Be a Citizen Ambassador to United Nations: Speak to World Leaders through YouTube

 

As world leaders from 192 United Nations Member States converge on New York for the sixty-fourth session of the General Assembly, the Department of Public Information is launching a groundbreaking campaign entitled “Citizen Ambassadors to the United Nations”, which encourages people everywhere to directly engage with decision-makers by uploading video messages on the United Nations YouTube channel.

The innovative “Citizen Ambassadors” campaign will take place from 23 September through 10 October, coinciding with the general debate part of the General Assembly.  It harnesses the power of online video-sharing and offers a unique opportunity for world citizens -- youth in particular -- to make their voices heard during the United Nations General Assembly by responding to the question: “If you had the opportunity to speak to the world leaders, what would you say?”

Videos featuring Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and high-profile celebrities, including United Nations Messenger of Peace George Clooney, will be posted on the United Nations YouTube channel beginning 23 September.  It will ask online users to reply with their own video messages on how to create “a better, safer, world” by 10 October.

The United Nations will select the best five video entries.  The finalists will be designated “Citizen Ambassadors”, and will be invited to United Nations Headquarters on the occasion of the sixty-fourth United Nations Day.  There, they will take a special guided tour of United Nations Headquarters, have their photo taken with Secretary-General Ban and receive VIP seating at the United Nations Day concert, to be held on Friday, 23 October.

The campaign is the latest in a series of initiatives by Secretary-General Ban, which seek to utilize the power of the Internet and online social networking to increase awareness of the work of the United Nations and to engage a new generation of world citizens in the importance of international diplomacy.  These initiatives include the “We Must Disarm” campaign, which utilizes the online social networking sites Twitter and Facebook to actively disseminate information about nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.

The United Nations YouTube Channel can be found at http://www.youtube.com/user/unitednations.

For further information, please contact Einat Temkin, Outreach Division, Department of Public Information, at e-mail:  temkin@un.org, tel.: +1 917 367 5841.

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For information media • not an official record