| UNA-USA Joins Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in Seattle
Oct. 27, 2009 – UNA-USA President Tom Miller accompanied United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on a trip to Seattle on Oct. 25-27, marking Ban’s first visit to the city in his UN post.  Evan Schneider |
UNA helped organize the three-day trip, during which the secretary-general participated in a City of Seattle event to raise awareness of climate change among students; received an honorary doctorate degree from the University of Washington; and spoke at a World Affairs Council of Seattle event about the urgent need for multilateral efforts to protect the environment.
The secretary-general and his wife, Yoo Soon-taek, were guests at a dinner on Sunday, Oct. 25, hosted by Jonathan Roberts, chair of UNA-USA’s Executive Committee.
Before the dinner, Ban and Tom Miller met with Seattle business executives to discuss how the UN can improve its use of the Internet and new-media outlets. The meeting was organized and chaired by Roberts.
In his speech to the World Affairs Council on Oct. 26, Ban spoke about four major areas where the UN and multilateral efforts could make a difference: climate change, nuclear nonproliferation, poverty, human rights and peace and security.
He stressed that the effects of climate change would destabilize regions and deplete resources if nations fail to respond collectively to reduce emissions and promote sustainable development.
“Some say tackling climate change is too expensive,” Ban said to about 500 attendees at the Fairmont Hotel. “They are wrong. We will pay an unacceptable price if we do not act now.”
Among the guests at the World Affairs Council event and the ceremony at the University of Washington on Oct. 26 were members of UNA’s Seattle Chapter.
“Seattle is one of the oldest chapters of UNA-USA, and it was exciting to meet the secretary-general and Tom Miller,” Joan Lawson, treasurer of the Seattle Chapter, said. “We were treated like part of the elite and it felt good.”
Read more about the Seattle trip in the Nov. 4 edition of the UNA-USA World Bulletin.
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