Note to Correspondents

UN4U 2011 — ‘Ways the UN Makes a Difference in Everyday Life’ Outreach Programme

Officials to Mark United Nations Day with Visits to New York City High Schools

Spreading the word about the many ways the United Nations touches everyday lives, United Nations officials — including Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon — will visit more than 60 New York City public high schools from 17 to 28 October to commemorate United Nations Day.

UN4U is the annual fall outreach programme to mark the Organization’s birthday, through which its staff – from junior to the highest level, representing a diverse range of departments, agencies and programmes — travel to high schools in the five boroughs to promote the Organization’s priority issues.

This year, on 24 October, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is scheduled to visit New Explorations into Science, Technology and Math Upper School, in Manhattan and address their student assembly.

“This is the first time the Secretary-General will be visiting a public school as part of this programme,” said Dawn Johnston-Britton, Chief of Visitors Services, which manages UN4U in the Department of Public Information.  “No doubt, his participation will raise the visibility of UN4U among local educators, media and most importantly, young people with a limited knowledge of how the UN plays a positive role in all our lives.”

UN4U 2011 will focus on “Ways the UN Makes a Difference in Everyday Life” with five focal areas:  humanitarian relief, poverty and sustainable development, climate change, education and HIV/AIDS.

During the UN4U school visits, each official will give a brief overview of the Organization to a class or assembly, share their career experiences and hold a Q&A session with students.  The speakers will have available a multimedia presentation about the global work and programmes of the United Nations, as well as materials to share with students and teachers.

UN4U is both local and global, and the network of 63 United Nations Information Centres (UNICs) will be participating by organizing UN4U events for their local constituents in countries around the world.

Launched in 2008 with the strong support of Secretary-General Ban, UN4U was conceived as a way to reach out to New York City public high school students and introduce them to the youth-friendly United Nations. 

Last year, 52 New York City public schools took part in UN4U, with the participation of almost 7,000 students.  This year, a projected 8,000 students from over 60 schools will participate.

For further information, please go to http://visit.un.org, or contact Dina Daoud at +1 917 367 1088, daoudd@un.org.

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For information media • not an official record