UNA Coventry News June 2017

The UK General Election and UN Peacekeeping dominate the news this month. UNA-UK has launched a campaign that will let you tell every political party that you support an outward looking Britain that puts the UN at the heart of foreign policy. Please take part by visiting www.una.org.uk/manifesto-2017.

As well as jointly organising a conference on UN peacekeeping, UNA-UK started a campaign on tackling sexual abuse by some of those peacekeepers.

And if you want to help reduce car pollution near you and celebrate World Environment Day on 5 June, it's easy. Just plant a hedge. More details at unacov.uk/reduce-pollution-plant-a-hedge/

Below we list forthcoming local events and recent UN News articles on our website.

UNA Cov Forthcoming Events

UNA Coventry Birthday Party and AGM

The Coventry UNA Branch has been recognised by the Board of Trustees of the United Nations Association – UK (UNA-UK) since 25 June 2016. We will therefore run our first Annual General Meeting on the nearest convenient date. We plan to go through the boring bits as quickly as possible and then celebrate our fantastically successful first year by having a party to …

Community Information Fair

We will be running a stall in the Community Information Fair in Smithford Way on 16 June. Anyone who would like to help handing out fliers or signing people up for the newsletter would be very welcome

Cine UNACov Launch

Cine UNACov Launch

We are working with the UN Regional Information Centre in Brussels on an exciting new project to launch Cine UNACov. It will follow the model of Ciné-ONU, one of the United Nations most successful outreach initiatives in Europe. It involves the screening of a film relevant to a specific UN issue, followed by a Q&A with reputed speakers - either connected to …

UN Intern Q&A

UN Intern Q&A

At this event UN Interns and ex-Interns will share their experience with students who are considering applying to become interns. What are the benefits? What are the problems? This online event will be run via Skype and by telephone, so you must have either a Skype account or a land line. Sorry but mobiles cannot be used. Delegates If you want …

UN News this month

UNA Manifesto for General Election

UNA Manifesto for General Election

UNA-UK Campaign UNA-UK has launched a campaign that will help you tell every political party that you support an outward looking Britain that puts the UN at the heart of foreign policy. Please take part by visiting www.una.org.uk/manifesto-2017 Keeping Britain Global UNA-UK believes that everybody in the UK benefits from the international system - from laws that govern trade and protect …

UNA-UK Campaign to Keep Britain Global

UNA-UK Campaign to Keep Britain Global

Everybody in the UK benefits from the international system – from laws that govern trade and protect our rights, to institutions that deal with shared challenges. But the proceeds of globalisation have not been evenly distributed. Many perceive a Britain that is more ‘global’ as more dangerous, more foreign, and more ‘other’. In some countries, embracing this trend has led …

Want to Reduce Car Pollution on World Environment Day? Easy - Plant a Hedge!

Want to Reduce Car Pollution on World Environment Day? Easy - Plant a Hedge!

It is estimated that around 9,400 Londoners die every year due to poor air quality, costing the economy £3.7bn. A report published in May from the World Health Organization found that deaths in the UK attributable to air pollution are worse than comparable European countries such as France and Spain. But research published on the same day in the journal Atmospheric Environment by …

Peacekeeping Conference 2017

A day-long conference on making peacekeeping work better was organised at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in London on 24 May 2017 to mark International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers (29 May) attended by over 180 experts and practitioners. Ewan Lawson, Senior Research Fellow, RUSI, opened the conference with a moment of reflection for the victims of the Manchester attack. …

UNA Campaign on Tackling Sexual Abuse by UN Peacekeepers

UNA Campaign on Tackling Sexual Abuse by UN Peacekeepers

The United Nations Association – UK (UNA-UK) used its commemoration of the International Day of UN Peacekeepers – the biggest of its kind in Europe – to release a six-point action plan for tackling sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) by UN peacekeepers. 180 experts and practitioners attended a day-long conference on 24 May at which they will hear presentations from Hilde F. …

Other UK Young Democracy Projects

Other UK Young Democracy Projects

As well as the Young Democracy Project which is currently being explored in Coventry, there are a number of other projects involving young people in democratic activity within the United Kingdom. We also include those that are based in the UK but work abroad. UK Youth Parliament The UK Youth Parliament provides opportunities for 11-18 year olds to use their elected …

UN Youth Programmes

UN Youth Programmes

There are many youth-related activities organised by or on behalf of or related to the United Nations. Here are descriptions of the programmes we have found so far. Youth4Peace “Young people’s exclusion is not due to the lack of voices or their ability to speak, it is on the other side: why is the other side not listening?” - Nur …

UNA peacekeeping briefing

Briefing originally published by UNA-UK at www.una.org.uk/news/un-briefings-peacekeeping Peacekeeping is in the news. President Trump wishes to cut funding to the UN for peacekeeping. Tough negotiations reduced the UN presence in Haiti, and, by a smaller amount, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Allegations of sexual abuse persist. Against this backdrop on wednesday UNA-UK will join with UNA-Westminster and the Royal United Services …

International Days

Many special days are officially recognised by the United Nations. Click here for the complete list of all UN observance days, weeks, years and decades. Note that many other days are not observed by the UN, such as Hiroshima & Nagasaki Commemoration Day (6 August). Click here for Wikipedia's international observances page which includes non-UN observances.

Warwick District UNA

Warwick District UNA

This long-standing UNA branch organises regular meetings where experts explain UN-related issues and answer questions from a committed and engaged audience. Contact The Branch Chair is Gian Clare. Contact him via gianclareuna@gmail.com Events Events are normally held at Leamington Spa Baptist Church, Chandos St, Leamington Spa, CV32 4RN

The Elders Annual Review

The Elders Annual Review

The Elders have published their latest Annual Review: Solidarity Beyond Borders. The Elders’ work from 2016 included launching a campaign for Universal Health Coverage and promoting a coordinated international response to refugees and mass migration. Read the annual review here

World Environment Day 2017

World Environment Day 2017

Since its creation in 1974, World Environment Day (5 June) has been the United Nations’ principal vehicle for encouraging worldwide awareness and action for the environment. More information at worldenvironmentday.global Want to Reduce Car Pollution? - Plant a Hedge! Find out why World Environment Day Conference 2017 The Coventry-based Society for the Environment is a major champion for World Environment Day and aims to …

Society for the Environment

Society for the Environment

The Society for the Environment is a Coventry-based body responsible for the registration of Environment Professionals within the UK. They are the custodian of the Chartered Environmentalist and Registered Environmental Technician registers and since 2004 have established a sound platform as the body tasked with championing and registering the expertise of environmental professionals. Working as a partnership with 24 Licensed …

Saudi Arabia's election to UN Commission on the Status of Women

Outrage over Saudi Arabia's election is understandable, but it should not be directed at the UN Article by Lord Wood of Anfield, Chair, UNA-UK originally published 3 May 2017. “Absurd.” “Shameful.” “You couldn’t make it up.” Headline writers had a field day after Saudi Arabia was elected to the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). The NGO UN Watch even claimed to have “exposed” the election results, …

Youth Citizen Entrepreneurship Competition

Youth Citizen Entrepreneurship Competition

The Competition invites young entrepreneurs aged 15-35 from around the world to submit their innovative ideas and projects with a societal impact that champions and implements one or more of the 17 SDGs. The Youth Citizen Entrepreneurship Competition is a global programme and an online platform to empower young entrepreneurs to engage in a more peaceful world by mobilizing youth-led …

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