NEW GUIDES JOIN TOUR OPERATION AT UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS

NEW GUIDES JOIN TOUR OPERATION AT UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS

A new group of 26 multilingual tour guides joined the Department of Public Information at United Nations Headquarters on 15 March.  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, over 38 million visitors have taken a guided tour of United Nations Headquarters.

“United Nations tour guides are, in many ways, the human face of UN Headquarters.  They have the daunting task of explaining new challenges confronting the world and the United Nations in the twenty-first century, from terrorism to bird flu, and also reminding our visitors of the many accomplishments of our first 60 years”, said Shashi Tharoor, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information. 

The Guided Tours Unit, part of the Department of Public Information, now offers tours in 16 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.  To become a United Nations guide, applicants 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 mandate of the United Nations, as well as the current activities of the entire United Nations system.

The new guides come from 18 countries, increasing the total number of guides to 67.  The full complement of guides comes from the following 38 countries:  Algeria, Argentina, Austria, Belarus, Brazil, Cameroon, China, Colombia, Cuba, Denmark, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Gabon, Ghana, India, Iran, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Lebanon, Madagascar, Malaysia, Morocco, Netherlands, Nigeria, Peru, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Senegal, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Ukraine, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The recruitment of guides this year reflects the pattern of visitors to New York.  The increase in visitors speaking French, Russian and Mandarin, for example, has required additional guides fluent in these languages.  The tour operation has also added one guide skilled in American Sign Language.  Overall, visitors’ attendance increased by 14 per cent last year.

Guided tours are conducted every day, with a few exceptions.  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 Isabelle Broyer, Guided Tours Unit, tel.:  +1 (212) 963-9480, fax:  +1 (212) 963-0071; e-mail: broyer@un.org or toursunhq@un.org; or visit www.un.org/tours.

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For information media • not an official record