Many thanks to the Ulster Gazette, Armagh's weekly newspaper, for giving us such great coverage for our event!
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Our One World Festival NI Event was held yesterday (Monday 10 October 2022) in Armagh Robinson Library. We welcomed students and teachers from three County Armagh schools and it was great to have them with us! In the image above you can see two students from the Royal School Armagh, St Patrick's Grammar School, Armagh and St Patrick's High School, Keady with guest speaker, Emer Rafferty. We also had Ruth Young (seated left) representing the One World Festival, Emer Rafferty our guest speaker and Ruth Taillon (seated right) from UNA-NI. Carol Conlin, Assistant Keeper and UNA-NI's Chairperson and Pat Irvine (standing right) from UNA-NI. Students from the Royal School Armagh and students standing from St Patrick's Grammar School, Armagh. Seated were students from St Patrick's Grammar School, Armagh and standing were members of UNA-NI and teachers Mr O'Neill from St Patrick's Grammar School, Armagh and Mr Parker from the Royal School Armagh. Students from St Patrick's High School, Keady with their teacher Mr McGeary.
Photograph credit: Ian Maginess Held ahead of United Nations International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, Emer will cover the outcomes and challenges from COP 26, leading to COP 27. She will look at the progress in reducing disaster risk and the loss of life, livelihood and health. Cities are in the front lines in dealing with disasters and are vulnerable to increasingly frequent and extreme weather hazards, such as storms, climate change impacts, including water shortages, environmental degradation and unsafe constructions. Speaking ahead of her talk, Emer said, “I will be keen to let people know what worked well in the world of COP, and where improvements are needed. I will also want to let everyone know what actions they can take, both as individuals and as members of society, to confront the climate emergency.” UNA NI is a member of CADA (Coalition of Aid and Development Agencies in Northern Ireland),which is organising the One Word Festival NI from 10 - 15 October 2022. More information on all the events is available on https://oneworldfestivalni.com This is an invitation for our supporters as well as Armagh schools, so please book a place! exhibition to highlight the United nations international year of artisanal fisheries and aquaculture8/9/2022 Launch of the fishing exhibition with, from left, Brian Russell, local fly fishing guide; Library staff, Robert Whan, Director; The Very Revd Shane Forster, Keeper; Thirza Mulder, Archivist, and representatives of UNA-NI, Ruth Taillon and Patricia Irvine, and Assistant Keeper and United Nations Association N. Ireland Chairperson, Carol Conlin. For more information about the exhibition, please go to:
https://armaghrobinsonlibrary.co.uk/exhibition-on-history-of-early-fishing/ https://www.facebook.com/ArmaghRobinsonLibraryNo5 https://twitter.com/ArmRLib #IYAFA2022 A special evening when, with members of St George's Parish, Belfast, we had the pleasure of hearing Angus Lambkin. Always an able speaker who gives a clear overview of the UN at work, work in which he plays a sound role. An evening like this helps us in UNA-NI to believe that a strong, credible and effective UN is essential if we are to build a safer, fairer and more sustainable world. Thank you, Angus from all of us in UNA-NI!
Photo image credit: Kevin Cooper The Committee Members of UNA-NI request the pleasure of your company at a public talk, co-hosted with St George's Church. Angus Lambkin Civil-Military Coordination Officer for OCHA (UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) will give a talk entitled ‘From Candahar Street to Kabul: the Belfast man in Taliban Afghanistan’ on Wednesday 13 April 2022 at 7.30pm in the Parish Hall, St George’s Church, 105 High Street, Belfast BT1 2AG In the autumn of 2021, Angus was sent by OCHA with a small group of colleagues to Afghanistan. Established by the UN in 1991, OCHA brings together all those working to provide and deliver humanitarian aid, in order to ensure a coherent response to natural disasters and emergencies. It is guided by the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence.
Angus is from Belfast, was a student at Bunscoil Phobail Feirste and Lagan College and holds Masters degrees from the University of Edinburgh and the Humanitarian Aid Studies Centre in Spain. He has worked with UN Peacekeepers through Irish Aid on development, humanitarian and conflict resolution issues including in the DRC, S Sudan and Iraq. Recently returned from Afghanistan, his role of Coordination Officer was to engage with the many local communities and groups including the Taliban to determine what they identify as their needs. Admission is free with donations welcome to the Afghanistan UN Crisis Appeal Fund. Carparking will be available in the churchyard. To mark United Nations Day 2021 and to reflect on the previous 75th anniversary year of the United Nations, we would wish to remind everyone of what we managed to do during this anniversary year in Northern Ireland despite the challenges that 2021 brought. Collaboration with Other Organisations We continued our membership of CADA (Coalition of Aid and Development Agencies). We took part in CADA's One World Festival in October 2020 by holding an online event, presented by well-known Northern Ireland Storyteller Liz Weir. The title 'One World, Many Voices' was told by Liz through her stories which highlighted global themes, including the UN Sustainable Development Goals, for example, the environment and conflict resolution. Celebrations for UN Day - 24 October 2020 We always aim to celebrate UN Day and in 2020 we were even keener to do so as 24 October 2020 started the 75th anniversary of the United Nations and of UNA. Aware that we were unlikely to hold in-person events, we approached all 11 local councils and the two universities to invite them to light up their buildings in UN Blue on UN Day. An approach to one MLA also led to permission for the building at Stormont to be lit up in UN Blue. In the end more than 26 civic buildings throughout Northern Ireland were lit up in UN Blue on UN Day. To mark the special anniversary, several MLAs met with UNA Committee members for a photo call on the steps of Stormont. A separate photo call was held with the Lord Mayor or Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council with two of UNA-NI's Committee members. A thank you letter was received from the UN to thank all those who gave permission to have so many buildings lit up in UN blue on UN Day and we made sure that a copy was forwarded to all participating organisations. UN at 75 BBC Radio Ulster’s programme, ‘Sunday Sequence’, interviewed Natalie Samarasinghe, UNA-UK’s Director, who gave a well-balanced portrayal of the ‘UN at 75’ as part of a panel of speakers. On 26 October 2020, Natalie was the contributor for BBC Radio Ulster’s ‘Thought for the Day’. Both these programmes were an opportunity to promote the work of the UN and its relevance in today’s world. We met with the NI Teachers Council, involving representatives of all five teaching unions to present our proposals for engaging schools in dialogue and activity for the UN 75th anniversary year, commencing on UN Day. Following the meeting, each of the five unions received our resource pack including the UN’s global consultation survey on the future of the UN; a list of videos and other resources that can be used in schools to support both primary and secondary curricula; and a draft letter for teachers and principals. At our meeting, it was agreed that each of the unions could endorse the letter and that it could be distributed through their own websites and networks. We were also happy to respond to an invitation from the Ulster Teachers Union to submit an article on the work of UNA NI for the union newsletter, which was subsequently published. In January 2021, there was another opportunity to talk about UN 75 on BBC Radio Ulster during the programme ‘Your Place and Mine’ when the presenter Anne Marie McAleese interviewed UNA-NI’s Chairperson, Patricia Irvine, who spoke about the early days of the formation of the first UNA-NI Branch in Belfast back in 1945. In May 2021 we invited members and supporters to join us for an online talk by Stephen Farry, MP for North Down, Deputy Leader of the Alliance Party, and a long-time member of the United Nations Association in Northern Ireland. His talk, ‘Personal Reflections on the UN: the UN’s Relevance for Northern Ireland Today’ was well received and followed by a lively and informative question and answer session.
Model UN at Queen’s University Belfast We continued to strengthen our links with Queen’s Model UN by supporting each other’s online events. We were pleased that Tara Grace Connolly was selected as one of the two youth delegates who are assisting the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade during Ireland’s two-year term of office on the United Nations Security Council. Committee members were delighted to hear Tara Grace speak at an event held by the Queen's Model United Nations Group. Tara Grace, a vibrant, enthusiastic young lady, spoke of how privileged she felt to be the first person from Northern Ireland to be selected for the role. She and her fellow delegate, Conn McCarrick from Dublin, will represent the views of young people at the UN Irish Mission and will play an important role in building awareness of the work of the UN and Ireland’s role on the global stage. We held our AGM a short while ago and we have plans for the next year. We aim to bring the United Nations more closely to the people of Northern Ireland through information-sharing, awareness-raising and debate. We invite you to help us promote a safer, fairer and more sustainable world through a strong, credible and effective United Nations. Invitation to an Online Talk during the UN’s 75th Year
7.30pm Tuesday 18 May 2021 (via Zoom) We invite you to join us for an online talk by Stephen Farry, a long-time member of the United Nations Association in Northern Ireland. His talk, which will go live on Tuesday 18 May 2021 at 7.30pm, is titled: ‘Personal Reflections on the UN: The UN’s Relevance for Northern Ireland Today’ Stephen Farry is the MP for North Down and Deputy Leader of the Alliance Party, having participated in Northern Ireland political negotiations since 1996. Stephen holds a PhD in International Relations from Queen's University, Belfast and was a Senior Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace from 2005 to 2006. His interest in and commitment to the United Nations dates from his academic work in the 1990s. To mark the start of UN75, on 24 October 2020, we were greatly encouraged when more than 26 civic buildings were lit up in UN Blue throughout every local council area, and included university buildings. Normally we would hold UN Day events in different areas of N. Ireland and invite local school students to join us. While this was not possible last October, we now extend this invitation to schools and universities, local government, aid and development agencies and not forgetting our own UNA-NI supporters. Please find below the link to Eventbrite to register for the event: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-uns-relevance-for-northern-ireland-today-tickets-153598809173 The first programme in 2021 of BBC Radio Ulster's 'Your Place and Mine' has carried an interview with our Chairperson, Patricia Irvine, and the programme's presenter, Anne-Marie McAleese. The interview lasted for more than six minutes and can be heard again on: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0926mqh A great way to start the New Year, by promoting the 75th anniversary of the UN and of UNA-NI! Our thanks go to Patricia and Anne-Marie. |
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