This year has been a very interesting year for me, filled with opportunities that I have been very grateful for, and work that I have found interesting and challenging. This week, I had the opportunity to attend two events at the United Nations Headquarters, the Climate Change Summit, and the General Debate of the 69th Session of the General Assembly.
Since I will be doing work for the General Assembly next week, I got an all access pass (which actually isn't all access, but enough to get you into the General Assembly Hall). I'm not a morning person, but given the opportunity I dragged myself out of bed early to catch the opening ceremony of the Climate Change Summit, and then the opening of the General Debate (which both began about an hour before my normal work time of 9:30 am).
During General Assembly, the heads of state of the members of the United Nations come to New York to give speeches about various topics, such as women's rights, climate change, terrorism, to name a few. The Climate Change Summit followed the March for Climate Change in New York, during which hundreds of thousands of people marched along Central Park to demonstrate their support for policies to combat climate change.
It's pretty easy to tell who is new to the United Nations, and who is not. Those who have been working at the organization, especially the higher ranking, aren't particularly excited about the heads of state. It means added security, blocked of streets, and more difficulty and stress just walking to and from the buildings. It also means that restaurants are crowded, streets are more likely to be lined with protesters, and the threat of politically motivated violence is augmented. For new comers like me however, going to the General Assembly is like going to the Oscars. I was so excited, and even overwhelmed, to be able to see the Presidents and Heads of State of so many countries. The Presidents of the US, UK, France, South Korea, and many others gave speeches. I haven't heard from the Heads of State of Israel and of Palestine, but they are scheduled to speak later this week.
Ban Ki-Moon, the Secretary-General, opened both meetings. The opening ceremony of the Climate Change had Al Gore and Leonardo DiCaprio as speakers. A poet from the Marshall Islands gave a great reading of her poem to her daughter concerning rising sea levels, the effects of climate change, and hope that today's generation could prevent worse disasters from occurring. She is the only speaker that got a standing ovation from the entire General Assembly--not even Ban Ki Moon, Barack Obama, or any other speaker got that honor.
The GA Hall was the most crowded when Obama was scheduled to speak. I was very impressed by his speech before the General Debate. While the full text can be found online, some of my favorite excerpts are below:
"I often tell young people in the United States that this is the best time in human history to be born, for you are more likely than ever before to be literate, to be healthy, and to be free to pursue your dreams...
I’d like to focus on two defining questions at the root of many of our challenges– whether the nations here today will be able to renew the purpose of the UN’s founding; and whether we will come together to reject the cancer of violent extremism...
We are here because others realized that we gain more from cooperation than conquest. One hundred years ago, a World War claimed the lives of many millions, proving that with the terrible power of modern weaponry, the cause of empire leads to the graveyard...
Russia’s actions in Ukraine challenge this post-war order...this is a vision of the world in which might makes right – a world in which one nation’s borders can be redrawn by another, and civilized people are not allowed to recover the remains of their loved ones because of the truth that might be revealed...
We have reaffirmed that the United States is not and never will be at war with Islam. Islam teaches peace. Muslims the world over aspire to live with dignity and a sense of justice. And when it comes to America and Islam, there is no us and them – there is only us, because millions of Muslim Americans are part of the fabric of our country...
No children – anywhere – should be educated to hate other people. There should be no more tolerance of so-called clerics who call upon people to harm innocents because they are Jewish, Christian or Muslim. It is time for a new compact among the civilized peoples of this world to eradicate war at its most fundamental source: the corruption of young minds by violent ideology."
There are probably more, and I encourage everyone to read the entire speech. I feel very proud to have Obama as President of my home country. Perhaps because it is towards the end of his second term, he is able to be more daring and take stands that he otherwise might not have due to desire for re-election.
This week I am tired, but am feeling grateful and fortunate. Since high school, I wanted to work in international relations, and today I find myself at the center of international relations--at the United Nations Headquarters, with world leaders who are in the process of making history. Today, I really feel as though I am transitioning from pursuing my career dreams to living them. I still have a very long way to go, and a lot of pursuing left to do--but for now I am happy and appreciating the good fortune.
Since I will be doing work for the General Assembly next week, I got an all access pass (which actually isn't all access, but enough to get you into the General Assembly Hall). I'm not a morning person, but given the opportunity I dragged myself out of bed early to catch the opening ceremony of the Climate Change Summit, and then the opening of the General Debate (which both began about an hour before my normal work time of 9:30 am).
During General Assembly, the heads of state of the members of the United Nations come to New York to give speeches about various topics, such as women's rights, climate change, terrorism, to name a few. The Climate Change Summit followed the March for Climate Change in New York, during which hundreds of thousands of people marched along Central Park to demonstrate their support for policies to combat climate change.
It's pretty easy to tell who is new to the United Nations, and who is not. Those who have been working at the organization, especially the higher ranking, aren't particularly excited about the heads of state. It means added security, blocked of streets, and more difficulty and stress just walking to and from the buildings. It also means that restaurants are crowded, streets are more likely to be lined with protesters, and the threat of politically motivated violence is augmented. For new comers like me however, going to the General Assembly is like going to the Oscars. I was so excited, and even overwhelmed, to be able to see the Presidents and Heads of State of so many countries. The Presidents of the US, UK, France, South Korea, and many others gave speeches. I haven't heard from the Heads of State of Israel and of Palestine, but they are scheduled to speak later this week.
Ban Ki-Moon, the Secretary-General, opened both meetings. The opening ceremony of the Climate Change had Al Gore and Leonardo DiCaprio as speakers. A poet from the Marshall Islands gave a great reading of her poem to her daughter concerning rising sea levels, the effects of climate change, and hope that today's generation could prevent worse disasters from occurring. She is the only speaker that got a standing ovation from the entire General Assembly--not even Ban Ki Moon, Barack Obama, or any other speaker got that honor.
The GA Hall was the most crowded when Obama was scheduled to speak. I was very impressed by his speech before the General Debate. While the full text can be found online, some of my favorite excerpts are below:
"I often tell young people in the United States that this is the best time in human history to be born, for you are more likely than ever before to be literate, to be healthy, and to be free to pursue your dreams...
I’d like to focus on two defining questions at the root of many of our challenges– whether the nations here today will be able to renew the purpose of the UN’s founding; and whether we will come together to reject the cancer of violent extremism...
We are here because others realized that we gain more from cooperation than conquest. One hundred years ago, a World War claimed the lives of many millions, proving that with the terrible power of modern weaponry, the cause of empire leads to the graveyard...
Russia’s actions in Ukraine challenge this post-war order...this is a vision of the world in which might makes right – a world in which one nation’s borders can be redrawn by another, and civilized people are not allowed to recover the remains of their loved ones because of the truth that might be revealed...
We have reaffirmed that the United States is not and never will be at war with Islam. Islam teaches peace. Muslims the world over aspire to live with dignity and a sense of justice. And when it comes to America and Islam, there is no us and them – there is only us, because millions of Muslim Americans are part of the fabric of our country...
No children – anywhere – should be educated to hate other people. There should be no more tolerance of so-called clerics who call upon people to harm innocents because they are Jewish, Christian or Muslim. It is time for a new compact among the civilized peoples of this world to eradicate war at its most fundamental source: the corruption of young minds by violent ideology."
There are probably more, and I encourage everyone to read the entire speech. I feel very proud to have Obama as President of my home country. Perhaps because it is towards the end of his second term, he is able to be more daring and take stands that he otherwise might not have due to desire for re-election.
This week I am tired, but am feeling grateful and fortunate. Since high school, I wanted to work in international relations, and today I find myself at the center of international relations--at the United Nations Headquarters, with world leaders who are in the process of making history. Today, I really feel as though I am transitioning from pursuing my career dreams to living them. I still have a very long way to go, and a lot of pursuing left to do--but for now I am happy and appreciating the good fortune.
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| United Nations Headquarters |
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| President of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff--I don't have high quality photos of the others, unfortunately, since I left my camera home the first day, and the second day I could only stay for a few speakers. |
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| President Obama preparing to give his speech |
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| President Obama at the podium |
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| A larger view of the General Assembly Hall |
