Get Involved with UNA-USA Today!

Become a member
Stay up to date on US-UN relations and issues before the UN
Start a Student Alliance group at your school
Host a dinner that helps clear landmines
Participate in UNA-USA Members' Day at the UN
Start a Model UN program at your school
Join or set up an alliance with the International Criminal Court
Organize a UN Day event
Launch a local TV program on US-UN relations
Contact your legislators
Publish an article

Become a member 
 Any individual can join the United Nations Association of the USA (UNA-USA). Adult members can be assigned-if they wish-to a chapter or division in their area so that they can participate at the community level. Student members have reduced fees and automatic inclusion in UNA-USA's Student Alliance program. Nonprofit organizations can join as well through UNA-USA's Council of Organizations, a group of more than 100 nongovernmental organizations that promote greater public awareness about global issues and aim to strengthen the United States-United Nations relationship. Businesses can join the Business Council for the United Nations, a division of UNA-USA, to help their company network with the international community.  www.unausa.org/Join

Stay up to date on US-UN relations and issues before the UN 
UNA-USA has a slew of resources available for your events and programs or just for your general knowledge. On our website, you will find fact sheets and talking points on the latest issues in US-UN relations, such as the election of the Secretary-General. In addition, we post online regular policy briefs, which offer in-depth analysis of key UN-issues. You can also sign up to receive our twice-monthly E-News Update or to be a part of our E-Action Network. Our print publications include a quarterly magazine called The InterDependent (free to members), UN primers (sold at a discount to members) and more. Finally, UNA-USA has a speaker's bureau to help you find the perfect person for your panels and events.  Email the Communications team at publications@unausa.org.

Start a Student Alliance group at your school 
 Student Alliance is a network of like-minded students from all grade levels-elementary to graduate school-who are interested in international affairs and the UN. You can form a Student Alliance group at your school with a minimum of six dues-paying students and one advisor.
Email our Program Coordinator, Suzanne Domenici, at sdomenici@unausa.org. 
Visit the Student Alliance webpage at www.unausa.org/StudentAlliance.

Host a dinner that helps clear landmines 
 Night of a Thousand Dinners™ provides an opportunity for individuals, businesses and community-based organizations to directly participate in solving the global problem of landmines. By hosting a dinner, you can help increase awareness of the global landmine crisis and raise funds for UNA-USA's Adopt-A-Minefield^® campaign. As a host, you can register online to find recipes, sample outreach material, information on the global landmine crisis and creative ideas to make your dinner a success. A few weeks prior to the event (2006 dinners are taking place between March 1 and April 4), you will receive an educational landmine video to show at your dinner. All proceeds from the event go to Adopt-A-Minefield's mine action programs.
www.1000dinners.com 
 

Participate in UNA-USA Members' Day at the UN: 
 Members' Day at the UN brings together UNA-USA members from around the country to hear from UN experts, NGO leaders and state officials on the most pressing issues facing the UN. The 2006 event will be held on April 1 and the deadline for registration is March 24. 
www.unausa.org/MembersDay06.

Start a Model UN program at your school 
 Students can start a Model UN club or team at your school with a few simple steps. First, you should find a faculty advisor by asking teachers if they would be interested in helping to start a Model UN club. Next, you can recruit members and pick a day and time to meet; most groups meet about once a week. At your meetings, you should choose which Model UN conferences to attend, organize your fundraising efforts, talk about any new information you may have received, and ultimately, prepare for your conference with research and practice simulations. To get started, you may wish to show "Model UN for Everyone," a video created by UNA-USA to introduce people to the Model UN experience.
www.model-un.org

Join or set up an alliance with the International Criminal Court 
 Any individual interested in international justice can join or set up an alliance with American NGO Coalition for the International Criminal Court (AMICC), a program of UNA-USA. Alliances advocate locally for the International Criminal Court-the first permanent court established to ensure that the gravest international crimes, such as genocide, do not go unpunished. Alliances inform the public in an effort to achieve closer cooperation between the US government and the court. 
Email our Deputy Convener, Wasana Punyasena, at wpunyasena@unausa.org
Visit www.amicc.org/contacts_alliances.html for more information.

Organize a UN Day event 
October 24 marks the day the UN Charter went into effect. You can get involved with the international celebration of UN Day by hosting an event in your town. In the past, UNA-USA members have put together panel discussions, luncheons or dinners, flag-raising ceremonies, fundraisers and film festivals. The 2006 UN Day theme will focus on Millennium Development Goal 5 - the improvement of maternal heath. UNA-USA publishes a UN Day Community Organizer's Guide to help you organize your event.  Email our Outreach Assistant Director, Liz Marmanides, at lmarmanides@unausa.org.
Visit www.unausa.org/UNDay2006for more information.

Launch a local TV program on US-UN relations 
In 1994, UNA-USA's Bill Miller began a TV program in his Kentucky hometown called "Frankfort's Global Connection." Today, the one-hour, locally produced, internationally oriented program airs weekly on the local access television station and has featured issues on everything from the impact of UN agencies on Frankfort citizens to the Kentucky Rotary Club's international exchanges. You can set up a similar program in your own town with tips and advice, from brainstorming your show's format to negotiating with your local station manager, on UNA-USA's website.  Email our Communications team at publications@unausa.org
Visit www.unausa.org/how-to_publicaccessfor more information.

Contact your legislators 
 Members of Congress are eager to hear the views of their constituents, whom they represent in Washington. They realize that they must please voters if they are to be re-elected, which is what makes constituent input so important and powerful. An in-person, face-to-face meeting is the most influential means of expressing your views to lawmakers. However, phone calls and letters are also very useful and they do not require a great deal of time or preparation. The easiest way to send letters to your representatives in Congress about important UN issues is through the UNA-USA's E-Action Network. You can also check out our letter-writing tips at   www.unausa.org/how-to_letters.  

Publish an article 
If your chapter, division or student group has hosted an interesting event, accomplished a programmatic task, raised an extraordinary amount of funds or has something newsworthy to report, you can send your story to UNA-USA. We run members' stories in our quarterly magazine The InterDependent and our twice-monthly E-News Update. Take a look at our publications on the    UNA-USA website .
Email our Communications team at publications@unausa.org.

The United Nations Association of the USA
The United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA) is a center for innovative programs and dialogue to engage Americans in issues of global concern, from peace and security to genocide prevention and international law. Its policy and advocacy programs support the work of the United Nations, the importance of nations working together and the need for United States leadership in the United Nations. A not-for-profit organization, UNA-USA is a member of the World Federation of United Nations Associations.
www.unausa.org