UNITED STATES SCHOOLCHILDREN TO VISIT UNITED NATIONS ON ELECTRONIC FIELD TRIP, ORGANIZED BY TURNER EDUCATIONAL SERVICES, PUBLIC BROADCASTING SERVICE
Secretary-General and Assembly President to Talk with Students; Live Program Integrates Broadcast, Cable and Computer Technologies
Turner Educational Services, Inc. (TESI), in conjunction with the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), and with the cooperation of the United Nations Department of Public Information, invite students across the United States to join in an electronic field trip to the United Nations on 8 and 9 February. The United Nations at 50 Years, the seventh electronic field trip in the Turner Adventure Learning series, opens the doors of the United Nations Headquarters to hundreds of schools throughout the United States for a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the United Nations. Designed as a first-hand learning experience, this live, interactive, electronic field trip integrates broadcast, cable and computer technologies to offer students a unique learning experience without ever leaving the classroom.
The Turner Adventure Learning field trip combines an hour-long preview programme; a live, on-location telecast (one hour per day for two consecutive days); and on-line forums for students on America Online (keyword: CNN) and the World Wide Web (http://www.turner.com/tesi/) with United Nations resource people and others on-site and in the field before, during and after the live event. Hosted by CNN Newsroom Co-Anchor Tony Frassrand and CNN Correspondent Richard Roth, United Nations at 50 Years will focus on defining and identifying the purpose and functions of the United Nations and its role in the world today.
Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali will participate in the final portion of the second day's programme, which will also feature the President of the General Assembly, Diogo Freitas do Amaral, and the Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations, Madeleine Albright, among the guests. The first day's programme will look at peace-keeping and the work of the Security Council, using El Salvador as a case study, with Assistant Secretary-General Alvaro de Soto and the Permanent Representative of Argentina to the United Nations, Emilio Cardenas, participating. Also on hand will be an audience of approximately 20 schoolchildren from New York City, among them children from Bosnia and El Salvador. Students, both those in the audience and others via telephone and computer, will be able to ask questions of the participants.
Several organizations have contributed their efforts to making this project possible. PBS will make "United Nations at 50" available to its 345 member stations throughout the United States. It has also developed a comprehensive Turner Adventure Learning area on its World Wide Web site (http://www.pbs.org). Over 120 cable operators across the country are distributing the programmes to participating schools. In addition, the United Nations Association of the United States has sponsored 100 schools across the nation located in local UNA Chapter areas to participate live in the field trip.
Schools must enrol in the event to participate by contacting Turner Educational Services at 1-800-639-7797. In addition to receiving the live programme, enrolled classroom teachers also receive a comprehensive teacher's learning kit containing data disks, technical information and a teacher's resource book featuring lesson plans, background readings, charts and maps to complement the televised segments. The Turner Adventure Learning series and all accompanying print materials are produced by TESI.
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