Activities of Secretary-General in San Francisco, 25-27 June
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, accompanied by Madam Ban Soon-taek, arrived in San Francisco from New York late on Thursday evening, 25 June.
On Friday morning, following an interview with ABC News San Francisco, the Secretary-General first met with a group of technology entrepreneurs for a round table discussion on how the private sector, and especially the tech industry, can be an active partner in implementing the new post-2015 development agenda. In the closed door session, the Secretary-General stressed to these business leaders that they have an extraordinary opportunity to contribute to this effort.
At a press encounter afterwards, the Secretary-General spoke to reporters about addressing climate change and job opportunities for all.
The Secretary-General then attended a round table with United States climate leaders, including representatives of business, politics, civil society and others. This event was hosted by the United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA/USA) and the United Nations Foundation. The Secretary-General stressed the importance of United States leadership in achieving an ambitious global climate agreement in Paris.
“If we are to put the world on a low-carbon climate-resilient pathway, both the public and private sectors need to take immediate action,” he said. (See Press Release SG/SM/16878.)
The Secretary-General then stopped by Rocket Space, an incubator space for tech entrepreneurs. (See Press Release SG/SM/16879.)
The Secretary-General joined United States Minority Leader Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi and California Governor Jerry Brown in the rotunda of San Francisco’s City Hall for an official ceremony to commemorate the seventieth anniversary of the Charter of the United Nations. The Secretary-General described the Charter as “our compass”, and the United Nations as “the hope and home of all humankind”. (See Press Release SG/SM/16880.)
Following the ceremony, the Secretary-General attended a luncheon at City Hall with LGBTQ leaders. He received the Harvey Milk prize to honour his commitment to the LGBTQ human rights movement.
Upon receiving the award, the Secretary-General said that he stands with the millions of people, around the world, who are forced to live in hiding, in fear of violence, just because of who they are or whom they love. (See Press Release SG/SM/16882.)
Later that afternoon, the Secretary-General went to Palo Alto for a conversation with students at Stanford University on the United Nations at 70. While the United Nations may have its failures, he told the students that “the world could have been more dangerous, poorer, hungrier and more unhealthy” without it. (See Press Release SG/SM/16883.)
He closed out the day’s programme by attending the “UN Champions dinner” hosted by the UN Foundation with civic leaders.
On Saturday morning, Mr. Ban visited Libba Patterson, his “American Mom”, at her home in Novato. Mrs. Patterson and her family had hosted a young Ban in the early 60s when he was on a Red Cross sponsored visit of the United States.
The Secretary-General returned to New York on Saturday afternoon, 27 June.