‘ASK THE SECRETARY-GENERAL’ TO BE LAUNCHED

 

ON United Nations CYBERSCHOOLBUS WEBSITE

 

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will respond to questions from children and youth around the world in a new feature on the United Nations Cyberschoolbus (www.cyberschoolbus.un.org) titled “Ask the Secretary-General”.

Students in primary, intermediate and secondary schools around the world can send in questions about the United Nations, the role of the Secretary-General and global issues on the Organization’s agenda.  Questions will be collected by the United Nations Cyberschoolbus between now and 31 March 2008 and a representative selection will be chosen for the Secretary-General to respond to and posted on the United Nations Cyberschoolbus site.

This initiative will also help the United Nations get a sense of what questions and issues young people are thinking about today and at the same time help make the Organization more accessible to them by giving young people the opportunity to ask questions directly of the Secretary-General.

After taking the oath of office as Secretary-General, Mr. Ban stated, “I earnestly hope that young boys and girls of today will grow up knowing that the UN is working hard to build a better future for them.  As Secretary-General, I will embrace their hopes and hear their appeals.”  This new feature follows up on that pledge.

The United Nations Cyberschoolbus website is an educational resource created by the United Nations Department of Public Information to develop classroom materials for schools about the Organization and the global issues on its agenda and help create a global online community where teachers and their students can exchange information about issues on the United Nations agenda and participate in finding solutions to global problems.

Contact:  Bill Yotive, tel.:  212 963 1400, e-mail:  yotive@un.org.

* *** *

For information media • not an official record