Embed Doc
Copy Link
Readcast
Collections

CommentGo Back

Download

In this issue

Message from the PresidentP.1UNAUSA Global Classrooms

P.1

UNA Tampa Bay Important Donation

P.2

Book by Board Member Tim Kennedy

P.2

UNA-USA New President

P.2

Divorced Before Puberty

P.3

World Water Day

P.4

Robert G. Ingersoll

P.4

Upcoming Events

P.5

What Do You Have to Say to the UNA?

P.5

The Mission of Global ClassroomsGlobal Classrooms cultivates global literacy, lifeskills and the attitudes necessary for activecitizenship by:



Engaging students through the explorationof international issues and institutions;



Supporting educators through professionaldevelopment and innovative learningresources; and



Enriching communities by nurturing respectamong young people for diverseperspectives.Global Classrooms and Model UNThe centerpiece of UNA-USA's GlobalClassrooms program is Model United Nations,which for the past sixty years has been at thecenter of a thriving community of young peopleinterested in issues of international cooperation.Model UN allows students to step into the shoesof ambassadors from UN member states todebate international issues, prepare draftresolutions, negotiate with supporters andadversaries, resolve conflicts, and navigate theUN's rules of procedure – all in the interest ofmobilizing "international cooperation" to solveglobal problems.With the introduction of the Global Classroomsprogram, UNA-USA became a pioneer in thedevelopment of simulation activities andcooperative learning strategies. Research

hasshown this kind of “learning by doing” strategy tobe remarkably effective with students rangingfrom first graders to upper division college

students.

Annually, over 500,000 high school andcollege/university students worldwideparticipate in Model UN conferences—authentic simulations of meetings of theGeneral Assembly, Security Council, and othermultilateral bodies. By role-playing the positionof UN ambassadors, Model UN exposesstudents to multiple perspectives on complexissues—such as terrorism, child labor andexploitation, refugee resettlement, sustainabledevelopment and climate change—that are ofconcern to young people worldwide.Skills DevelopedBasic skills such as reading and writing aredeveloped through Global Classrooms, as aremore specialized skills such as researching,public speaking, negotiation and conflictresolution. Moreover, Global Classrooms helpsstudents develop confidence, poise, and asense of personal empowerment.Global Classrooms CurriculumGlobal Classrooms’ copyrighted curriculum,with concentrations on peacekeeping,sustainable development, human rights and theeconomics of globalization, offers teachers andstudents, unique skills and knowledge-buildingopportunities. Additionally, Global Classroomscan be integrated with

already existingcourses, such as Geography, Social Studies,and World History. The curriculum is oftenused by English language teachers in theinternational cities as a way for students topractice conversational English.

Continued on page 2

UNA-USA Global Classrooms

MARCH/APRIL 2010 P.1

TAMPA BAY CHAPTER

Working

Together

for

Peace,

Freedom

Justice

UNA-USA Global Classrooms Model UN Conference, USF Marshall Center, March 24, 2010

Message from thePresident

Dear Members,I am thrilled to report to you that the 8

annual UNAUSA Global ClassroomsModel United Nations Conference wasa success. It was wonderful to see500 students from Hillsborough,Pinellas and Pasco county schoolsengaged in this United NationsSimulation. We were especiallyfortunate to have Linda Smith of ShareHope International address thestudents on the topic of HumanTrafficking. I would like to thank JuneWallace and SeroptomistsInternational for their support insponsoring Mrs. Smith. I encourageyou to visit http://sharedhope.org/ tofind out more about her organizationefforts to combat minor sex trafficking.This year’s annual convention will takeplace in Washington, D.C. June 6-8 atthe Carnegie Endowment forInternational Peace. Many of ourboard members are planning onattending. This meeting is particularlyimportant since it features theimportant

“Day on the Hill,”

which is

a not-to-be-missed opportunity foractivists to demonstrate to members ofCongress, through face-to-facemeetings, the strong public supportthat exists for active US participation inthe United Nations. You can find moreinformation about this meeting atPlease support our 2

AnnualAmbassador’s Cup Golf Tournament,June 6 at Bay Palms Golf Course onMac Dill Air force Base. It is animportant source of funds that enableus to support United Nations relatedprojects as well as our own GlobalClassrooms Program. If you don’t golfbut would like to participate bysponsoring a golf hole or a team,please see the flyer on our website atwww.unatampabay.org.Best Regards,Kelly MilizianoThe search for a new president beganearly this year, when Tom Miller

UNA-USA Global Classrooms Continued

Opportunities CreatedWith the support of its sponsors and project partners, Global Classrooms offers the studentsopportunities to:



Develop a personal view of, and commitment to, a positive global future and anunderstanding of the changes needed to bring it about;



Acquire skills of negotiation and consensus building as they role-play representatives of aparticular country or interest group;



Identify international, national and local strategies for community development;



Develop public speaking and debate skills as they articulate “their” country or interest group’sposition on issues ranging from global warming to human rights and sustainabledevelopment;



Engage in critical thinking as they are challenged to take into account the views and opinionsof the many other governments and interest groups represented at the

culminatingconference; and



Learn to respect others’ views as they interact with people who are different from them.

UNAUSA

TAMPA

BAY

CHAPTER

MARCH/APRIL 2010 P.2

UNA Tampa Bay Chapter Makes Important Donation

In late February 2010, the UNA Tampa Bay Chapter made an important donation of $500 in the nameof all of our members and the mission of the United Nations.Medical doctor

Franck Simon

(UNAUSA Florida Division Member), Haitian-born Palm Beach countyresident, is again going over to Haiti on February 27, 2010 for several weeks to aid and assist peopletouched by the recent massive earthquake.At our November Florida Division meeting he shared with us the progress of his mission as individualUNAUSA Chapters, raised funds to increase his outreach.During Dr. Franck Simon's several weeks in Haiti last year, he touched base with the UNPeacekeepers commanding officers, the UNICEF teams on the ground, and other US NGO groups inthe mountains and the capital. The UNA Tampa Bay Chapter is assured that all of the funds donatedby our local chapters, as well as those contributed by individuals, were put to great use.

Book by UNA Tampa Bay Board Member Tim Kennedy

Where the Rivers Meet the Sky

by Tim Kennedy: This very readable book is about a pioneeringattempt at participatory development and change. Kennedy begins his inspiring story with his return, inthe summer of 2006, to the communities he collaborated with 40 years ago. He found waiting amoving communal reflection (project managers would have termed it “evaluation”) of the profoundimpact of his SKYRIVER process. Kennedy offers readers at the end of his book a succinct summaryof the participatory development strategies and tools he used, and identified which worked andendured. Communication for Development and Social Change (CfDSC) is the nurturing of knowledgeaimed at creating consensus for action that takes into account the interests, needs, and capacities ofpeople concerned. It is a social process. Media and ICT’s are important tools but their use is not anend in itself. Interpersonal communication has a fundamental role in CfDSC. Future titles in this serieswill look at issues and cases relating to HIV and AIDS, and the evolving communities one finds online.Summary from Southbound Press:http://www.southbound.com.my/

March 17, 2010 --The UnitedNations Association of theUnited States of Americaannounces the appointmentofA. Edward Elmendorfasits new president.

Hesucceeds Thomas J. Miller.

The United Nations Associationof the United States of America(UNA-USA) is pleased toannounce that A. EdwardElmendorf became the newpresident of the organization asof March 16, 2010. Elmendorfbrings 40 years of experience tothe post as an international andnational civil servant.Elmendorf started hisinternational career in the USForeign Service at the USMission to the UN under AdlaiStevenson, and has been deeplyengaged with internationalinstitutions ever since. Afterworking at the US Mission, hewent on to become a staffmember at the United Nationsand followed that with a 30-yearcareer at the World Bank.Most recently, Elmendorf servedfour years as the president ofthe largest local chapter of UNA-USA, the United NationsAssociation of the NationalCapital Area, (UNA-NCA). Hewas elected in June 2009 byUNA-USA members as chair ofthe UNA-USA Council ofChapters and Divisions (CCD).“I believe the leadership that Edhas shown over the years toUNA’s chapters and divisionsspeaks for itself,” saidAmbassador Thomas R.Pickering, co-chairman of UNA-USA. “His commitment to UNA-USA’s mission is clear, and weare most pleased that he hasaccepted this vital position.”

Tom Miller, UNA-USA’s outgoingpresident, concurred, saying: “Icouldn’t be more pleased with theselection of Ed Elmendorf. Having ledone of our most active chapters, Edknows the organization intimately. Edwill be a superb president. UNA-USAwill be in excellent hands.”

Continued on page 3.

UNAUSA

TAMPA

BAY

CHAPTER

MARCH/APRIL 2010 P.3

Divorced Before Puberty

The United Nations Association of Tampa Bay would like to invite members to discuss, debate, andconsider issues around which to draft resolutions to take to the National United Nations Association.The resolution we pass could go to the local media as well as up the line through our own UNhierarchy. Please let us know what you think about this issue, and if you would like your chapter todraft a resolution to take nationally.For Nujood, the nightmare began at age 10 when her family told her that she would be marrying adeliveryman in his 30s. Although Nujood’s mother was unhappy, she did not protest. “In our countryit’s the men who give the orders, and the women who follow them,” Nujood writes in a powerful newautobiography just published in the United States this week, “I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced.”Her new husband forced her to drop out of school (she was in the second grade) because a marriedwoman shouldn’t be a student. At her wedding, Nujood sat in the corner, her face swollen fromcrying. Nujood’s father asked the husband not to touch her until a year after she had had her firstmenstrual period. But as soon as they were married, she writes, her husband forced himself on her.He soon began to beat her as well, the memoir says, and her new mother-in-law offered nosympathy. “Hit her even harder,” the mother-in-law would tell her son. Nujood had heard that judgescould grant divorces, so one day she sneaked away, jumped into a taxi and asked to go to thecourthouse.“I want to talk to the judge,” the book quotes Nujood as forlornly telling a woman in the courthouse.“Which judge are you looking for?”“I just want to speak to a judge, that’s all.”“But there are lots of judges in this courthouse.”“Take me to a judge — it doesn’t matter which one!”When she finally encountered a judge, Nujood declared firmly: “I want a divorce!”Yemeni journalists turned Nujood into a cause célèbre, and she eventually won her divorce. Thepublicity inspired others, including an 8-year-old Saudi girl married to a man in his 50s, to seekannulments and divorces.As a pioneer, Nujood came to the United States and was honored in 2008 as one of Glamourmagazine’s “Women of the Year.” Indeed, Nujood is probably the only third grader whom Secretaryof State Hillary Clinton has described as “one of the greatest women I have ever seen.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/04/opinion/04kristof.html?em ByNICHOLAS D. KRISTOF– The New York TimesPublished: March 3, 2010It’s hard to imagine that there have been many youngerdivorcées — or braver ones — than a pint-size third gradernamed Nujood Ali.Nujood is a Yemeni girl, and it’s no coincidence that Yemenabounds both in child brides and in terrorists (and now, thanksto Nujood, children who have been divorced). Societies thatrepress women tend to be prone to violence.For Nujood, the nightmare began at age 10 when her familytold her that she would be marrying a deliveryman in his 30s.Although Nujood’s mother was unhappy, she did not protest.“In our country it’s the men who give the orders, and thewomen who follow them,” Nujood writes in a powerful newautobiography just published in the United States this week, “IAm Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced.”

UNA-USAAnnouncement Cont…

Elmendorf’s long career at the WorldBank, where he started in 1970,focused primarily on policy planning,loan programming and negotiationwith North African countries. He wasalso involved in personnelmanagement, country assistancestrategy, lending and macroeconomicpolicy in Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudanas well as in Indian Ocean countries.In addition, Elmendorf has worked andwritten on health strategy and policy,largely in Africa, for the World Bankand other organizations and was a co-author of the book “Better Health inAfrica,” published by the World Bank in1994.Since retiring in 2000, Elmendorf hastaught at Johns Hopkins Universityand consulted for the World Bank,WHO, UNDP and the US Institute ofMedicine. He has been an officer or aboard member of UNA-NCA for about15 years, with responsibilities forstrategic planning, development, theAdvisory Council and programs.He graduated magna cum laude witha B.A. in German literature from YaleUniversity; a master’s degree ineconomics from George WashingtonUniversity; and a master’s in publichealth from Johns Hopkins University.Elmendorf is married with threechildren and as of last week hebecame a grandfather for the fifthtime.“In my view, UNA’s mission is moreimportant than ever,” Elmendorf said.“The Obama administration has madea promising start and given new life toUS-UN relations. I look forward to theopportunity to continue to serve UNA-USA from the national office andworking with chapter leaders andUNA-USA members around thecountry, informing Americans aboutthe vital role the UN plays in achievinginternational cooperation andadvancing US foreign policyobjectives.”

The search for a new president beganearly this year, when Tom Millerannounced he was leaving UNA-USA.His career includes a long anddistinguished span in the ForeignService, including ambassadorships toGreece and to Bosnia-Herzegovina aswell as a Cyprus negotiator.

Continued on page 4.