Since former UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, was succeeded by Ban Ki-moon in 2007, I haven't really followed the UN as much as I did during my time in Model United Nations. My decline in following the UN closely may have also been because Kofi Annan left, and he was someone I greatly admired.
In late 2009, current UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visited the University of Washington, was given an honorary degree, and delivered remarks to a community of folks from the UW and beyond. I got an email with information about tickets, etc.; but since I had to lead the Dream Project class anyway, I didn't give it much thought.
Well, a few weeks ago, I got an email from a colleague. Turns out the Secretary-General would be speaking at my university in Berlin. Since I definitely had the time to go, I (along my buddy, Brandon) signed up for the talk. Apparently, there was a long waiting list afterwards too, but we had no problems with RSVPing.
I decided to wear UN colors, so I went in my black suit with a blue dress shirt and silver tie. Although nearly everyone else was dressed up as well, I somehow got mistaken for being someone who knew anything about today's talk/event. While I was waiting for Brandon in the lobby of Humboldt Universität, I had at least three people (including someone who was supposed to take pictures or something) come up to me asking where the lecture was. I wasn't entirely sure myself, but for a lecture like this, I could only guess in the main auditorium, so I just told them all to go that way (thankfully, I was right).
After Brandon arrived, we had a good laugh at how a lot of people did a double take when they saw me—Asian guy with black hair and glasses wearing a suit with UN-themed colors. Not surprisingly, I was one of only a handful of Asians at the event, so Brandon and I thought about telling people that Ban Ki-moon was my uncle. Would've been pretty funny, I think.
The Secretary-General entered the auditorium to a bevy of camera flashes and a nice round of applause. Pretty nuts how many pictures they took (only a few made it to the Humboldt website though. They had him sit in the front row for about a minute just for photos and then moved to the other side for more photos before getting him on stage.
The president of Humboldt Universität gave a short intro followed by the head of the UN Community of Germany (like the UNA-USA). The event itself was co-sponsored by the UN Community of Germany, Humboldt Universität, and the Humboldt-Viadrina School of Governance.
Soon after, the Secretary-General got his chance to speak. One of his first sentences was delivered in German, which was quite nice, I thought. Good touch.
His remarks touched on a number of things, particularly his perspectives and responses to certain events: the situation in Egypt, the election issues in Ivory Coast, and the referendum on a new southern Sudanese state. While it was good to hear him share his position on each of the events, it sounded much like the resolutions we used to pass in Model UN—mainly strong language that urged some sort of action.
Overall, his remarks were a nice pat on the back type of speech for the UN and for the role Germany now plays in the world. Nothing terribly in-depth. Then again, I suppose that's his job, right? Maintain and improve the UN's global image. He shared their successes and areas they are continuing to work on. He was very proud, it seemed, of his priorities for women and children.
Perhaps the part of his remarks I appreciated the most though came when he spoke about Egypt. He mentioned how responsible governments listen to the "genuine voices" of its people. Some about "genuine voices" stood out to me, probably because my Fulbright project is exactly about sharing the voices of people.
Brandon and I also noticed that the Secretary-General seems to have a favorite catchphrase: "totally unacceptable." He used that phrase at least three or four times to describe a few global events/developments. I like it.
Anyway, settling into my new apartment this past week has been pretty smooth so far. The only qualms I have are: one, the internet has stopped working in the evenings each of the past three nights (whereas I had no problems whatsoever for the first few days), and two, we've got some really annoying fruit flies floating around. I can't tell you how many I've smashed already.
Other than that, I'm looking forward to the Super Bowl on Sunday, even though it'll start at 12:30 AM on Monday in Berlin. James is coming up from Leipzig, and a whole bunch of friends in Berlin are coming over as well. Our game-viewing menu includes chili, nachos, guacamole, chips & salsa, pizzas, hot wings from KFC, a vegetable platter, brownies, ice cream sundaes, soft drinks, and of course, beer. Should be fun.
Until next time,
Sam
In late 2009, current UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visited the University of Washington, was given an honorary degree, and delivered remarks to a community of folks from the UW and beyond. I got an email with information about tickets, etc.; but since I had to lead the Dream Project class anyway, I didn't give it much thought.
Well, a few weeks ago, I got an email from a colleague. Turns out the Secretary-General would be speaking at my university in Berlin. Since I definitely had the time to go, I (along my buddy, Brandon) signed up for the talk. Apparently, there was a long waiting list afterwards too, but we had no problems with RSVPing.
I decided to wear UN colors, so I went in my black suit with a blue dress shirt and silver tie. Although nearly everyone else was dressed up as well, I somehow got mistaken for being someone who knew anything about today's talk/event. While I was waiting for Brandon in the lobby of Humboldt Universität, I had at least three people (including someone who was supposed to take pictures or something) come up to me asking where the lecture was. I wasn't entirely sure myself, but for a lecture like this, I could only guess in the main auditorium, so I just told them all to go that way (thankfully, I was right).
After Brandon arrived, we had a good laugh at how a lot of people did a double take when they saw me—Asian guy with black hair and glasses wearing a suit with UN-themed colors. Not surprisingly, I was one of only a handful of Asians at the event, so Brandon and I thought about telling people that Ban Ki-moon was my uncle. Would've been pretty funny, I think.
The Secretary-General entered the auditorium to a bevy of camera flashes and a nice round of applause. Pretty nuts how many pictures they took (only a few made it to the Humboldt website though. They had him sit in the front row for about a minute just for photos and then moved to the other side for more photos before getting him on stage.
The president of Humboldt Universität gave a short intro followed by the head of the UN Community of Germany (like the UNA-USA). The event itself was co-sponsored by the UN Community of Germany, Humboldt Universität, and the Humboldt-Viadrina School of Governance.
Soon after, the Secretary-General got his chance to speak. One of his first sentences was delivered in German, which was quite nice, I thought. Good touch.
His remarks touched on a number of things, particularly his perspectives and responses to certain events: the situation in Egypt, the election issues in Ivory Coast, and the referendum on a new southern Sudanese state. While it was good to hear him share his position on each of the events, it sounded much like the resolutions we used to pass in Model UN—mainly strong language that urged some sort of action.
Overall, his remarks were a nice pat on the back type of speech for the UN and for the role Germany now plays in the world. Nothing terribly in-depth. Then again, I suppose that's his job, right? Maintain and improve the UN's global image. He shared their successes and areas they are continuing to work on. He was very proud, it seemed, of his priorities for women and children.
Perhaps the part of his remarks I appreciated the most though came when he spoke about Egypt. He mentioned how responsible governments listen to the "genuine voices" of its people. Some about "genuine voices" stood out to me, probably because my Fulbright project is exactly about sharing the voices of people.
Brandon and I also noticed that the Secretary-General seems to have a favorite catchphrase: "totally unacceptable." He used that phrase at least three or four times to describe a few global events/developments. I like it.
Anyway, settling into my new apartment this past week has been pretty smooth so far. The only qualms I have are: one, the internet has stopped working in the evenings each of the past three nights (whereas I had no problems whatsoever for the first few days), and two, we've got some really annoying fruit flies floating around. I can't tell you how many I've smashed already.
Other than that, I'm looking forward to the Super Bowl on Sunday, even though it'll start at 12:30 AM on Monday in Berlin. James is coming up from Leipzig, and a whole bunch of friends in Berlin are coming over as well. Our game-viewing menu includes chili, nachos, guacamole, chips & salsa, pizzas, hot wings from KFC, a vegetable platter, brownies, ice cream sundaes, soft drinks, and of course, beer. Should be fun.
Until next time,
Sam
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