Note to Correspondents

NEW GUIDES JOIN TOUR OPERATION AT UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS

A new group of 25 multilingual tour guides joined the Department of Public Information at United Nations Headquarters on 11 March 2005.  The new guides supplement the existing team of guides who conduct tours for the nearly half a million people who visit the world Organization in New York each year.  Since 1952, 38 million visitors have taken a guided tour of United Nations Headquarters.  The tours are valued for the personal connection to the United Nations provided by its well-informed, international team of guides.

“With the spotlight on the United Nations, our guides play an important role in explaining the work of the Organization to the general public and in shaping their perceptions of the world body”, said Shashi Tharoor, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information.  “As they conclude their intensive training session, our new guides are now ready to join their colleagues in welcoming people from around the world to UN Headquarters and in answering the many questions posed by our visitors every day.”

The Guided Tours Unit, part of the Department of Public Information, now offers tours in 20 languages, more than any other tour operation in New York.  The guides have long been considered the Organization’s “ambassadors to the public”, and their linguistic skills and geographic diversity add a valuable dimension to the operation.  During this sixtieth anniversary year, when the United Nations is focused on the Millennium Goals, reform and its capacity to deal with new international threats and challenges, the tours provide information about the wide range of United Nations activities around the world.

The new guides come from 16 countries, increasing the total number of guides to 58.  The full complement of guides comes from the following 28 countries:  Argentina, Belarus, Brazil, Cameroon, China, Colombia, Cuba, Denmark, France, Germany, Gabon, India, Iran, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Lebanon, Madagascar, Nigeria, Republic of Korea, Senegal, Sweden, Turkey, United States, Ukraine, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The recruitment of guides this year reflects the pattern of visitors to New York.  The increase in French-speaking visitors to the United Nations in 2004, for example, has required an additional nine French-speaking guides.  The continuously high number of Chinese visitors, which currently make up close to 10 per cent of the total number of visitors to Headquarters, has required an additional five Mandarin-speaking guides.  The tour operation has also added one guide skilled in American Sign Language.  Overall visitors’ attendance increased 11 per cent last year, almost reaching the pre-9/11 level of 400,000 persons.

To become a United Nations guide, an applicant must be fluent in English and in at least one additional language.  College education and public speaking skills are also required.  In the course of their two-and-a-half week intensive training programme, the new guides are immersed in the history and functions of the United Nations’ main organs, as well as the current activities of the entire United Nations system.

Guided tours are conducted every day, with a few exceptions (see www.un.org/tours).  During the hour-long lecture tour, guides present the United Nations’ history and structure, explain the role of the United Nations in current events, describe the unique collection of artworks on display along the tour route, and answer visitors’ questions.

For more information, please contact Helene Hoedl, Guided Tours Unit, tel.:  +1 (212) 963-3242, fax:  +1 (212) 963-0071; e-mail:  hoedl@un.org or toursunhq@un.org; or visit www.un.org/tours.

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