http://IonutC.tigblog.org/ What's on the minds of young leaders from around the globe? en-us http://IonutC.tigblog.org/post/429707 Problema care se pune este că încă foarte multe lucruri îi separă pe ruşi şi americani. Dosarul iranian rămâne nesoluţionat la Consiliul de Securitate ONU şi încă nu s-a ajuns la un numitor comun cu privire la independenţa provinciei Kosovo. Întâlnirea bilaterală de la Soci după Summit-ul NATO de la Bucureşti a fost mai mult o întâlnire amicală între doi lideri care au păstrat un dialog destul de strâns de-a lungul mandatelor lor şi care atunci se pregăteau să îşi încheie ultimii patru ani de „domnie” şi să îşi facă bagajele de la Casa Albă şi, respectiv, Kremlin. Acum, la Moscova s-a instalat deja un nou lider şi pentru Casa Albă se bat, în momentul de faţă, doi oameni noi. Astfel, nu se poate şti foarte bine cum vor evolua relaţiile Rusia-SUA. McCain a propus in martie ca Federaţia Rusă să fie dată afară din G8. Barack Obama, care a fost desemnat recent candidatul democrat la presedinţia americană a precizat, în mai multe rânduri, că susţine angajamente comune în cazul problemelor de înaltă importanţă naţională, cum ar fi Iranul, arsenalul nuclear şi statutul provinciei Kosovo, dar a şi criticat recenta implicare a ruşilor in Georgia. Pe de cealaltă parte, Medvedev critică tendinţa unilaterală a SUA de a construi scutul de apărare antirachetă. Acesta a declarat recent în prima sa vizită internaţională în calitate de preşedinte că dacă se va ridica acest scut, Rusia va fi forţată să găsească un răspuns adecvat şi că este dispus să continue discuţiile cu liderii americani.
Lăsând la o parte liderii ambelor puteri, dispute şi mai aprige se duc şi la nivel diplomatic. Astfel, reprezentanţii Statelor Unite în Rusia au anunţat că doi diplomaţi americani au fost obligaţi de ruşi să părăsească ambasada americană din Moscova. Expulzarea celor doi ataşaţi militari americani a urmat expulzării a doi diplomaţi ruşi de la Washington şi a survenit la numai o zi de la preluarea funcţiei de preşedinte al ţării de către Dmitri Medvedev.
În final, nu puteam spera ca în perioada imediat următoare relaţiile dintre SUA şi Rusia să ia o turnură spectaculoasă înspre bine. Atât timp cât vor fi probleme mari pe agenda relaţiilor bilaterale nu poate fi vorba de prietenie ruso-americană. Totuşi, nu este exclus să îi vedem luptând pentru cauze comune, lucru pe care l-am mai văzut în decursul ultimilor ani. În ceea ce priveşte dezvoltarea economică a Federaţiei Ruse preconizată şi pentru următorii ani, aceasta ar putea să producă noi nelinişti între o Americă oarecum dependentă de banii ruşilor şi o Rusie cu pretenţii din ce în ce mai multe şi mai mari în planul politicii externe.
]]> Sun, 20 Jul 2008 11:48:00 EDT http://IonutC.tigblog.org/post/429707 http://IonutC.tigblog.org/post/379943
The Millennium Project was commissioned by the United Nations Secretary-General in 2002 to develop a concrete action plan for the world to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and to reverse the grinding poverty, hunger and disease affecting billions of people. When we discuss about the specialists that worked for this project, it is of paramount importance to mention the fact they besides using their intelligences, they got emotionally involved in it and that is why we now have something to discuss on when dealing with the MDGs.

The exemplary work of people such as Professor Jeffrey Sachs, Special Advisor of the United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, between 2002 and 2006 and Director of the UN Millennium Project, is now continued by many non-governmental organizations and their volunteers who use both their brains and souls in order to implement their campaigns. There are countless examples of successful campaigns. Almost every country has had a project that has brought positive results in that country’s society and it was mainly due to the involvement of volunteers who used the two invaluable ingredients, IQ and EQ.

By definition, volunteerism is a learning experience encouraging social integration and offering opportunities to share solidarity with other people. Now, volunteerism is something more. It is an alternative to fuel progress in our society; it is an alternative to accomplishing our goals by 2015. And we have to use the idealism and devotion of volunteers, especially youth volunteers, in order to help the United Nations and ourselves meet this deadline. However, we are confronted with the lack of information from and about the UN. That is why our first projects should be focused on informing millions of young people all over the world, young people who CAN react.

All in all, each and every one of us, starting from the initiators of the United Nations more than fifty years ago and to volunteers from NGOs all over the globe, have used both the intelligence and emotional quotients. Yet, it is up to us to involve more and more people, especially youth because some of them will be adults in 2015, so as to achieve our ONLY goal: a better world for each and every one of us, a world pioneered by US.
]]> Fri, 30 May 2008 02:01:00 EDT http://IonutC.tigblog.org/post/379943 http://IonutC.tigblog.org/post/379939 UNESCO, the UN agency that supports collaboration through education, culture and science, is currently trying to offer quality education for all by 2015. Yet, there are 72 million children worldwide that are denied right to education and more than 774 million adults that cannot read or write mainly because of the fees and costs schooling involve. So, how can we solve these problems? A solution might be volunteerism. Through volunteerism people not only help their countries and learn to become respected citizens, but also gain invaluable knowledge. They are taught what commitment means, to express their feelings freely, to use creativity and to communicate to one another. This useful tool has, so far, given plenty positive results, so why should we stop using it and focus on convincing countries to lower school fees, thus harming their already affected economies?
At the 11th THIMUN Youth Assembly I attended this January as a member of the Committee on Youth Participation and Volunteerism, I learned that we ought to use the inestimable idealism and devotion youths possess. With their motivation and with help and information from the United Nations, they can voluntarily work on projects that can make a difference in their communities. Therefore, they would significantly improve their EIs.
Furthermore, through volunteerism and youth participation we can manage to accomplish, by 2015, the set of goals adopted in 2000 by the UN member states, the Millennium Development Goals. We have all seen great campaigns and projects and, with less than seven years until the deadline, we have to work tirelessly and involve more and more young people worldwide to act in this respect as we will be the ones who, in 2015, will be the adults that will inhabit the Earth. We should be given the chance to take action now because it is our supreme duty to make a change for the better.
To conclude with, what UN needs to do now is to help youths from all around the world get involved in making world a better place for each and every one of us. This can only happen if young people volunteer in viable projects. We do not need to educate a generation of people with IQs of scientists and EQs of eggplants, but a generation of highly responsible and devoted citizens.
]]> Fri, 30 May 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://IonutC.tigblog.org/post/379939 http://IonutC.tigblog.org/post/379935 In ceea ce priveste tinerii din Romania si MDG-urile, exista o multime de feluri in care tinerii se pot implica in solutionarea problemelor existente. Insa, avand in vedere lipsa de informare a tinerilor din tara noastra in legatura cu obiectivele stabilite de ONU in 2000, totul ar trebui sa inceapa cu o campanie prin care sa li se deschida ochii in legatura cu politicile ONU. La o astfel de campanie am participat si eu in liceu ca si coordonator al obiectivului 8. Anumite serii de intalniri ar trebui desfasurate in fiecare oras mare, intalniri participantii sa caute informatii si sa vina cu idei in legatura cu solutionarea problemelor care le sunt puse in fata de coordonatori. Acest format a dat rezultate semnificative la noi in liceu, tinerii venind cu o multime de idei de proiecte viabile.
Dupa ce tinerii participa la astfel de intalniri isi intra in rolul de agenti MDG. Incepand cu campanii de curatenie, continuand cu sustinerea cauzelor pe blog-uri sau in media si pana la incercarea de convingere a marilor companii sa intre in hora responsabilitatii sociale ca sustinatori ai proiectelor lor, tinerii pot ajuta la atingerea tintelor. Campanii de curatenie s-au mai facut. Si eu am organizat asa ceva in oras. Numai ca una e sa ai 30 de copii si alta e sa strangi un grup de 200 de tineri care sa impanzeasca orasul si sa ai un partener dispus sa te ajute cu banii si publicitatea. In plus, se pot infiinta cluburi de ecologie in licee prin care se pot pune la punct o multime de activitati care pot implica multi elevi. Ca fost presedinte al unui astfel de club, rezultatele pe care le-am avut au fost nemaipomenit de bune. Am vazut ca tinerii au disponibilitate sa se implice intr-o multime de proiecte si ca te poti baza oricand pe devotamentul lor. De asemenea, vocea tineretului se poate face simtita pe blog-uri sau in campanii media in care se prezinta anumite probleme existente si se incearca sensibilizarea opiniei publice. Tinerii ar putea discuta de la egal la egal cu persoane care au putere de decizie in tara, dar si cu oameni importanti din business-ul romanesc in cadrul unor intalniri de forma Cool Politics, foarte populare si eficiente in Olanda.
In concluzie, pentru a putea folosi resursele inestimabile de idealism si motivatie pe care tinerii le poseda trebuie mai intai sa le imbunatatim EQ-urile si sa le furnizam baza de cunostinte minime de care ei au nevoie.
]]> Fri, 30 May 2008 01:58:00 EDT http://IonutC.tigblog.org/post/379935 http://IonutC.tigblog.org/post/365747 Citind şi analizând cu atenţie articolele semnate în ultimul număr al publicaţiei, am ajuns la concluzia că statele puternice din Uniunea Europeană, dându-şi seama de faptul că va mai dura ceva vreme până când Tratatul de la Lisabona va putea oferi satisfacţii pe planul menţinerii securităţii Uniunii, au decis să folosească NATO ca soluţie de rezervă.
Faptul că NATO nu mai este ceea ce a fost în trecut e lucru ştiut de toată lumea. Totuşi, această organizaţie aflată, în opinia mea, în moarte clinică este ţinută în viaţă de o Germanie şi o Franţă care aşteaptă ca Tratatul de la Lisabona să intre în vigoare la 1 ianuarie 2009 şi să se aleagă acel Înalt Reprezentant şi de o Americă care se luptă cu un adversar invizibil, adversar care nu foloseşte un câmp de luptă în adevăratul sens al cuvântului pentru a-şi lansa atacurile ucigătoare.
Referitor la posibilele arii de conflict ce ar putea apărea după proclamarea independenţei în Kosovo, consider că nu mai suntem în 1989 ca să se declanşeze principiul dominoului. În momentul de faţă ne aflăm la două luni după acest eveniment şi încă nu simt nelinişte în posibilele focare de revoltă. Şi toate astea nu pentru că NATO se află la control, ci pentru că Federaţia Rusă scoate aşi din mânecă la fiecare întâlnire a Consiliului de Securitate ONU sau la întâlniri bilaterale şi joacă, nu numai Europa, ci şi SUA pe degete.
Revenind la rolul NATO pe harta geopoliticii mondiale ne dăm seama că singurul rol pe care organizaţia poate să-l îndeplinească încă cu brio este cel de „câine de pază” al Europei. Totuşi, zilele în această poziţie sunt numărate. Campaniile din Afghanistan arată lipsa de disponibilitate a anumitor state de a se implica în cadrul NATO, înainte de a rezolva problema securităţii Bătrânului Continent. Poate aşa se justifică reorientarea SUA către atragerea de noi parteneri din afara Europei pentru Alianţă şi reticenţa Franţei şi Germaniei cu privire la această politică.
Faptul că s-a decis continuarea proiectelor începute în Afghanistan şi implicarea puţin mai activă a Franţei, Germaniei şi, de ce nu, a Spaniei ne arată că principalele puteri europene sunt dispuse să facă anumite concesii, dar numai pe termen scurt. Oricum, acestea participă în Afghanistan prin parteneriatul existent între Uniunea Europeană şi ţara din Orientul Mijlociu.
În final, de ce s-ar mai complica Franţa şi Germania să fie parte intregrantă a unui NATO unde vârf de lance este SUA din moment ce ele sunt principalele puteri ce formează Uniunea Europeană, cea mai mare putere economică mondială şi, într-un viitor mai mult sau mai puţin indepărtat, cea mai mare putere politică mondială? Şi de ce s-ar mai complica celelalte membre ale UE mai sărace cu o alianţă care le mănâncă bani şi care nu le oferă nici fonduri, nici satisfacţii? Pentru toate acestea şi mai mari ca acestea s-a reorganizat Uniunea Europeană prin Tratatul de la Lisabona...]]> Sat, 03 May 2008 16:21:00 EDT http://IonutC.tigblog.org/post/365747 http://IonutC.tigblog.org/post/357087
Good Luck]]> Sun, 13 Apr 2008 14:52:00 EDT http://IonutC.tigblog.org/post/357087 http://IonutC.tigblog.org/post/347385
TYA este locul ideal in care tineri motivati si implicati in comunitatile lor se intrunesc si discuta lucruri si vin cu proiecte concrete care sunt implementate la nivel national si global. Faptul ca ceea ce se discuta la aceste conferinte, ca si la THIMUN se afla sub atenta observatie a ONU face ca importanta conferintei sa creasca semnificativ, iar proiectele sa aiba mai multi sorti de izbanda.

Anul acesta vor fi 6 comitete:

* Mental Health and Youth
* Water and Youth
* HIV and AIDS
* Millennium Development Goals
* Corporate Social Responsibility
* Human Rights and Youth

Descrierile fiecarui comitet in parte pot fi citite pe site-ul evenimentului www.youthassembly.org. De asemenea, tot acolo veti gasi si toate detaliile legate de procesul de aplicatie. Termenul limita pentru inscrieri este 24 Aprilie 2008. As dori sa mentionez faptul ca nu este deloc important sa ai experienta Model UN anterioara. Pentru nelamuriri si intrebari, dar si pentru impresii legate de conferinta, nu ezitati sa ma contactati pe mail la ionutalexandru.cristea@gmail.com. As dori sa ii rog pe cei care doresc sa se inscrie sa ma anunte pentru a putea contabiliza numarul de participanti din Romania.

Va multumesc.

Ionut Alexandru Cristea
TYA Ambassador]]> Sun, 23 Mar 2008 17:07:00 EDT http://IonutC.tigblog.org/post/347385 http://IonutC.tigblog.org/post/343427
By the force of circumstances and his own personality he was able greatly to extend the influence of the United Nations and the prestige of the Secretary General. In many corners of the world he became the symbol of the United Nations itself.

It was largely because of his leadership and the personal initiatives he assumed--as in the conduct of the Congo operation--that the Soviet Union came to attack him and demand his ouster.

Ironically, the big powers had selected Mr. Hammarskjold to succeed Trygve Lie of Norway, the United Nations' first Secretary General, because they believed he would be content to be the efficient administrator and avoid a politically controversial role.
Strategic Position

However, the "cold war" and the United States' willingness to relinquish important policy initiatives to the United Nations put Mr. Hammarskjold in a particularly strategic position to utilize his own brand of "private diplomacy."

In his years of service as Secretary General he scored a number of successes but also suffered some disappointments. His first major triumph came in 1955, when he made a dramatic flight to Peiping to seek the release of fifteen United States airmen held by the Chinese Communists.

When word came of the prisoners' release, Mr. Hammarskjold was away on one of his rare holidays--a holiday that coincided with his fiftieth birthday--cod fishing at a small Swedish village.

Again, in 1956, the Hungary and Suez crises projected the Secretary General into the center of the world political stage. The United Nations never succeeded in getting representatives into Budapest after Soviet tanks crushed the Hungarian revolt--despite ten resolutions and numerous personal efforts by Mr. Hammarskjold.

In the Suez crisis, Mr. Hammarskjold surprised many people by the force of his attack on Israel, Britain and France for their invasion of Egypt following the seizure of the Suez Canal by President Gamal Abdel Nasser.

The British and the French, who had proposed Mr. Hammarskjold as Mr. Lie's successor, were unprepared for the new political role he had assumed. Under pressure from the United Nations and the United States, they and the Israelis withdrew their forces.

On instructions from the General Assembly Mr. Hammarskjold also organized in forty-eight hours the United Nations Emergency Force for the Middle East, which remains on watch along Israel's frontiers and has reduced border incidents to a few minor infractions a year.

When he accepted a second five-year term as Secretary General in 1958, Mr. Hammarskjold took the occasion to underscore his determination to maintain his office as an independent force and to act without political dictation from any state as he saw needs for action developing.

It was in the same year that the Soviet Union began attacking decisions by the Secretary General and criticizing him for independent action. But it was not until the United Nations intervention in the Congo that he incurred the full force of Soviet attacks. The attacks on Mr. Hammarskjold were even more bitter than those Moscow had directed at Mr. Lie for his support of the United Nations intervention in the Korean war in 1950.
Khrushchev Joins In

The Soviet campaign against Mr. Hammarskjold reached its peak with the angry speech of Premier Khrushchev just a year ago in the Assembly. Mr. Khrushchev upbraided Mr. Hammarskjold for not having used military force in support of Patrice Lumumba, the Soviet backed Congolese Premier. Mr. Lumumba was later slain.

Mr. Khrushchev linked the attack to a Soviet demand that Mr. Hammarskjold be replaced as Secretary General by a three-man executive representing the Western, Soviet and neutral camps.

The Soviet castigation of Mr. Hammarskjold as a tool of the "colonialists" left many United Nations delegates stunned. But the supporters of Mr. Hammarskjold among the smaller nations responded with a standing ovation a few days later when the Secretary General coolly replied that he would remain in his job as long as "they wished"--they being the small states and middle- ranking powers.
Favored Direct Contacts

Just prior to his hurried departure for the Congo last week, Mr. Hammarskjold said it was difficult for him to absent himself so soon before the opening of the Assembly session. That session begins today. However, Mr. Hammarskjold added, he appreciated the need for direct personal contact with the leaders of the Congo.

Mr. Hammarskjold had repeatedly expressed his confidence in direct talks. He said he regarded personal contacts as a "must" if he was to serve properly the interests of the United Nations.

In line with this philosophy, Mr. Hammarskjold made himself available last July as a sort of go- between in hopes of resolving the French-Tunisian conflict over Bizerte. Although President Habib Bourguiba of Tunisia invited him to his North African country, the French made no move to follow up the overtures.

Characteristically, Mr. Hammarskjold declined at least publicly to regard the French attitude as a snub and said at the time: "People really are too sensitive on my behalf."

Although he has written extensively about his political philosophy, lectured occasionally and conversed with thousands of diplomats, Hammarskjold the man has remained almost as obscure as the day he arrived in April, 1953, to take over the post that his predecessor called "the most impossible job in the world."

A slim bachelor of medium height with blue eyes, Mr. Hammarskjold managed even under pressure to give the impression, at the age of 56, of a man years younger, relaxed in manner but with a certain aloofness.

Millions of television viewers had watched him as he sat in silent thought with two fingers pressed to his jaw--a characteristic pose.

He looked the intellectual and aristocrat. His serious interests included music, literature and art, with a preference for the French impressionists. But by far his greatest interest was his post as Secretary General.

He spoke of his 3,500-member international staff as the "United Nations family." The modernistic glass and marble United Nations headquarters was to him "this house." And he was as concerned about its furnishings as any home owner.
Declined Invitations

In his first year as Secretary General Mr. Hammarskjold was much in demand by New York hostesses, but he declined to attend almost all social functions. He preferred to give fairly small dinner parties in his Park Avenue apartment.

Although he rarely found time for opera or the theatre--two favorite pastimes--he managed to keep informed about current performances. He encouraged the use of the United Nations Assembly Hall for concerts on such occasions as United Nations Day.

When he first took over from Mr. Lie, staff morale was at its lowest point because of United States Senate "loyalty" investigations, led by the late Senator Joseph R. McCarthy, of United Nations staff members.

It was the new Secretary General's job to try to raise morale. He began the custom of meeting with the staff for a party or talk before each Assembly. In those early years he occasionally turned up on a cafeteria queue carrying a tray.
Pressures Increased

But as time went by and the pressures of the office increased, these personal contacts were largely abandoned and he kept to his thirty-eighth-floor offices, which were off limits to all but a few lieutenants. He tried to spend Christmas with United Nations troops on duty in the Gaza Strip, in the Middle East.

Just before his fatal Congo trip, he revived the old practice of meeting with the staff privately and promised to look into some grievances about such matters as salaries. He was given a standing ovation.

His relations with the United Nations diplomatic corps ranged from correct to cordial but he had few close friendships and even fewer confidants.

In times of stress--and the history of the United Nations has been one of almost constant crises in recent years--he would work all day and into the night in his offices, which were decorated with paintings he had selected personally at the Museum of Modern Art. He worked at an uncluttered desk, smoking a pipe or small brown cigars, often with the windows open to catch the sound of riverboat whistles.

He wrote his own speeches, usually in a diffuse prose that rendered them difficulty to interpret. He deliberately chose cautious gray words rather than highly colored ones. He once objected to a question from a newsman saying: "You use such drastic language--my own is rather flat."

Mr. Hammarskjold was at home in German, French and Swedish as well as in English, spoken with a slight accent. It was one of his few diversions in recent years to translate literary works.

One of his translations was a slim volume of the poetry of St. John Perse, who won the Nobel prize two years ago. The Secretary General's translation from French into Swedish was acclaimed by Scandinavian critics, who said the translator must have been something of a poet to have rendered the author's thoughts as he did.

Two Hammarskjold missions of a sort had a place in United Nations history. Once the Secretary General went for a five-mile walk across the Negev Desert with Prime Minister David Ben- Gurion of Israel. The two men talked as they walked about Israel's armistice troubles with her Arab neighbors.

On another occasion, in days when Mr. Hammarskjold's relations with Mr. Khrushchev were smoother, the Soviet Premier took the visiting Secretary General for a rowboat trip at Sochi, the Black Sea resort. About their conversation Mr. Hammarskjold said only that they had "talked the language of the sea."

Mr. Hammarskjold had other critics besides Mr. Khrushchev and his representatives.

One complaint concerned his reluctance to share confidences or delegate authority. Some observers felt that he had undergone a change during his years at the United Nations and had grown overly self-confident. This observation was heard at the time of his offer to mediate the Bizerte crisis.

Even earlier there were some diplomats without a stake in the Suez venture who objected that Mr. Hammarskjold had in his "private diplomacy" with Cairo failed to get President Nasser's Government to heed United Nations resolutions on the right of passage through the canal, although it was a United Nations effort that cleared the canal of ships ordered scuttled in it by Cairo.

However, these criticisms and others were infrequent. In the opinion of the vast majority of diplomats and United Nations personnel who worked with him, Mr. Hammarskjold performed his tasks brilliantly and with a single-minded devotion that would be almost impossible to match.
Made Perilous Trips

Although he eschewed dramatic gestures, the Secretary General twice undertook dangerous assignments to participate personally in United Nations missions.

The first time was in the summer of 1958 when he flew to Lebanon, then torn by a political crisis, to confer with the United Nations observation group there. The second instance was his trip to the Congo in August of last year to enter secessionist Katanga Province with the first United Nations troops.

Although political developments were his prime concern, Mr. Hammarskjold was almost equally concerned with economic affairs and demanded for the United Nations an important role in helping the world's under-developed countries achieve a higher living standard. One of his special interests lay in the establishment of OPEX--Operational and Executive Personnel--which was to provide administrative-level officials to help establish Government services in newly emerging countries.
Was Premier's Son

Dag Hammarskjold--the name Dag means day--was born July 29, 1905, in Jonkoping, in south central Sweden. He was the fourth son of Hjalmar Hammarskjold, who was Sweden's Premier during World War I and who steered a neutral course that kept Sweden out of the war.

The young Hammarskjold grew up in the university town of Uppsala, where he studied French literature, philosophy and political economy and earned a reputation as a brilliant student. He took advanced studies in economics and received a Bachelor of Law degree in 1930.

Three years later, he was awarded his doctorate from the University of Stockholm. He chose for his thesis "Konjunk-turspridinngen"--the spread of the business cycle. At 31 years of age he became permanent under secretary in the Ministry of Finance and concurrently served as chairman of the board of the National Bank of Sweden for seven years.

The story is told that the boyish-looking board chairman kept up his habit of cycling around the country on holidays, hatless and wearing shorts and a sport shirt. Once when he was 36, cycling in southern Sweden, he asked for a room at a hotel. The clerk took a quick look at the would-be guest and directed him to a local youth hostel. The chairman of the national bank cheerfully accepted the suggestion.
Takes Foreign Affairs Post

Mr. Hammarskjold became an adviser to the Cabinet on financial and economic problems in 1945 and helped to shape Sweden's fiscal policies. Two years later he moved to the Foreign Ministry with the rank of under secretary.

In 1951 he joined the Cabinet as Minister Without Portfolio and then became Deputy Foreign Minister.

Mr. Hammarskjold was a delegate to the Paris conference in 1947 that established the Marshall Plan machinery for United States aid to war-ravaged Europe. A year later he attended the conference of the Organization for European Economic Cooperation.

Although he served with a Social Democratic Cabinet, Mr. Hammarskjold never formally joined any party and preferred to be described as a political independent.

His first connection with the United Nations was as a delegate. In 1951 he was vice chairman of Sweden's delegation to the General Assembly session in Paris. The following year he was acting chairman of the country's delegation to the Assembly session held in New York. He was the second-ranking official of the Swedish Foreign Ministry when he was asked to become chief of the United Nations.

Mr. Hammarskjold was unanimously named Secretary General by the Assembly April 7, 1953, on the recommendation of the Security Council. He was re-elected unanimously for another term of five years in Sept., 1957.

His duties as Secretary General led to many and varied missions, apart from his trip to Peiping and his visits to the Middle East. He twice visited Asia, once to observe the cease-fire line in Kashmir that had been arranged by the United Nations after it brought an end to Indian-Pakistani fighting over the border state.

In 1959, he toured twenty-one African lands and came away impressed by the political maturity of many of the leaders he had met. He also came away convinced that financial and economic aid on a huge scale had to be found for those countries.

Although travel economies were not expected of the Secretary General, Mr. Hammarskjold insisted on going tourist class to the tenth anniversary conference of the United Nations, held in San Francisco in 1955.

One of the few pleasures Mr. Hammarskjold permitted himself was to steal away for a week-end to his country home near Brewster, N.Y.

Once an enthusiastic mountain climber and skier, he long ago relinquished these interests because of the pressures of his job. But over the fireplaces in his New York apartment hangs a mountain climber's pick sent to him by Tenzing Norkay, the Sherpa conqueror of Mount Everest. It bears the inscription:

"So you may climb to even greater heights."

Mr. Hammarskjold became a member of the Swedish Academy Dec. 20, 1954. He was elected to the seat in the academy previously held by his father.

Mr. Hammarskjold held honorary degrees from Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Pennsylvania, Amherst, Johns Hopkins, the University of California, Upsala College and Ohio University. He also held degrees from Oxford University in England and Carleton College and McGill University in Canada.



Sourced from http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0729.html]]> Wed, 12 Mar 2008 13:51:00 EDT http://IonutC.tigblog.org/post/343427 http://IonutC.tigblog.org/post/342359 Sat, 08 Mar 2008 16:47:00 EST http://IonutC.tigblog.org/post/342359 http://IonutC.tigblog.org/post/340439 Hope to meet you at GalMUN, this March.

Best regards,
Ionut Cristea]]> Sun, 02 Mar 2008 15:55:00 EST http://IonutC.tigblog.org/post/340439 http://IonutC.tigblog.org/post/340239 Mr. Vice-Chancellor,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen:
As Secretary-General of the United Nations, I have to give many speeches, and even quite
a few lectures. But I can think of no invitation to speak that is a greater honour, or a
greater challenge, than this one.
It will not surprise you to hear that Dag Hammarskjöld is a figure of great importance for
me – as he must be for any Secretary-General. His life and his death, his words and his
action, have done more to shape public expectations of the office, and indeed of the
Organisation, than those of any other man or woman in its history.
His wisdom and his modesty, his unimpeachable integrity and single-minded devotion to
duty, have set a standard for all servants of the international community – and especially,
of course for his successors – which is simply impossible to live up to. There can be no
better rule of thumb for a Secretary-General, as he approaches each new challenge or
crisis, than to ask himself, “how would Hammarskjöld have handled this?”
If that is true for any Secretary-General, how much more so for one of my generation,
who came of age during the years when Hammarskjöld personified the United Nations,
and began my own career in the UN system within a year of his death.

And how much more true, also, for one who has the special relationship that I do with
this, his home country!
So you see, it is quite a solemn thing for me to give this lecture, especially so close to the
40th anniversary of Hammarskjöld’s death. And I feel all the more solemn about it
coming here, as I do, directly from the part of Africa where he met that death - and
where, 40 years later, the United Nations is again struggling to help restore unity and
peace to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
I can tell you that the Congolese have never forgotten Dag Hammarskjold. Four
days ago, during my visit to the Congo, I met with the parties involved in the Inter-
Congolese Dialogue. Their spokesman began the meeting by telling me how much they
appreciated the late Secretary-General’s dedication, and the fact that he gave his life for
peace in their country. And he asked us to pay tribute to Hammarskjold’s memory by
observing a minute of silence. I found it very moving that people could feel like that
about him after 40 years.
In Zambia, too – which, as you know, was where he actually died –
Hammarskjold’s death is commemorated annually. The Zambian government, together
with your own and with the United Nations system, has launched a “living memorial”,
which includes a programme to educate young Africans as “messengers of peace”, as well
as a Centre for Peace, Good Governance and Human Rights. There could be no better
way to commemorate him than by promoting these ideals, which he held so dear.

If Dag Hammarskjöld were to walk through that door now, and ask me what are the
main problems the United Nations is dealing with today, I could easily answer in a way
that would make him think nothing much had changed.
I could talk to him not only about the Congo, but about the Middle East, or Cyprus, or
the relations between India and Pakistan, and it would all seem very familiar.

But I could also tell him things that he would find very unfamiliar - though some would
surprise him less than others, and some would gratify him more than others.
He would probably be relieved, but not surprised, to hear that China is now represented
at the United Nations by the government that actually governs the vast majority of
Chinese people.
It would surprise him much more to learn that the Soviet Union no longer exists. But he
could only be pleased to find that there is no longer an unbridgeable ideological
difference between the permanent members of the Security Council.
He might be struck by the number of conflicts the United Nations is dealing with today
that are within, rather than between, States – though the experience of the Congo would
have prepared him for this – and also by the number of regional organisations that have
developed as partners for the UN in different parts of the world.
I feel sure, in any case, that he would be pleased to see the way United Nations
peacekeeping has developed, from the model that he and Lester Pearson so brilliantly
improvised in 1956 to something much more diverse and complex, which is often more
accurately described as “peace building”.
And I imagine he would be equally impressed by the wide range of issues that the United
Nations is now called upon to face outside the traditional security arena – from climate
change to HIV/AIDS.
He would be gratified, and perhaps not all that surprised, to hear that human rights and
democracy are now generally accepted as world norms – though he might well be
distressed to see how far, in many countries, the practice still falls short of the rhetoric.
He would definitely be distressed to learn that, within the last decade, genocide had again
disfigured the face of humanity – and that well over a billion people today are living in extreme poverty. I think he would see preventing the recurrence of the former, and
putting an end to the latter, as the most urgent tasks confronting us in this new century.
He would no doubt be impressed by the speed and intensity of modern communications,
and momentarily confused by talk of faxes and sat-phones - let alone e-mails and the
Internet. But I’m sure he would be quick to grasp the advantages and disadvantages of
all these innovations, both for civilisation as a whole and for the conduct of diplomacy in
particular.
What is clear is that his core ideas remain highly relevant in this new international
context. The challenge for us is to see how they can be adapted to take account of it.
*
One idea which inspired all his words and actions as Secretary-General was his belief that
the United Nations had to be a “dynamic instrument”, through which its Members
would collectively “develop forms of executive action”.
During his time in office he became increasingly sensitive to the fact that some Member
States did not share this vision, but regarded the United Nations as only “a static
conference machinery for resolving conflicts of interests and ideologies with a view to
peaceful coexistence”.
In the Introduction to his last Annual Report – a magisterial work, which reads almost as
if he was consciously writing his political testament – Hammarskjöld argued that those
who regarded the Organization in this way were not paying adequate attention to certain
essential principles of the Charter.
He showed that the Charter clearly implies the existence of “an international community,
for which the Organization is an instrument and an expression”. The overriding purpose
of this community was to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, and to do
this it had to follow certain key principles.

These were:
• First, “equal political rights” – which encompassed both the “sovereign equality”
of all Member States, in Article 2 of the Charter, and "respect for human rights and
fundamental freedoms”, in Article 1.
• Second, “equal economic opportunities” – spelt out in Article 55 as the
promotion of “higher standards of living, full employment, and conditions of
economic and social progress and development”, as well as “solutions of international
economic, social, health, and related problems”.
• Third, “justice” – by which he meant that the international community must be
“based on law … with a judicial procedure through which law and justice could be
made to apply”.
• And finally the prohibition of the use of armed force, “save in the common
interest”.
These principles, Hammarskjöld argued, are incompatible with the idea of the United
Nations as merely a conference or debating chamber – as indeed is the authority the
Charter gives to its principal organs, and particularly to the Security Council, which
clearly has both legislative and executive powers.
The context in which he put forward these arguments was, of course, the Cold War, and
particularly the Soviet campaign against him during the Congo crisis of 1960-61.
That campaign is happily long past. But we still face, from time to time, attempts by
Member States to reduce the United Nations to a “conference mechanism”.
Those attempts no longer come systematically from one particular ideological camp.
Instead, they tend to vary according to the subject under discussion.

Broadly speaking, industrialised countries remain reluctant to see the United Nations act
on Hammarskjöld’s second principle – the promotion of “equal economic
opportunities”. And the governments of some other countries are equally loath to see it
actively promote “respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental
freedoms for all”.
In both cases, I believe the Secretary-General has no choice. He has to follow in the
footsteps of Hammarskjöld, upholding the right and duty of the United Nations to
pursue the aims laid down for it by the Charter.
Of course there is always a need for negotiation and discussion on the appropriate forms
of action. But the United Nations will fail in its duty to the world’s peoples, who are the
ultimate source of its authority, if it allows itself to be reduced to a mere “static
conference”, whether on economic and social rights or on civil and political ones.
*
The same applies to Hammarskjöld’s exalted view of the “international civil servant”,
which he also pursued in that last annual report, and in a lecture given that same summer
at Oxford University.
His argument here was that the people charged with carrying out the executive functions
of the United Nations could not be neutral in relation to the principles of the Charter.
Nor could they be regarded, or allowed to regard themselves, as nominees or
representatives of their own nations. They had to represent the international community
as a whole.
Here too, Hammarskjöld based his argument on a very careful reading of the Charter
itself – in this case Articles 100 and 101.
Article 100 forbids the Secretary-General or any of his staff either to seek or to receive
instructions from States. And Article 101 prescribes “the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity” as “the paramount consideration in the employment of the
staff”.
Once again, Hammarskjöld was arguing in the context of the Cold War, in which first
one side and then the other had tried to insist on the right to be represented, within the
Secretariat, by people who were loyal to its political or ideological point of view.
Again, the context has changed, and I am glad to say that States today, while extremely
keen to see their nationals appointed to senior positions, no longer seek – or at least, not
in the same way – to exercise political control over them, once appointed.
But the principle of an independent international civil service, to which Hammarskjold
was so attached, remains as important as ever. Each successive Secretary-General must be
vigilant in defending it, even if, on occasion, changing times require us to depart from
the letter of his views, in order to preserve the spirit.
To give just one example: Hammarskjöld insisted that the bulk of United Nations staff
should have permanent appointments and expect to spend their whole career with the
Organisation.
That may have been appropriate in his time. It is less so now that the role of the United
Nations has expanded, and more than half of our employees are serving in missions in
the field. This is a development which Hammarskjold would surely have welcomed,
since it reflects a transition from the “static conference” model to the “dynamic
instrument” model which he so strongly believed in.
But what is clear is that his ideal of the United Nations as an expression of the
international community, whose staff carry out decisions taken by States collectively
rather than bending to the will of any one of them, is just as relevant in our times as in
his.
*
And that, of course, has very important implications for the role of the Secretary-General
himself.
Hammarskjöld pointed out that Article 99 of the Charter - which allows the Secretary-
General, on his own initiative, to bring matters to the Security Council’s attention when
in his view they may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security -
makes him clearly a political rather than a purely administrative official.
In practice, successive Secretaries-General, including Hammarskjöld, have invoked this
article very sparingly. I myself have never yet found it necessary to do so. But the fact
that the Secretary-General has this power crucially affects the way he is treated by the
Security Council, and by the Member States in general.
Few people now question the responsibility of the Secretary-General to act politically, or
to make public pronouncements on political issues.
In fact, the boot today is if anything on the other foot: I find myself called on to make
official statements on almost everything that happens in the world, from royal marriages
to the possibility of human cloning!
I do my best to satisfy this demand with due respect for the decisions of the Security
Council and General Assembly. But those bodies would find it very strange if on each
occasion I sought their approval before opening my mouth!
Their members can, and do, take exception to some of my statements – and thank
goodness they do. There must be freedom of speech for governments, as well as for
international officials! But they do not question my right to make such statements,
according to my own understanding of the purposes and principles of the United
Nations as set out in the Charter.
No doubt Dag Hammarskjöld would also disagree with some of the specific positions I
have taken. But I suspect he would envy me the discretion I enjoy in deciding what to say. And I have no doubt he would strongly endorse the principle that the Secretary-
General must strive to make himself an authentic and independent voice of the
international community.
*
What he might not have foreseen is the way our concept of that community has
developed in recent years. In his time it was essentially a community of separate nations
or peoples, who for all practical purposes were represented by States.
So if we go back to the things about today’s world that we would have to explain to him,
if he unexpectedly joined us now, probably the most difficult for him to adjust to would
be the sheer complexity of a world in which individuals and groups of all kinds are
constantly interacting - across frontiers and across oceans, economically, socially and
culturally – without expecting or receiving any permission, let alone assistance, from their
national governments.
He might well find it difficult to identify the precise role, in such a world, of a body like
the United Nations, whose Charter presupposes the division of the world into sovereign
and equal States, and in which the peoples of the world are represented essentially by
their governments.
He might find that difficult – and if so, he would not be alone! But I am convinced he
would relish the challenge. And I am sure he would not stray from his fundamental
conviction that the essential task of the United Nations is to protect the weak against the
strong.
In the long term, the vitality and viability of the Organization depend on its ability to
perform that task, by adapting itself to changing realities. That, I believe, is the biggest
test it faces in the new century.
How would Hammarskjold approach that task?

First of all he would insist, quite correctly, that States are still the main holders of
political authority in the world, and are likely to remain so. Indeed, the more democratic
they become - the more genuinely representative of, and accountable to, their peoples –
the greater also will be their political legitimacy. And therefore it is entirely proper, as
well as inevitable, that they will remain the political masters of the United Nations.
He would also insist, I am sure, on the continuing responsibility of States to maintain
international order – and, indeed, on their collective responsibility, which their leaders
solemnly recognised in last year’s Millennium Declaration, “to uphold the principles of
human dignity, equality and equity at the global level”.
And he might well say that, with a few honourable exceptions, the more fortunate
countries in this world are not living up to that responsibility, so long as they do not
fulfil their longstanding commitments to much higher levels of development assistance,
to much more generous debt relief, and to duty- and quota- free access for exports from
the least developed countries.
But then he would also see that his own lifetime coincided, in most countries, with the
high watermark of State control over the lives of citizens. And he would see that States
today generally tax and spend a smaller proportion of their citizens’ wealth than they did
40 years ago.
From this he might well conclude that we should not rely exclusively on State action to
achieve our objectives on the international level, either.
A great deal, he would think, is likely to depend on non-State actors in the system –
private companies, voluntary agencies or pressure groups, philanthropic foundations,
universities and think tanks, and, of course, creative individuals.
And that thought would surely feed into his reflection on the role of the United Nations.

Can it confine itself, in the 21st century, to the role of coordinating action by States? Or
should it reach out further?
Is it not obliged, in order to fulfil the purposes of the Charter, to form partnerships with
all these different actors? To listen to them, to guide them, and to urge them on?
Above all, to provide a framework of shared values and understanding, within which
their free and voluntary efforts can interact, and reinforce each other, instead of getting in
each other’s way?
Perhaps it is presumptuous of me to suggest that this would be part of Hammarskjöld’s
vision of the role of the United Nations in the 21st century - because it is, of course, my
own vision.
No doubt if he were alive today he would offer us something nobler and more profound.
But I like to think, Ladies and Gentlemen, that what I have just described would find
some place in it.
Thank you very much.



www.dhf.uu.se/pdffiler/KofiAnnan.pdf]]> Sat, 01 Mar 2008 16:31:00 EST http://IonutC.tigblog.org/post/340239 http://IonutC.tigblog.org/post/340237 God gave us the two most precious qualities living creatures can have: capacities to imagine and discern. With these two, man has always proven to be the artisan of its progress. By imagining, he could devise new tools and machines and think of their applicability. Through his power of discernment he could realize whether they were good or bad, helpful or not. This can clearly be exemplified by the invention of the airplane. Even though people tried from the fifteenth century to build a plane, the first ones who had put their ideas into action and, therefore, into service were the Wright brothers, the pioneers of the modern airplane. Thanks to their effort, we now have the most rapid and safest means of transportation in use.
Yet, this principle is not solely used to create devices. It is also used to ensure the progress of our society. The governments, the members of the Parliament, the organizations that surround us use it in their attempts to pass new laws or create social programs. Each head of state has a group of people that surround him or her who help him reach the best decisions. Together, these two entities, through their efforts, serve a nation’s best interests.
Last but not least, this philosophy applies to all of us in particular. If I were to think of me, I could easily say that it is what I do every time I have to work on a project. First I come up with ideas that would help me better approach the subject, then think of the ways of dealing with it and, in the end, of the consequences of its implementation. All these done, I put my ideas into action with the firm belief that it is helping someone.
"Ideas into Action; Action into Service" should be the creed of all the people in the world. Everyone who cares for our future must direct their actions towards achieving progress for mankind. We must all be servants to the whole world that surrounds us, to humanity.
]]> Sat, 01 Mar 2008 16:27:00 EST http://IonutC.tigblog.org/post/340237 http://IonutC.tigblog.org/post/340235
For questions and enquiries do not hesitate to contact me via email at ionutalexandru.cristea@gmail.com or send an email to the official address of the office of the conference, office@galmun.ro

Hurry up and register if you are interested! Committees are starting to fill up.


Ionut Alexandru Cristea]]> Sat, 01 Mar 2008 16:24:00 EST http://IonutC.tigblog.org/post/340235 http://IonutC.tigblog.org/post/337703
Because of the fact that we encountered some problems with the registrations' section of our website, we extended the deadline for applications to March 10 2008.
Hurry up and register for the first international Model UN organized in Romania.
Check www.galmun.ro for more information.
]]> Sat, 23 Feb 2008 06:07:00 EST http://IonutC.tigblog.org/post/337703 http://IonutC.tigblog.org/post/336593 For more info check www.galmun.ro or email me at ionutalexandru.cristea@gmail.com.
I will be more than glad to answer to all your questions.
Remember--> Deadline March 1 2008]]> Wed, 20 Feb 2008 08:35:00 EST http://IonutC.tigblog.org/post/336593 http://IonutC.tigblog.org/post/335059 For more info check www.galmun.ro or email me at ionutalexandru.cristea@gmail.com]]> Fri, 15 Feb 2008 08:11:00 EST http://IonutC.tigblog.org/post/335059 http://IonutC.tigblog.org/post/334701 Thu, 14 Feb 2008 08:15:00 EST http://IonutC.tigblog.org/post/334701 http://IonutC.tigblog.org/post/334665 Hmm, grupul a fost foarte, foarte OK, ne-am inteles foarte bine, ne-am alergat dupa tigari in ultima zi, ne-am batut la biliard, dar mai ales am muncit pe rupte pentru a creea viziunea noastra, a tinerilor pe viitorii 20 de ani. Si ne-a cam iesit. Cel putin noua, astora de la cultura. Totusi, am avut mult de patimit pana sa ajung sa spun ca ne-a iesit ceva foarte ca lumea. Cel putin ieri la workshop-ul cu "culturistii". Chestia de ieri a fost una din cele mai dezamagitoare chestii care mi s-au intamplat in viata mea. Sincer. Sa vezi cum oameni de vaza a culturii romanesti iti pun piedici in a-ti atinge scopurile... M-as fi asteptat la asta de la un profesor de matematica sau fizica, dar nu de la niste persoane cu o mentalitate atat de noua, de proas(t)pata. Ma rog...
Oricum, raman cu inima impacata dupa ce "Ni s-a facut dreptate". La ultima sesiune, dupa discursurile Principesei si a Principelui, a urmat o feedback-ul, unde unul dintre artistii invitati, artist underground, a facut cel mai tare feedback posibil. NI S-A FACUT DREPTATE!!! Faza nasoala e ca n-am stat la sesiunea asta. A trebuit sa plec sa iau trenul...
Totusi, raman cu mandria si bucuria ca am participat la Youth Summit si ca am intalnit o multime de oameni cu care, mai mult ca probabil voi lucra la cel mai inalt nivel in maxim 15 ani. Acum, in incheiere, o sa folosesc un cliseu cat mine de mare- "Viitorul suna bine, Frate!!!".]]> Thu, 14 Feb 2008 05:54:00 EST http://IonutC.tigblog.org/post/334665 http://IonutC.tigblog.org/post/331953
Register on http://www.galmun.ro/individual/index.php or on http://www.galmun.ro/school/index.php and check the section of the website www.galmun.ro for more information on committees, accommodation, transport, fees, programme of events etc.]]> Thu, 07 Feb 2008 08:24:00 EST http://IonutC.tigblog.org/post/331953 http://IonutC.tigblog.org/post/330965
For those who are interested in such activities, do not hesitate to check the event's website www.galmun.ro. You can register there and find out information about committees, topics and accomodation. If the information there does not answer to all your questions, please contact me via email at ionutalexandru.cristea@gmail.com.

Ionut Alexandru Cristea
Registration Officer and Security Council Chair of the 1st International GalMUN Conference
"Vasile Alecsandri" High School]]> Tue, 05 Feb 2008 06:50:00 EST http://IonutC.tigblog.org/post/330965 http://IonutC.tigblog.org/post/324075
The idea of this project is based on my experience at the Youth Parliament and the discourse of Mr. Cristian Parvulescu, President of Pro Democracy Association (Asociatia Pro Democratia in Romanian) at the end of the works of the Parliament. I have to mention that Pro Democracy Association is the most important NGO concerned with civic participation in Romania, the NGO that proposed the first law for the uninominal voting system in Romania, an organization that has always did its best to promote active young people in Romania.

This campaign’s main purpose was to inform youth in my school, than city on the political doctrines present on the Romanian scene. One of the most important problems in our society is related to youth’s lack of knowledge of what to choose. Even though they do represent the future of Romania, they seem to be as insignificant as not to be taken into consideration in this whole process of choosing our leaders and nobody does anything to address this situation.

Unfortunately, after making a plan of the project and presenting it to one of the people responsible with extracurricular activities in my high school, the board rejected it, stating that it is illegal to do politics in schools. I would like to say that the idea of the project was misinterpreted. My sole aim was to INFORM and discuss technically, not talk about political events related to a certain party and encourage my peers to express their political views.

However, my attempt had not been in vain because the leader of the Galati Pro Democracy Association Club had become interested in my project after I told him my plans and my disillusion with the board in my high school and offered to help me co-organize it at the local level in Galati in February or March 2008. At this project we will try to attract young people between 17 and 19 from all high schools in Galati and we hope to have university professors as “teachers” in these classes. If the program proves to be successful in my city, I have promises from the leaders of Pro Democracy in Bucharest that it will be implemented on the national level by October or November 2008, when the parliamentary elections will be taking place.

The fact that this project will be organized even locally is extremely important to me as a young man who wants to get involved in the life of his community. I would also like to do it because I want to leave a significant mark in my city before I go study at university and leave Galati. Last but not least, it would be the first great victory of the people who believe in youth participation over the people who still believe in ideals from a bye-gone era.]]> Sat, 19 Jan 2008 04:02:00 EST http://IonutC.tigblog.org/post/324075 http://IonutC.tigblog.org/post/323907
The UN has risen upon the foundations laid in order to turn this balance in the favour of peace and prosperity. For this very reason, we are compelled to continue to strengthen the UN and seek solutions to the human suffering we are facing today, upon this basis.

The road we are taking and the vision we have set for ourselves require a solid and vibrant partnership, which up to date has formed the basis of the most successful organization in the history of mankind.

In view of the common challenges we have to face together, as well as our shared values and ideals which lie at the core of the UN, we need to be able to adopt a forward-looking approach that unites our efforts around common objectives.]]> Fri, 18 Jan 2008 16:55:00 EST http://IonutC.tigblog.org/post/323907 http://IonutC.tigblog.org/post/322529 In a world where we are confronted with environmental, social and political issues, the United Nations cannot stand all by itself to these problems and needs help. It needs the ingenuity, creativity, aplomb and idealism of millions of young people in order to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. However, young people think that it is extremely difficult to make themselves heard and that is why sometimes they are reluctant to getting involved in campaigns organized by local, national or international non-governmental organizations focused on achieving the MDGs. Thus, one of the aims of these organizations and the U.N. is to make youth realize that the accomplishment of the MDGs by 2015 will exert a beneficial effect on them as adults with families and careers.

Nowadays there are only few young people who really participate in activities of promoting the MDGs or are volunteers in NGOs focused on achieving the goals. They join such actions mainly because they are interested in certain issues. Their performance is outstanding and they work with enthusiasm in order to achieve a good result at the end of their mission. The best example that comes to my mind is the example of Greenpeace volunteers, who do almost everything in their powers to make themselves heard.

Moreover, in 2004 a group of young people from all over the world formed a Youth Caucus through which they participated in the annual meetings of the Commission in order to make sure that the voices of young people were heard. This group meeting along with a group of international young experts formed a working group and wrote the report “Youth and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs): Challenges and Opportunities for Implementation”. This report presents the ways young people can get involved in accomplishing the MDGs by 2015, a major step in showing our interest in solving the problems world has.

On the other hand, millions of other young people know nothing about the plan of the United Nations. It is not their fault that they do not get even the basic information. There are countries where information is censored and countries where people have little access to information, due to economic conditions, but there are also countries where the press is interested more in presenting sensationalist news than problems concerning our world. Therefore, the main issue to be tackled by such organizations and the U.N. is the problem of information, because young people can and they will react only after getting the necessary information on a subject

All in all, these goals need more than a group of enthusiast volunteers or a team of idealist youth in order to be accomplished; they need the support of all young people. Consequently, U.N. organizations and NGOs all over the world need to raise awareness among young people through campaigns in the press or on the Internet, in order to make them see that their future is at play if they do not act quickly.
]]> Tue, 15 Jan 2008 01:06:00 EST http://IonutC.tigblog.org/post/322529 http://IonutC.tigblog.org/post/321503
Why do people avoid reading poetry? Is it that bad reading Shakespeare's sonnets, Eliott's Wasteland or Neruda's odes? Is it that boring?

Yet, how do we feed spiritually? How can we experience feelings we are unfamiliar with? How can we break the chain of monotony and live intensely?

Ode to A Poem

O! poem, you bring light
to my dark world.

O! poem, you open my mind
to different things.

O! poem your words of wisdom
are like a saint.

O! poem, you bring the gift of laughter
to my family and me.

O! poem, each time I read you
you give me a chance in the spotlight.

O! poem, when I read you,
it's like I read God's
spiritual mind.

O! poem, you are like a chipmunk
wandering in the wild.

Jose, 4TH GRADE (www.witshouston.org)]]> Fri, 11 Jan 2008 15:59:00 EST http://IonutC.tigblog.org/post/321503 http://IonutC.tigblog.org/post/321175 Thu, 10 Jan 2008 15:25:00 EST http://IonutC.tigblog.org/post/321175