Monthly Archives: July 2014

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Message on the Int’l Day of Friendship, 30 June 2014

sgThis year’s International Day of Friendship comes at a time of widespread war, violence and mistrust in many parts of the world. People who have previously lived in harmony find themselves in conflict with their neighbours; people who have no choice but to live together find themselves ever farther apart. Continue reading

Video produced by UNRIC Brussels and Good Planet Foundation to mark the International Day of Friendship, 30 July 2014

As part of the ‘7 Billion Others’, UNRIC (Brussels) in partnership with the Good Planet Foundation, has produced a video to mark the International Day of Friendship, 30 July.

A visionary idea from the photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand, ‘7 billion Others’ is an ongoing project that started in 2003, consisting of over 6,000 interviews filmed in 84 countries to create a portrait of humanity today and show everything that unites us, links us and differentiates us. UNRIC and the ‘7 billion Others’ team have partnered to make the video portraits available in as many languages as possible.

The links to the videos are given below:

http://vimeo.com/99833392

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Message for Nelson Mandela Int’l Day, 18 July 2014

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Last year, the world lost one of its greatest leaders when Nelson Mandela passed away.  We remember his legacy especially on his birthday, the 18th of July.

Nelson Mandela and the United Nations had a strong history together.  Shortly after he was released from prison, he came to our Headquarters. It was a moment of great excitement.

Nelson Mandela’s presence in the General Assembly Hall proved that United Nations resolutions, sanctions and solidarity can win over violence and injustice. Continue reading

UN Secretary-General’s Ban Ki-moon’s message on World Population Day, 11 July 2014

173378The world today has its largest generation of youth in history – 1.8 billion young people, mostly in developing countries – with enormous potential to help tackle the major challenges facing humanity. But too many are denied their rightful opportunities to get a quality education, find decent work, and participate in the political life of their societies. World Population Day is an opportunity to renew our commitment to help young people unleash progress across society.

Action is urgently needed. Too many young people lack resources they need to lift themselves out of poverty. I am particularly concerned about adolescent girls Continue reading