Note to Correspondents

‘UN4U – Spanning the Globe’:  Officials to Mark United Nations Day

 

with Visits to New York City Schools, Replicated around World

 

For the second consecutive year, the Department of Public Information will mark United Nations Day (24 October) by dispatching senior United Nations officials to speak at school assemblies in the five boroughs of New York City.  This innovative outreach programme, called “UN4U”, is also being replicated around the globe through United Nations Information Centres and United Nations country offices.  With United Nations Day falling on a Saturday this year, the UN4U speaking engagements will take place during the whole week of 19 to 23 October.

A press briefing on UN4U 2009 will be held by Kiyotaka Akasaka, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, and Eric Falt, Director of the Outreach Division of the Department of Public Information, in Room 226 on Friday, 16 October at 11:30 a.m.  Journalists are invited to attend.

Launched in 2008 with the strong support of the Secretary-General, UN4U was conceived as a way to reach out to high school students and introduce them to the purposes, activities and staff of the United Nations.  This year, the number of New York City public high schools participating has more than doubled.  Speakers will include a diverse group of United Nations officials, including six Assistant Secretaries-General and four Under-Secretaries-General and representing a wide variety of United Nations departments.

Away from New York, the Department of Public Information has mobilized the network of 63 United Nations Information Centres in organizing a series of educational outreach activities, where thousands of students at schools and universities around the world will join in commemorating United Nations Day, using the UN4U format.

The speakers will give the students an overview of the Organization and present two United Nations videos, one showcasing the Organization’s work around the world, the other highlighting Climate Change and the “Seal the Deal” campaign.  Speakers will also share with the students their personal experiences as United Nations staff members, and conclude the hour-long presentation with a question-and-answer segment.

This United Nations Day project, led by the Department of Public Information’s Outreach Division, is being realized through the efforts of all divisions of the Department, with the overall objective of reaching young people and bringing them more closely in contact with the work of the United Nations.

For more information, contact Dawn Johnston-Britton, e-mail:  Johnston‑britton@un.org.

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For information media • not an official record