Note to Correspondents

United Nations Headquarters Will Host Special Event to Celebrate

 

Poetry, Music of Rabindranath Tagore, 30 May

 

Occasion Marks Centenary of Poet’s Nobel Prize in Literature for ‘Gitanjali’

Under its ongoing discussion series, “Unlearning Intolerance”, the United Nations Academic Impact of the Department of Public Information will organize a special event at New York Headquarters to celebrate the centenary of Rabindranath Tagore’s Nobel Prize in Literature for Gitanjali (“Song Offerings”).

The special event, to be held on 30 May in Conference Room 3 from 3 to 5 p.m., will focus on Tagore’s message to the world and its relevance today.  It will include discussion, poetry readings and interpretative presentations of the poet’s songs.

A slim volume of 103 poems translated from the original Bangla by Tagore himself, Gitanjali was described by the Nobel Committee as “profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful”.  One hundred years later, the poems, conveying the message of universal harmony, continue to inspire people everywhere.

Participants will include A K Abdul Momen, acting President of the General Assembly and Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations; Maria Cristina Perceval, Permanent Representative of Argentina; Asoke Kumar Mukerji, Permanent Representative of India; Rizwana Chowdhury Bonnya, singer and Associate Professor of Music at Dhaka University in Bangladesh; Aftab Seth, former Ambassador of India to Japan; and Meena Alexander, poet and Distinguished Professor of English at the City University of New York.

Readings from Tagore will be performed by Madhur Jaffrey, actor and author; Guillaume Dabouis, Permanent Mission of France; Hisao Nishimaki, Permanent Mission of Japan; Sunmin Park, filmmaker from the Republic of Korea; and Kanwarjit Singh, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Washington.

The event is open to all, but registration is required.  Those wishing to attend are requested to send an e-mail to academicimpact@un.org.  The event will also be available live and on demand via webcast at webtv.un.org.

“Unlearning Intolerance” is an ongoing series of the United Nations Academic Impact that examines manifestations of intolerance and explores means to promote respect and understanding among peoples.  For more information, please visit outreach.un.org/unai, or contact Hasan Ferdous in the Department of Public Information at ferdous@un.org.

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For information media • not an official record