servant and peace negotiator by Samanta Power and Fabrizio Hochschild
- 1962-2006 – Kofi Annan, Secretary-General who accepted the UN’s Nobel Peace Prize; Morgan Freeman, the puppets of Sesame Street and Phoebe Malloch-Brown pay tribute to the man and the archetypal UN servant who rose through the ranks to the top job;
- 1945-2020 – Actress Liz Crowther pays tribute to the tens of thousands of unsung heroes of the UN – the UN servants who have uprooted themselves from their home countries to do the work of the UN around the world – as peace-keepers, as teachers, aid workers, nurses, emergency workers;
Morgan Freeman, the puppets of Sesame Street and Phoebe Malloch-Brown pay tribute to Kofi Annan
Actress Liz Crowther pays tribute to the tens of thousands of unsung heroes of the UN
- Stas Namin wishes the UN “Happy Birthday” from Gorky Park, Moscow where his musical setting of the Yevtushenko poem, Revolt, is a feature of his Russian version of Peace Child.
“I hate the UN!” – soldiers reflect on the impact of UN Peace-Keeping on their careers
A tribute to Sergio Vieira de Mello charismatic - Stas Namin wishes the UN “Happy Birthday” from Gorky Park, Moscow where his musical setting of the Yevtushenko poem, Revolt, is a feature of his Russian version of Peace Child.
- Be the Change – the report on our first World Youth Congress: the Millennium Young People’s Congress – established and explained a set of priorities for the 21st Century which provide a robust foundation for thinking about priorities for future-proofing legislation and policies for generations yet to come;
Beyond these, PCI is developing a number of ideas for school-based and media programmes to engage the general public and improve their understanding of why the United Nations is so important our future – and even to the very survival of life on earth. So please follow up any work you do on this section with some action programmes from the Next Section on how the UN needs to be reformed in the Lifetime of the young people passing through our schools and universities today.