2013 Events
UNA-USA Members Day at the UN and 5th Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference - February 4
On February 4 the 5th Annual Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference / UNA-USA Members Day took place at the UN. Speakers included Jan Elliasson, Deputy Secretary-General; Kathy Calvin, President and CEO, UN Foundation, Brooke Loughrin, the first U.S. Youth Observer to the UN, and panels on Rio+20 Moving Forward; the Global Economy, Education and Youth; and Finding Solutions to Stubborn Conflicts. The moderators and speakers gave generously of their time, and we thank them all. Over 600 people came to the UN and, we hope, took back new ideas and new enthusiasm to support the work and goals of the UN. We were lucky to have a beautiful February day! For more information go to videos of the conference Other materials are available at: www.unausa.org/membersday. Photos are also available on the Division's Flickr site.
2012 Events
Human Rights Day Event at Hyde Park Well Attended
On December 11, in honor of Human Rights Day, Gillian Martin Sorensen spoke on "Whose Human Rights? Ms. Sorensen is Senior Adviser and National Advocate at the UN Foundation and formerly was Assistant Secretary-General at the UN. The Division and the Eleanor Roosevelt Leadership Center at ValKill co-sponsored the event at the FDR Museum and Library in Hyde Park, NY. The Division also honored the life of Margaret (Molly) Bruce at this event. Dozens attended from Dutchess, Ulster, Rockland, Orange and Westchester Counties, including Molly's daughter and son-in-law; representatives of County Human Rights Councils and the American Association of University Women as well as the Eleanor Roosevelt Leadership Center at ValKill and UNA Westchester.
View the tribute to Molly Bruce and Gillian Sorensen's speech at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYppAF5ViZw Thank you to Fred Cartier for filming our event! Also view photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/unasouthernny - Human Rights Day - Hyde Park. Margaret K. (Molly) Bruce Passes Away
Our dear friend and Division Board Member Molly Bruce passed away on November 22, 2012 after a brief illness. Molly joined the United Nations in London in 1945, and at her retirement in 1977 was one of the top five women at the UN. At the beginning of her career Molly assisted Eleanor Roosevelt in negotiations toward the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Click here for her obituary, which gives the story of Molly's remarkable life. Molly was a former president and longtime board member of the Division, as well as its Advocacy Chair. She also served in those positions in the Westchester Chapter.
Her family has suggested donations may be made to the Division, to honor Molly's leadership and work in advocacy. You may use the donate button or send a check payable to UNA-USA Southern New York State Division, c/o UNA-SNY, 166 Edgars Lane, Hastings-on-Hudson, NY 10706 Contributions are tax deductible. Here is an interview with Molly Bruce about Lehman College as a site for the UN Security Council. See also the article about Molly Bruce published in Lehman Today. Division co-sponsors UN Day Event in Nassau County
Peter DeBartolo, Division board member, was guest speaker at the UN Day Celebration at Bryant Public Library in Roslyn, NY. This is the third year the Division has co-sponsored this event with the Library and with the Baha'i Community of Oyster Bay. Mrs. Farideh Siahpoosh, a retired librarian, is long-time UNA member organizes this event annually. Mr. DeBartolo Director of the Levermore Global Scholars program at Adelphi University and is the focal point for beginning a new UNA-USA Chapter in Nassau County.
Post-Rio Event
On July 25 the Council of Organizations and the Southern NYS Division held "The Topical Fruit of Rio + 20: What was
Harvested and What is Still on the Trees." Moderated by Robb Skinner of UN Foundation, the panel spoke to an overflow crowd ad the Turkish Mission to the UN. Panelists included Nikhil Seth, who was responsible for organizing Rio+20 on behalf of the UN, Jeff Huffines, World Alliance for
Citizen Participation; Ambassador Elizabeth Cousens, U.S. Representative to ECOSOC, Shamina de Gonzaga, Director, World Council of Peoples for the United Nations, and Amb. Josephine Ojiambo, Deputy Perm. Rep., Kenya Mission to the UN.
Blogging and Tweeting at Rio+Social
Division Board members Marcia Brewster and David Stillman, and UNA and Public-Private Alliance Foundation interns blogged and tweeted at the Hastings Public, following Rio+Social actions in June. Other board members and UNA colleagues joined in from other locations. According to one article, Rio+Social attracted 4, 624 Twitter followers, and it is estimated that Rio+social tweets reached over 5 million people worldwide. Rio+Social was sponsored by the UN Foundation and Mashable.com
Rio+20 Review and Outlook, May 15
Matthias Resch, coordinator of the Division's Energy Project, organized this event to highlight factors leading to Rio and expectations we may have. Speakers included Andreas Pfaffernoschke, Joel Smith, Krystal Layman and Kate Offerdahl, See our YouTube channel for their presentations. See a write-up on our energy blog.
Mid-Hudson Valley Chapter Meeting, May 2
 Kathleen Durham, ERVK
On May 2 several faculty members from Marist College, SUNY New Paltz and Vassar, Kathleen Durham, the Executive Director of the Eleanor Roosevelt Center at Val-Kill (ERVK), and UNA members and friends met to discuss starting a Mid-Hudson Valley Chapter. We thank Kathleen for hosting the meeting, held at the Wallace Center of the FDR Library and Museum, and for inviting all to a cocktail party for Meera Gandhi's book signing of her book Giving Back.
If you live, work, teach or attend school in the mid-Hudson Valley and would like to get involved, please email: unasouthernny@gmail.com The Kids for Shot@Life Program, May 1
Dr. Padmini Murthy, Division VP, (center,in white) worked with students of the New York Medical College School of Health Sciences and Practice to develop a Capstone project. They created a kit called "The Kids for Shot@Life," which will be piloted this summer. Shot@Life is a significant new campaign of the UN Foundation. Students included: Joel Cambron ,Elisabeth Elsinger, Fatimah Muhammad, Alana Peralta, Natasha Schimmoeller, and Maria Souto. This project was presented to the UNF Shot@ Life Campaign Manager Caroline Barrett, Faculty of NYMCSHSP and other guests on May 1st 2012. Mini Murthy represents the Division on the Shot@Life Program and received training at the UN Foundation in Washington in January.
The Kids for Shot@Life Action Kit contains items for student ambassadors to use in developing a program for their classroom. The campaign targets raising $20 per student so that each student is supporting the vaccination of another child. UNA Women launches in New York - March 7
 T. Dyall, Amb. Chowdhury, Mini Murthy
On March 7, UNA-USA launched UNA Women, a new interest group. Division members Jessica Bangs, Marcia Brewster, Padmini Murthy, Jeanne Betsock Stillman and Catherine White are steering Committee members. To learn more and to join, go to: http://www.unausa.org/women The group held its inaugural meeting with a discussion on Security Council Resolution 1325, with Ambassador Anwarul Chowdhury as keynote speaker.
Rural Women: Energy, Health & Water, March 6
On March 6 the Division hosted a panel on Rural Women: Energy, Health and Water, held at the UN Foundation office in NY. You can view presentations by Dr. George Garland, Director of the Division's Energy Project' Corinne Hart, Program Manager, Gender and Markets Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves; Dr. David Stillman, Executive Director, Public-Private Alliance Foundation; Mrs. Marcia Brewster, Senior Consultant for the World Water Council on a Water and Green Growth Project; and Dr. Padmini Murthy, NGO Co-Representative to the UN of the Medical Women International Association. See: http://youtube.com/unasouthernny
Board and Volunteer Training, February 29
About 30 board members and volunteers from UNA-SNY, the chapters and YP Program convened for an orientation to UNA, the Southern NYS Division and the UN Foundation. Laura Giroux, the new Membership Director of UNA-USA, Monika Johnson, Membership Assistant and Emily Ross, a UN Foundation Staff Member, spoke.
Mid-Atlantic Conference - Members Day at the UN, Feb. 10
The 4th Annual Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference - Members Day at the UN was a huge success, with over 850 attending. The program featured keynote speeches from Dr. Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University and Congresswoman Nita Lowey, (New York 18th District). It also featured prominent panelists who discussed topics ranging from the Security Council and UN Peacekeeping, to Sustainable Development (the Rio+20 Conference) and the Millennium Development Goals.
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2011 Events
Division Annual Meeting, November 30
Elections to the 2012-2013 Board were the main item on the agenda of the Division's Annual Meeting. Jeffrey Laurenti, Senior Fellow at The Century Foundation and log-time UNA volunteer and former staff member, spoke. View here:
5th Annual Festival, Society of Universal Sacred Music
 Division table at the Festival
On November 12, the Division co-sponsored the Society's 5th Annual Festival of Universal Sacred Music, held at Symphony Space in Manhattan. Musical traditions from India, Turkey, Israel, Appalachia, and Choral, Gospel, Jazz and Brazilian music were all featured.
Freedom of Expression on the Internet
Substituting for Frank LaRue, Felice Gaer, Chair of UNA-USA’s Leo Nevas Human Rights Task Force, spoke about the role of UN Special Rapporteurs, and distributed a paper on Highlights, Key Trends and Challenges of Freedom of Expression on the Internet. October 18.
Eleanor Roosevelt and the American Worker
On October 11, Brigid O'Farrell, author of She Was One of Us: Eleanor Roosevelt and the American Worker, spoke about her book. ER's grandson, Franklin Delano Roosevelt III, gave remarks. The Division co-sponsored with the Westchester Chapter and others.
International Day of Peace
"The War Against War," "A Culture Project production" was shown, followed by a Panel Discussion with the filmmakers and officials from the UN Departments of Peacekeeping Operations and Field Support. The showing took place on September 21 at the TriBeCa Theater.
Division's BRONX Group and Umoja AARP Chapter Celebrate
 Fannie M. Munlin
Under the leadership of Mrs. Oneater Sinclair, the Division's Bronx group nd the Umoja AARP Chapter #5396 jointly held a luncheon to commemorate United Nations Month. The featured speaker was Fannie M. Munlin, UN Representative of the NCNW New York State Regional & United Nations Office. Despite the snowstorm, this was a great success.
UN Day Celebration at Bryant Library, Roslyn, NY
Dr. George A. Garland spoke about the UN, Energy and Climate Change on October 22 at the Annual UN Day celebration sponsored for more than 20 years by a UNA Nassau County Volunteer and the Bryant Library, Roslyn, NY. The Division co-sponsored this for the second year.. Music students and music professionals participated in this program. The Division is helping to restart a Nassau UNA-USA Chapter.
UNA-USA Annual Meeting, June 2011
 Signing of the new Charter
At the UNA-USA Annual Meeting, UNA-USA and the UN Foundation celebrated their alliance, with UNA-USA becoming a Program of the Foundation. Representatives of the Mid-Atlantic Region signed their chapters' and division's new charters. Click here for the program of the 2011 meeting.
Board and Volunteer Orientation - April 27
About twenty new UNA-USA Division Board members, YPIC Board members and volunteers gathered for this year’s orientation. UN Foundation staff Robert Skinner, Jayan Kalathil, and Roger Nokes, UNA-USA membership coordinator joind Division Board members. Click here for more.
Division and Chapters Meet Patrick Madden, new Exec.Dir.
Representatives of Brooklyn, NYC (Manhattan), Queens, Westchester, the Division and its YP program met UNA-USA's new Executive Director. Click here for more:
Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference / Members Day at the UN
About 500 participants from the Mid-Atlantic Region and around the country attended the 3rd Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference, held at the United Nations on February 10, 2011.
2010 Events
Meeting with Governor Paterson, Oct. 25
In honor of UN Day, Governor David Paterson presented a proclamation to presidents of the chapters of UNA-SNY and Division board members. The Division honored the Governor with a globe for his encouragement of the UN and international business in NY.
Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference - Members Day at the UN
 Opening Session
UNA-USA members, chapter leaders and interested
nonmembers convened at the United Nations for the 3rd Annual Mid-Atlantic
Regional Conference and Members Day on Feb. 11 to learn about the role the UN
has been playing across the world in the last year. About 550 participants
engaged with panelists on issues that included the recent tumult in the Middle
East; climate change; health, gender and development; economic change in Africa;
and the future of Afghanistan. Read more here..
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