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Newsletter of the global network of United Nations Information Centres UNIC @ Work March 2015 Issue No. 2 Page 1 In this issue In Spotlight New, innovative projects Sights @ Work A tour of where we work In Focus Get to know our priorities Teams @ Work Highlights of our activities Creativity @ Work New information materials Social Media @ Work Social media initiatives Experiences @ Work Staff views and experiences New Faces @ Work Our new colleagues In Spotlight ¿Did you know? Time Travel for the United Nation's 70 th Birthday UNIS Vienna's Visitors Service launched its UN70-themed “Ferienspiel” (holiday games). Through photos, games and props like old telephones and post-war lunch boxes, children imagined being a Viennese school child in 1945 and learned how much has changed since their grandparents' time. The session ended with a call for 2015 as a "Time for Action", with the aim of teaching the young visitors that not all the world’s children have come as far. In addition to the five out of the six official UN languages, UNICs currently disseminate the UN message in 43 local languages. Sights @ Work Algeria: The French botanical garden of El Hamma created in 1832, is a "magnificent treasure of Algerian heritage". Its architecture, with open perspectives leading to the Mediterranean, has made it a paradise for walkers for over 180 years. Brazil: Swans at the lake of the Palacio Itamaraty where UNIC Rio offices are located and where the Ministry of Foreign Affairs used to function before the capital of Brazil moved to Brasilia. South Africa: The world’s largest statue of Nelson Mandela in front of the Union Buildings - the seat of government - in Pretoria. The 9m-high bronze statue was unveiled eleven days after his passing on Reconciliation Day on 16 December 2013.

UNIC @ Work Missions... · treasure of Algerian heritage". Its ... “It is fantastic that you are able to adapt to difficult ... UNIC @ Work , a . “”, The

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Newsletter of th e global network of Unit ed N ations Information Centres

UNIC @ Work March 2015 Issue No. 2

Page 1

In this issue

In Spotlight

New, innovative projects

Sights @ Work

A tour of where we work

In Focus

Get to know our priorities

Teams @ Work

Highlights of our activities

Creativity @ Work

New information materials

Social Media @ Work

Social media initiatives

Experiences @ Work

Staff views and experiences

New Faces @ Work

Our new colleagues

In Spotlight ¿Did you know? Time Travel for the United Nation's 70th Birthday

UNIS Vienna's Visitors Service launched its UN70-themed “Ferienspiel” (holiday games). Through photos, games and props like old telephones and post-war lunch boxes, children imagined being a Viennese school child in 1945 and learned how much has changed since their grandparents' time. The session ended with a call for 2015 as a "Time for Action", with the aim of teaching the young visitors that not all the world’s children have come as far.

In addition to the five out of the six official UN

languages, UNICs currently disseminate the UN message in 43 local

languages.

Sights @ Work

Algeria: The French botanical garden of El Hamma created in 1832, is a "magnificent treasure of Algerian heritage". Its architecture, with open perspectives leading to the Mediterranean, has made it a paradise for walkers for over 180 years.

Brazil: Swans at the lake of the Palacio Itamaraty where UNIC Rio offices are located and where the Ministry of Foreign Affairs used to function before the capital of Brazil moved to Brasilia.

South Africa: The world’s largest statue of Nelson Mandela in front of the Union Buildings - the seat of government - in Pretoria. The 9m-high bronze statue was unveiled eleven days after his passing on Reconciliation Day on 16 December 2013.

UNIC @ Work

March 2015 Page 2

In Focus

“You are the best Ambassadors the UN can have all over the world”

Under-Secretary-

General Cristina

Gallach recently

completed her

virtual tour of all

63 UNICs across

six continents. In

a series of six

WebEx meetings,

she had the

opportunity to

introduce herself

to staff members,

listen to their

concerns and

constructive

suggestions, and

take the pulse of this geographically dispersed group.

The interactive exchange was a first of many to come

as Ms. Gallach wanted to ensure that UNIC staff “feel a

close connection with this UN which is far away.” The

USG was able to get a clear understanding of both the

challenges and opportunities that UNICs face on the

ground, while carrying out the monumental task of

being the voice of the UN at the local level and raising

awareness of UN key priorities with the people they

serve, sometimes in dire or extremely challenging

situations.

“It is fantastic that you are able to adapt to difficult

circumstances. This is what is expected from UNICs

when there is a major change in the political situation

of a country,” she said.

Impressed by the creativity and resourcefulness of

staff to raise the visibility of the UN and carry out

activities despite having relatively little human and

financial resources, the USG encouraged UNICs to

examine ways in which they could further strengthen

partnerships with UN Country Teams, governments,

media, academic institutions and youth groups, among

others. Ms. Gallach also commended them for moving

forward with social media. “This is the way of the

future,” she stressed.

The USG said she was left feeling enriched with the

hard work and dedication of all UNIC staff members.

“You are the best Ambassadors the UN can have all

over the world,” she told participants at one of the

WebEx sessions.

UNIC @ Work

March 2015 Page 3

Teams @ Work

Algeria

Zero Discrimination Campaign

UNIC Algiers and UNAIDS launched an

appeal to government partners and civil

society to participate in the awareness

campaign to mark the

#Zerodiscrimination Day 2015,

celebrating diversity and rejecting

intolerance. The UN staff in Algeria

joined this humanitarian action in a

single voice to express their

commitment to the "dignity and human

rights" and to end the AIDS epidemic by

2030.

Visit by Kishore Singh

UNIC provided support to the visit of

the UN Special Rapporteur on the

right to education, Kishore Singh. The

Centre reached out to media with a

press release about the visit

and organized a press conference

to share the results of his mission for

reform of the educational system,

27 January to 3 February 2015.

Armenia

Outreach to School Children

UNO Yerevan celebrated the

International Mother Language Day as

well as – Book Donation Day (an

Armenian observance) with its fourth on-

line contest for the “Friends of UN –

Armenia” network on “The Role of Mother

Languages in the Current Multilingual

World”. UNO partners’ group consists of

11 UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural

Organization (UNESCO)-associated

schools led by the UNESCO National

Commission affiliated with the Ministry of

Foreign Affairs. The event was hosted by

the National Library of Armenia.

Australia

Outreach at the National Multicultural

Festival

With a record attendance of close to 300

000 people, UNIC Canberra took the

opportunity to highlight the importance of

Post-2015 development agenda and the

70th Anniversary of the UN at Canberra's

National Multicultural Festival. Together

with colleagues from the Regional Office

of the UN High Commissioner for

Refugees (UNHCR) and an enthusiastic

group of young volunteers and interns,

Festival attendees were informed about

key events on the Organization’s calendar

as well current campaigns and

publications. The Festival also served as

an excellent opportunity to conclude the

MY World Survey campaign which

officially ends in September. Over the past

two years, UNIC has actively encouraged

members of the public to participate in

the campaign and vote for their future, 14

February.

Austria

Cine ONU Vienna Film Screening on

Maritime Piracy

The drama of human relationships, the

psychological rehabilitation of the victims

of hostage-taking as well as the current

problem of piracy in the world were at the

centre of the Ciné-ONU Vienna film

screening of The Captain and his Pirate

and a subsequent panel discussion. Ciné

ONU Vienna is a monthly film series at the

local arthouse cinema Topkino organized

by UNIS Vienna in cooperation with This

Human World Film festival. 9 February.

Students join the Vienna Schools Model

UN

The Vienna International Centre (VIC) and

the premises of UNIS Vienna transformed

into an arena for young people to take

part in intense diplomatic discussions and

UNIC @ Work

March 2015 Page 4

negotiations, while simulating a General

Assembly meeting. More than 170 high

school students from 20 schools in

Vienna, Hamburg, Augsburg and the

UNESCO school in Essen participated in

this year's Vienna Schools Model United

Nations (VSMUN), 11 - 13 February.,

Bangladesh

Drama, Cultural Show and Discussion

on Mother Language Day

In celebration of International Mother

Language Day, UNIC Dhaka, UNESCO

Bangladesh and Daffodil International

University (DIU), jointly organized a

seminar, cultural show, drama and

exhibition at the DIU auditorium. Two

students are seen performing dance in the

event, 21 February.

Presentation on the work of the UN

UNIC Dhaka gave a presentation on the

United Nations functions and structure at

the launch ceremony of a volunteer

network named V-Act. A number of UN

agencies including UNIC, UN Population

Fund (UNFPA) and UN Development

Programme (UNDP). coordinated the

opening session. UNIC Dhaka’s Officer-in-

Charge urged the participating young

volunteers to utilize the V-Act platform

for their capacity building and community

services, 19 February.

Belgium

Cine-ONU Brussels partners with the

European Year for Development 2015

Cine-ONU Brussels screened In the

Shadow of the Sun, in partnership with the

European Year for Development, to

highlight the urgent need for education as

a means of tackling prejudice and to raise

awareness of the appalling discrimination,

stigma and attacks suffered by people

with albinism. Filmed over six years, the

documentary tells the story of two albino

men as they attempt to follow their

dreams in the face of prejudice and fear in

Tanzania. A Q&A followed the screening,

18 February.

WFP's Executive Director: Global

Challenges on the Rise

The Benelux Desk organised a press

conference on behalf of the World Food

Programme (WFP) and the Office of the

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

(OHCHR) to support the visit by Ertharin

Cousin, Executive Director, of WFP to

Brussels, 25 February.

Special Rapporteur on Slavery in

Belgium hosted at UNRIC

The Benelux Desk organised a press

conference on behalf of WFP and OHCHR

during the visit by Urmila Bhoola, the

Special Rapporteur on Contemporary

forms of slavery, its causes and

consequences, 26 February

Bolivia

UNIC-La Paz donated its library to the

Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, holder

of the biggest and oldest library in Bolivia,

06-07 February.

Brazil

Campaign on Violence against Women

Under the slogan “Lose your Shyness but

not your Respect”, a UN Campaign on

violence against women took to the

streets of 17 cities in Brazil during the

UNIC @ Work

March 2015 Page 5

country’s world famous Carnival. In Rio,

one of the most famous Samba school’s -

Mangueira - made an homage to Brazilian

women on the streets with a message for

a more just and less violent society. Also,

to document the efforts of the UN

Communications Group members in

Brazil, UNIC Rio went to the streets and

produced a video showing how the

campaign, led by UN Women, was

implemented in Rio de Janeiro.

Cameroon

ONE UN Stand at the Open Day Fair for

National Youth Day

UNIC Yaounde coordinated the

participation of the UN System at an Open

Day Fair organized at the Yaounde

Conference Centre, as part of activities for

the 49th National Youth Day in Cameroon.

The ONE UN Stand was mounted to

showcase the UN’s collective actions for

youths in Cameroon and worldwide.

Informational materials were provided

by UNDP, UN Volunteers (UNV), UNESCO,

UNFPA, UN Women, International Labour

Organization (ILO), UNAIDS, World

Health Organization (WHO) and UNIC.

More than 700 participants received UN

documents on the UN’s efforts aimed at

empowering youths for the “Future we

Want”, 9 February.

Youth Outreach Event

UNIC Yaounde, on behalf of the UN System

in Cameroon and in partnership with the

Cameroon National Youth Council,

organized a Youth Outreach Event on the

“Role of Youths in the post-2015

Development Agenda”. The discussion

with over 45 youth leaders, was led by

two panellists: the Resident

Representative of UNFPA and the

President of the National Youth Council.

The panellists and the participants agreed

that entry points for youth participation

in governance have to be created, and that

youth need to participate actively in the

development of Cameroon, 17 February.

Colombia

Holocaust: Commemorative Event

The Observance of the International Day

of Commemoration in Memory of the

Victims of the Holocaust, in Bogota took

place at the Colombian Academy of

Language. The event was organized by the

Jewish community resident in Colombia,

the Israel Embassy and UNIC, 10

February.

Media Support for Official Visits

UNIC Bogota provided media support for

the visit by Ms. Amina Mohammed,

Special Advisor of the Secretary-General

on post-2015 Development Planning, and

Ms. Alicia Bárcena, Executive Secretary of

the Economic Commission for Latin

America and the Caribbean. The purpose

of the visit was to attend the installation

of the Inter-Institutional High Level

Commission who will lead the

implementation of the next sustainable

development agenda for Colombia. The

event took place at the Presidential

Palace, 18 February.

Media Support for Visit by Kofi Annan

UNIC Bogota and UNDP provided media

support and organized a press conference

for the visit by Mr. Kofi Annan, former UN

Secretary-General, and current Chairman

the of Kofi Annan Foundation. Mr. Annan

spoke at a conference titled “Truth

Commissions and Peace Processes:

International Experiences and Challenges

for Colombia”. Mr. Annan also met with

Juan Manuel Santos, President of

Colombia, government officials, civil

society activist and others directly

affected by the conflict. Then, he travelled

to Cuba to meet with more participants of

the peace talks, 21-26 February 2015

(Photo credit: Federico Rios)

UNIC @ Work

March 2015 Page 6

Congo (Republic of)

Support for Visit by UNESCO Goodwill

Ambassador

UNIC Brazzaville hosted and moderated a

press conference held by Salif Traore,

UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for

Literacy and a Culture of Peace. Known as

A’Salfo, the award winning singer called

on young people to believe in themselves

and in their future. Based on the UNESCO

slogan “Building Peace in the Minds of

Men and Women”, the Goodwill

Ambassador pleaded for peace, cohesion

and living together peacefully, as the

country will vote for a President of the

Republic next year, 16 February.

India

World Wildlife Day in New Delhi

UNIC New Delhi observed the 2nd World

Wildlife Day with Raghav Chandra, a civil

servant and author of Scent of a Game, a

fictional tale set in the backdrop of

wildlife conservation. Mr. Chandra is also

a renowned wildlife activist. The

commemoration was held with a

gathering of over 80 educationists,

principals and teachers from various

schools and institutions from Delhi

invited by the Confederation of UNESCO

Clubs and Associations in India (CUCAI),

27 February.

International Children's Film Festival

The Director of UNIC New Delhi was in

Lucknow at the City Montessori School, to

unveil a poster and logo for the 7th

International Children's Film Festival,

being held as part of UNIC’s calendar of

events to mark UN70 under its

yoUNg@70 campaign. The Festival, which

aims to promote world unity and world

peace, has been termed the world's

biggest such festival. So far, the Festival

has received 1020 entries from 80

participating countries, 27 February.

Training Educationists on Model UN Principles UNIC New Delhi hosted a training session

on the revised Model UN principles for

teachers and principals from schools

across Delhi. The session was attended by

more than 80 educationists, 27 February.

Iran

Graduate Students Navigate the UN

Online in Qom

UNIC Tehran together with the

Department of Law of the University of

Tehran Farabi Campus in Qom, held a

workshop entitled “Finding UN

Information and Documentation” for

some 30 graduate students of

international law, 18 February.

Italy

Students embrace UN70 Message

The UNRIC Desk for Italy joined the Head

of the Italian Foreign Ministry’s

international careers office in an open

session on inter-cultural approaches and

international occupational prospects

within the framework of the training

activities of Italy’s leading financial

newspaper, Il Sole 24 Ore. The Master’s

students enthusiastically embraced

UNRIC/ITA’s UN 70 photo campaign, 17

February.

UNIC @ Work

March 2015 Page 7

CEFLI Course on Logistics in Rome

The Italian armed forces’ high-ranking

officials taking part in the UNRIC Desk for

Italy’s training module on the UN and

public information in peacekeeping

enthusiastically embraced the UN70

snapshot campaign, 19 February.

Japan

“International Seminar Series on

Sustainability”

UNIC Tokyo Director spoke to high school

students from Ibaraki Prefecture about

topics as diverse as human rights, gender

equality, climate change, and careers at

the UN during the “International Seminar

Series on Sustainability.” This seminar

series, organized by the UN University and

the Ibaraki Prefectural Board of Education

to expose high school students to relevant

topics in English, was held for the second

time this year, 2 - 3 February.

Visit by Mr. Kiyohiro Mitsui

UNIC Tokyo supported the visit of Mr.

Kiyohiro Mitsui, Chief of Headquarters

Procurement and Support Service at the

UN Procurement Division, who outlined

the recent trends of UN procurement to an

audience from Japan’s private sector

during the first ever UN Business Seminar

in Japan. Mr. Mitsui also encouraged

Japanese companies to do business with

the UN, gave one-on-one consultations to

company representatives on how to

participate in the UN bidding process, and

participated in an interview with NHK.

The seminar was held at UN University by

the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 19

February.

.

Document Guidance Session

UNIC Tokyo organized as part of its

monthly series at UN University, a

document guidance session comprising of

an introduction to the topic of human

rights and the UN, and practical

instruction on the examination of related

documents, 12 February.

Kazakhstan

Mini-Model United Nations

More than 100 students from 30

Kazakhstan’s universities in Almaty,

Astana, Petropavlovsk, as well as from

Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan,

Turkmenistan and Tajikistan attended a

mini-Model UN (MUN) with the motto

“New Silk Way”, supported by the UN in

Kazakshtan. The MUN was held at the

Kazakh National University named after

al-Farabi (UN Academic Impact’s (UNAI)

Global Hub on Sustainability), 6 February.

Second International Winter School of

Journalism and Communication

UNO Almaty together with al-Farabi

Kazakh National University (Faculty of

Journalism, Research Center for

Humanitarian Studies “Media Sphere”),

UNESCO Almaty Cluster Office, Turan

University, “Chief Editors’ Club”,

Publishing House of the Kazakh National

University and other partners, organized

the 2nd International Winter School of

Journalism and Communication held at

the educational complex “Тау-Тұран (Tau

Turan).” The Winter School was dedicated

to the 70th anniversary of the United

Nations and the World Radio Day, 6 - 8

February.

UNIC @ Work

March 2015 Page 8

Kenya

Workshop to Mark World Radio Day

UNIC Nairobi collaborated with UNESCO

to celebrate World Radio Day with a two

day workshop. The workshop was

attended by 50 community radio and

University Radio participants, under the

theme “Youth and Media”. The radio

journalists were trained on media ethics

and Information Technology in social

media. Participants were presented with

certificates and a kanga (wrap) with

UNESCO colours, 12-13 February.

Lebanon

International Women’s Day: Panel

Discussion on Women Empowerment

On International Women’s Day, UNIC-

Beirut and the Communications and

Information Unit (ECIU) at the Economic

and Social Commission for Western Asia

(UN-ESCWA), in collaboration with the

UN-ESCWA Centre for Women, organized

a panel discussion entitled “Together for

the Empowerment of Women.” UNIC- also

managed to secure dedicated episodes of

talk shows on two high-reach TV stations

(OTV and NBN) with UN experts as main

speakers, 9 March.

Madagascar

Holocaust: School Outreach Activities

On the occasion of the International Day

of Commemoration in Memory of the

Victims of the Holocaust, UNIC

Antananarivo scheduled a month-long

series of activities in partnership with the

UN Clubs, under the theme “Liberty, Life

and the Legacy of

the Holocaust Survivors”. The

commemoration included students’

briefings at four schools, 27 January to 25

February.

World Thinking Day Celebration

World Thinking Day celebration,

supported by UNIC Antananarivo,

commemorates the birthday of Rober

Baden-Powell, founder of Scoutism. In

recognition of its close partnership with

the scouts, UNIC Antananarivo was

awarded a certificate of acknowledgement

from the scout organisations. The event

included official speeches of the First Lady

representative, the Scouts organizations

Presidents and the Mayor's wife,

punctuated by awareness raising of

gender-based violence and cultural

activities. It ended with a conference-

debate on the fight against gender-biased

violence, 21 February.

Pakistan

“Right to Peace” Cup

The Right to Peace Cup brought together

30 male and female street children for a

four-day educational football tournament

in the outskirt of Islamabad. The event

offered the children an opportunity to

make friends, have fun, and learn some

valuable life lessons such as teamwork,

fair play, tolerance, cooperation,

confidence and self-esteem. The final

match took place at the Mashal Model

School, followed by the awarding of the

“Right to Peace” cup and a jumbo version

of the Brazuka, the official football of the

2014 FIFA World Cup, donated by the

Embassy of Brazil. The event was

organized in collaboration with the Masha

School, Right to Play Organization, with

the financial support of the German

Embassy. UNIC Islamabad issued a press

release for the event, 19 February.

Provincial Workshops: Quetta,

Balochistan

The UN Communications Group team

travelled to the provincial capital of

Quetta where they held the ONE Voice

communication workshop with

representatives from the government,

media and universities’ Schools of

UNIC @ Work

March 2015 Page 9

Journalism. The team also organized a

field visit for local journalists and

reporters to the WFP warehouse and to

the FAO kitchen garden project aiming at

empowering women through agriculture.

UN Corner and UN70 Promotion

UNIC Islamabad and COMSATS are joining

forces to develop a UN Corner, a satellite

bookshelf of publications, reports,

magazines from the UN System, to be

placed in universities across the county.

Students from the faculty of architecture

have submitted their proposals to be

evaluated by a team of experts: the

winning project will be announced in late

April and the UN Corner bookshelf will be

officially presented to the media. In

addition to partnering for the design of

the UN Corner, UNIC and COMSATS will

also work together for the UN 70

campaign and for internships.

Poland

Human Rights Exhibition

Working in partnership, UNIC Warsaw,

the Human Rights Ombudsman and a

business company ENSI organized a

human rights exhibition highlighting the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

and quotations by historical and present

outstanding representatives of Polish

humanistic thought expressing the right

to freedom and peace. ENSI specializes in

securing information and personal data

protection and its corporate social

responsibility mission includes

educational activities that underline the

right to privacy as an integral part of

human dignity. The exhibition was held at

the Museum of King Jan III Palace in

Warsaw, 19 February - 10 March.

Russian Federation

World Day of Social Justice

On the occasion of World Day of Social

Justice, UNIC Moscow acted as co-

organizer of an academic conference

“Social Justice and Modern State” held at

the Moscow University for Humanities.

The event brought together around 60

students from several Moscow-based

universities. The panel of speakers

consisted of university students and law

experts of Russia, Ukraine and

Kazakhstan, 18 February.

South Africa

FUN Day: School Outreach

UNIC Pretoria organized its first Friday with the UN Day (FUN Day) of the year in Pretoria for 45 high school students at the Pretoria Institute of Learning. The briefing focused on the UN Millennium

Development Goals and the post-2015 Development Agenda, 27 February.

Turkey

World Day of Social Justice UNIC Ankara celebrated the World Social

Justice Day in cooperation with Yıldırım

Bayazıt University and International

Labour Organization at the Yıldırım

Bayazıt University. As part of the event at

the Yıldırım Bayazıt University, students

held the UN70 logo and reaffirmed that

the UN works for social justice, 24

February.

United States

Holocaust: Ceremony Seventy years after the concentration

camps’ liberation, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein,

the UN High Commissioner for Human

Rights, lit a candle in remembrance of

their victims at the US Holocaust

Memorial Museum. His well-received

UNIC @ Work

March 2015 Page 10

public address on, “Can Atrocities Be

Prevented? Living in the Shadow of the

Holocaust”, focused on some of the root

causes of past genocides and called for

global primary education that emphasizes

the important values of human rights, 5

February.

Experiences @ Work

India

Kiran Mehra-Kerpelman with a Student

The “We Care Film Fest” for People with Disabilities By Kiran Mehra-Kerpelman

The “We Care Film Fest” for People with

Disabilities has reached new milestones.

After screenings in a staggering 116 cities

in India and abroad, and the resounding

success and impact at UNESCO’s

International Conference on the Role of

Information Communications

Technologies (ICTs) for Persons with

Disabilities, it had made its way to small-

town Navsari in Gujarat. Hosted by the

amazing Manav Kalyan Trust (MKT),

together with the NGO Brotherhood and

UNIC New Delhi, it comprised thirteen

screenings at cinema theatres,

auditoriums, including a mega open air

show at the town square.

Busloads of people came from distant

cities. We reached out to over 9,000

persons, under the umbrella of the UN’s

70th anniversary campaign, yoUNg@70,

with an incredible 15 hours of films. They

were all there because “They Cared”!

I had discussions with the Gujarat State

Minister for Tribal Welfare, Forest and

Environment, doctors, educators,

facilitators, health and wellness

specialists, government officials, the

corporate sector, business community and

students. It was heartening to see many

couples who were differently-abled but

leading very successful entrepreneurial

lives, creating employment for society.

MKT is doing a tireless and extraordinary

job of running several schools for

specially-abled children (visually

impaired, speech and hearing impaired),

and rehabilitation centres for mentally

challenged children from tribal areas,

never letting them feel that they are

different in any way. State of the art

technology is being used. The children

also gave astounding cultural

performances.

One of the cultural performances

I asked the students from the schools how

they had liked the films. They

communicated to us through sign

language and other means, which their

favourite films were and very often it was

those that dealt with their disability and

they were able to relate. I talked to them

about the United Nations and how it was

trying to bring peace and development

and ask for a better future for them.

This was one of those moments when I knew why I had joined the United Nations.

Iran

One of the Tour Guides at the Museum

Tehran Peace Museum: Promoting a

Culture of Peace in Iran

By Maria Dotsenko

“Peace is more than the absence of war,

real peace comes from our hearts and

leads to peaceful relations in the family

and community and among nations. Let’s

inspire others with non-violence every

day… Let’s be messengers of peace…”

There are still tears in my eyes when I

read these words on completing my tour

of the Tehran Peace Museum – a place

dedicated to the victims and survivors of

the chemical weapons attacks during the

Iran-Iraq War from 1980-1988.

The Tehran Peace Museum was founded

in 2005 by the Society for Chemical

Weapons Victims Support. The museum’s

objective is to promote a culture of peace

through raising awareness about the

devastating consequences of war, focusing

on the health and environmental impacts

of chemical weapons.

“We enjoy working with our main

audience – youth,” said Ali Reza Yazdan

Panah, tour guide and survivor of the

Iran-Iraq war. “They are thirsty to learn

about peace promotion. We coordinate

various peace education programs and

organize events to promote a culture of

peace, reconciliation, international

humanitarian law and disarmament.”

Many of the tour guides, survivors of the

war, volunteer their time and energy to

UNIC @ Work

March 2015 Page 11

spread the word about the devastating

effects of chemical weapons and endorse

peace.

"Their burnt eyes, their dedication and

their coughs express their suffering more

powerfully than any words,” said Sadeq

A., a visitor. “They motivated me and my

friends to engage into peace promotion

and ensure that devastating wars will

belong to history."

Sadeq joined a group of students at a

briefing about the UN at UNIC Tehran.

UNIC is one of the Tehran Peace

Museum’s partners and has ambitious

plans for cooperation with the museum in

2015, to engage youth in promoting peace

and other values of the UN.

More about UNIC Tehran.

More about the Tehran Peace Museum.

Creativity @ Work

Algiers

UNIC Algiers has produced a video, and

other materials depicting the vibrant

appeal and the strong commitment of

UN staff in Algeria against

discrimination.

UNIC also has produced a banner

(above) and a poster (below) on Zero

Discrimination.

Armenia

UNO Yerevan interns have prepared an

infographics with the data of the on-line

essay contest and a short film with the

help of the flipcam received from

Headquarters on the importance of

Mother Language Day.

Australia

UNIC Canberra has produced a UN70

banner.

Bangladesh

A poster in connection with International

Mother Language Day (IMLD) 2015 was

designed by UNIC Dhaka, UNESCO and

Daffodil International University for social

media use.

Brazil

UNIC Rio de Janeiro has produced the

UN70 logo in Portuguese and distributed

it to all UN agencies/programmes in the

country.

UNIC @ Work

March 2015 Page 12

UNIC has also produced a bookmark with

statistics on the work of the UN and the

logo of the 70th Anniversary which will be

distributed during special events.

India

UNIC New Delhi, in collaboration with the

Confederation of UNESCO Clubs and

Associations in India (CUCAI), produced a

pamphlet on UN Days and Observances to

mark the 70th Anniversary of the UN. UNIC

designed the pamphlet and CUCAI

sponsored its printing.

Japan

UNIC Tokyo has created a webpage in

Japanese to exhibit photographs from the

newly-created UNRWA archive

accompanied by information from the

online photograph exhibition called “The

Long Journey,” which depicts the lives of

Palestinian refugees from 1948 to today.

Also on the new webpage is a Japanese-

subtitled version of an UNRWA

documentary featuring one of the

photographers who produced the iconic

photographs.

UNIC Tokyo has designed a new banner

for use during events and interviews

featuring the UN70 logo and tagline in

honor of this historic anniversary and key

year for UN priority issues. (see banner in

the background)

Kazakhstan

UNO Almaty together with al-Farabi

KazNU - Faculty of Journalism, and

UNESCO Cluster Office in Almaty, have

created a winter school of journalism

UN70 banner.

Madagascar

UNIC Antananarivo has updated the

booklet on the UN System including the

UN Country Team and all agencies

mandates and work.

Pakistan

UNIC Islamabad and COMSATS have

created a poster to promote a design

competition to develop a UN Corner, a

satellite bookshelf of publications,

reports, magazines from the UN System,

to be placed in universities across the

country.

UNIC @ Work

March 2015 Page 13

For Zero Discrimination Day, UNIC has

collected the appeals of people living with

HIV and the statements of support of

many country representatives. The two

short video clips where disseminated

through Facebook and Vimeo.

UNIC together with the UN Country Team

also united for the HeForShe campaign on

Facebook.

South Africa

UNIC Pretoria and the UN in South Africa

have designed and produced shopping

bags for use during UNIC activities and

joint UN in South Africa activities.

Social Media @ Work

Armenia

Through the “Friends of UN – Armenia”

Facebook group, UNO Yerevan has created

an event where mother language related

issues were discussed and a Google forum

of the on-line contest shared.

Japan

UNIC Tokyo has reached over 61,000

people with a Facebook campaign to

promote awareness of the 3rd UN World

Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction

(WCDRR), which is expected to bring

together around 8,000 participants in

Sendai next month. The campaign, which

began on 10 February, has featured UNIC-

created original content as well as

promotional videos and articles from

UNISDR, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNDP and

OCHA.

In addition, UNIC Tokyo has created a

special portal site which includes

information about the 3rd Conference

and the previous two ones as well as

videos and links to relevant information

and other UN offices in Japan. The

webpage has been promoted on social

media and also serves as a more

permanent source for the materials

disseminated during UNIC’s WCDRR

Facebook campaign.

UNIC Tokyo has also created a hub page

on its webpage for information, articles,

and videos concerning the important

events of 2015 under the slogan “Time for

Global Action,” which is also promoted

with the hashtag #action2015.

Russian Federation

UNIC Moscow has launched an account

with “VKontakte”. Founded in October

2006, VKontakte has grown into the first

(by other accounts, second) most popular

website in Russia and Ukraine, the sixth

most visited site in the world and the

biggest internet resource in Europe.

UNIC’s account is currently being actively

used to promote the High-Level Event on

Women in Power and Decision-Making in

Chile and the upcoming International

Women’s Day.

For more activities of the global network of UN information centres, visit the UNIC Activity Blog.

UNIC @ Work

March 2015 Page 14