Note to Correspondents

YOKOHAMA’s Children will BRING CITY’S GOODWILL TO UNited nations

 

CHILDREN’S FUND ON 10 november

Four elementary and junior high school students from Japan, chosen as “Yokohama Children Peace Messengers”, will present a cheque for $170,000 donated by residents of the city of Yokohama, for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Monday, 10 November.

Yokohama’s deep history of involvement in a range of international exchange activities, and the city’s activities throughout the International Year of Peace (1986), won them official recognition by the United Nations as a “ Peace Messenger City” in 1987.

Since then, as one of the city’s peace-related activities, students are chosen each year through an original peace-related essay contest and designated as “Yokohama Children Peace Messengers”.  The students travel to New York City, representing the international peace efforts that Yokohama has made throughout the year.

During their week-long stay in New York City, the students will tour the United Nations and meet with the Deputy Secretary-General on Monday 10 November.  They will meet with United Nations officials, the Permanent Representative of Japan to the United Nations and the Executive Director of UNICEF.  They will also participate in classes at the United Nations International School (UNIS).  There has been a long tradition of cooperation between UNIS and the Yokohama Board of Education.  Indeed, Japan fully supports two language teachers.

The “Yokohama Children Peace Messengers” will also hold a press conference at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, 13 November, at the United Nations International School, 24-50 F.D.R. Drive, New York, NY 10010.

For further United Nations information, contact Sylvia Fuhrman or Dolores Redding at tel.:  212 963 8729 or e-mail:  fuhrman@un.org.

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For information media • not an official record