 November/December 1999 (XXXVII 5) |
t first glance, the looming United Nations seal showcased at the front of the General Assembly hall presents an image of global unity, power and peace. To a 16-year-old who aspires to work for the United Nations, this seal also represents dreams.
From September 15 to 17, I attended the non-governmental organizations conference at the United Nations in New York with other people from Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. We were among 2,890 representatives from 790 organizations in 64 countries who attended. It was an amazing sight to sit in a room that was a representation of the whole world. This struck me as one of the benefits of living in a new era where nations of the world are not as isolated from one another as they used to be. Listening to conversations in all different languages, and gazing upon beautiful native costumes, was one of my favorite parts of the conference, second only to the opening speeches.
The theme of the conference was "Challenges of a Globalized World: Finding New Directions." The opening speakers tied related issues into their speeches intensely and profoundly. U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan stressed the importance of international community, saying "it is the only way forward." Queen Noor Al Hussein of Jordan spoke about one of the down sides of globalization. She said "the growing wedge between richer and poorer individuals and countries is both fundamentally unfair and seriously destabilizing." After amazingly relevant and profound speeches by Annan, Hussein and Oscar Arias, former president of Costa Rica, I felt the conference had reached its peak. Then the conference broke into workshops and I realized that we had only just begun to really delve into the issues dealing with globalization. It was difficult to choose among discussions on interesting topics such as human rights in the workplace, agricultural policy, and "Globalization Mania: Environmental Neglect." Attending the workshop on "Hague Appeal for Peace: Disarmament and Human Security" really brought to my attention some of the negative aspects of globalization and what steps we as an international community need to take in order to prevent human tragedy. Learning about the dangerous nuclear weapons situation in our world was a wake-up call to the importance of disarmament and of the United Nations.
Attending this conference has greatly opened my eyes to the world around me and has hopefully set me on my path towards the U.N. in my future. Without the kindness of many Quakers, I would have missed out on this great learning experience.
Kelly Uphoff
Third Haven Meeting (MD)
Last modified: Wednesday, February 18, 2004 at 08:18 AM