Message from Marcia Brewster, Vice President (continued)
The event was opened by President Yuhanna Edwards who welcomed guests and gave a broad overview of the work of UNA Westchester. Board member Dan Bena painted a colorful picture of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, showing how each of us can contribute to meeting them.
The first segment of the program was devoted to the UN’s Past, celebrating its accomplishments over the last 75 years. Kristen Timothy, Coordinator of the 4th World Conference on Women (Beijing, 1995) and former Deputy Director of Division for the Advancement of Women, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, traced the origins of the UN’s support for equality between women and men, starting from the UN Charter. She presented the successes and challenges that the UN and its members have faced throughout its history, and emphasized that the United Nations has led the world in putting gender equality at the top of the global agenda. She concluded that, “The UN's role is to set the global agenda with buy-in from all Member States, but adherence and progress depends on the willingness of nations and their citizens to modernize culturally, socially, economically and politically. Women's rights, along with racism, are the unfinished business of our time.”
H.E. Francis G. Okelo, former Ambassador of Uganda and Special Envoy of the Secretary-General to the Middle East Peace Process, described the evolution of peacekeeping operations and declared that “Peacekeeping is one of the United Nations’ greatest achievements, as it is designed to restrain and contain an existing conflict, and prepare the ground for a possible resolution.” As the United Nations was built upon the idea of building peace among nations, the peacekeeping forces coming from member countries have been key to preventing widespread conflict throughout the world. He observed that, “UN peacekeeping operations have greatly evolved over the years, mainly in response to advances in technology, the increasingly complex and subtle nature of modern conflicts, and associated issues and problems. Peacekeeping today calls for more complex and sophisticated responses, with increasingly expensive and complex missions.”
Ambassador Okelo observed that, “Any conflict, be it between countries, within countries or community, often arises because an injustice or unfairness is perceived to exist that must be addressed. When these injustices are promptly resolved, the foundation for peace is laid and the task of keeping the peace becomes less onerous, and perhaps altogether irrelevant.” This comment provoked an interesting discussion during the Q and A period.
For the segment on the Present, Dr. Kaya Henderson, CEO of Reconstruction and former Chancellor of the District of Columbia Public Schools, provided her insights on how international and global educators are providing quality education under the Covid-19 pandemic. Dr. Henderson was called out of the country, so her remarks were presented by Dr. Brenda Smith and responded to by Nicole Butterworth, who are both UNA board members and educators. One of the most salient points raised was that the purpose of education and teachers go beyond the schoolroom. Dr. Henderson remarked that “We watched as schools all over the world became feeding centers, community meeting places, support spaces for essential workers, temporary housing, and more, which has reminded us that schools are the center of communities and societies. We’ve seen the best teachers prioritize the safety and well-being of their students and communities, and realize that before they can attend to students’ academics, they have to attend to students’ mental health, building strong relationships with their students and their families.” In her response, Nicole Butterfield, stressed that, “It's a very emotional and stressful time for teachers, but the most exciting things I see, coming out of all of this, are the incredible Innovations in reaching more and more students despite all the challenges and disruptions…. Right now we have lots and lots of kids, internationally and locally, who are missing out on education. There are many gaps, and the only way that we're going to help this situation is to focus on building up education technology, making it more available, having effective and equitable sharing of digital resources, and making sure that governments get together and funnel money toward education.“
Also as part of the segment on the present, Board member Patrick Sciarratta introduced a fabulous Special Musical Tribute for the UN’s 75th anniversary. It featured 26 Ambassadors to the UN, who sang “Heal The World”, with a Special Introduction by Her Excellency Simona Miculescu (Romania). This was a wonderful reminder of how our diverse world can work together for the good of the planet.
The final segment of the program stressed Progress and featured a Youth Panel convened by UNA-Westchester. An outstanding group of young people, led by UNA-Westchester’s Young Professionals identified how various actors, especially youth, can work together locally, nationally, and internationally to build a better and brighter future for everyone.
Moderator Paul Presendieu, Chair of UNA’s Young Professional Program and Student Network Coordinator, Federated Conservationists of Westchester County, introduced four panelists to describe the work they are doing and how their projects have promise for a better future. The young people were particularly inspiring and gave us great hope for the direction we are moving in.
Raina Kadavil, Global Product Marketing Specialist, MasterCard and CEO of Urban Refuge, a nonprofit that breaks geographic and linguistic barriers by mapping aid for refugees and immigrants living in large cities. Ms. Kadavil described how her work is “…transforming the lives of migrants and making them feel more comfortable in their new homes, simply by turning their cellphones into a safe, untraceable aid locator.” Her team is made up entirely of women under 25 and run by young women, including several who are refugees or migrants themselves. She noted that, “Urban Refuge aims to put agency back in refugees' hands and break the stigma around migration by challenging the idea that refugees are helpless - with Urban Refuge, they have the tools they need to help themselves.”
Shane A. Osinloye, Executive Director, Singularity and President of Urban Legacy Foundation, Ltd. is dedicated to closing the racial wealth gap through STEM powered entrepreneurship and facilitating black property ownership. He described how his work equips Minority and Women Owned Businesses (MWBEs) with technology and helps to create an economic ecosystem of Black empowerment.
Harshita Shet, an 11th Grader at Woodlands High School, described her Feminine Dignity project, which provides essential hygiene products to women and girls in shelters, prisons and other venues with limited resources. She is an honors student and has been working with UNA since she was in Middle School.
Anusha Vaish, a 5th grader at Anne Hutchinson School, provided a video showing her passion as an Insect Guardian. Her work is focused on improving nutritional options for people around the world and reducing hunger.
Moderator Paul Presendieu provided details on all his work in support of climate action and the Youth Climate Action Summit he organized on Earth Day 2020. He did a great job of moderating the Youth Panel and their Q and A session.
A very stimulating Q and A period followed the program, moderated by Board members Dan Bena and Colleen Gardephe. Questions were posed for all the speakers and panelists. We were very gratified that almost 70 participants stayed until the very end.
Bios and photos of all speakers and panelists are available HERE
The full program can be viewed at http://www.unawestchester.org/.
Report by
Marcia Brewster
Vice President
UNA Westchester
The event was opened by President Yuhanna Edwards who welcomed guests and gave a broad overview of the work of UNA Westchester. Board member Dan Bena painted a colorful picture of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, showing how each of us can contribute to meeting them.
The first segment of the program was devoted to the UN’s Past, celebrating its accomplishments over the last 75 years. Kristen Timothy, Coordinator of the 4th World Conference on Women (Beijing, 1995) and former Deputy Director of Division for the Advancement of Women, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, traced the origins of the UN’s support for equality between women and men, starting from the UN Charter. She presented the successes and challenges that the UN and its members have faced throughout its history, and emphasized that the United Nations has led the world in putting gender equality at the top of the global agenda. She concluded that, “The UN's role is to set the global agenda with buy-in from all Member States, but adherence and progress depends on the willingness of nations and their citizens to modernize culturally, socially, economically and politically. Women's rights, along with racism, are the unfinished business of our time.”
H.E. Francis G. Okelo, former Ambassador of Uganda and Special Envoy of the Secretary-General to the Middle East Peace Process, described the evolution of peacekeeping operations and declared that “Peacekeeping is one of the United Nations’ greatest achievements, as it is designed to restrain and contain an existing conflict, and prepare the ground for a possible resolution.” As the United Nations was built upon the idea of building peace among nations, the peacekeeping forces coming from member countries have been key to preventing widespread conflict throughout the world. He observed that, “UN peacekeeping operations have greatly evolved over the years, mainly in response to advances in technology, the increasingly complex and subtle nature of modern conflicts, and associated issues and problems. Peacekeeping today calls for more complex and sophisticated responses, with increasingly expensive and complex missions.”
Ambassador Okelo observed that, “Any conflict, be it between countries, within countries or community, often arises because an injustice or unfairness is perceived to exist that must be addressed. When these injustices are promptly resolved, the foundation for peace is laid and the task of keeping the peace becomes less onerous, and perhaps altogether irrelevant.” This comment provoked an interesting discussion during the Q and A period.
For the segment on the Present, Dr. Kaya Henderson, CEO of Reconstruction and former Chancellor of the District of Columbia Public Schools, provided her insights on how international and global educators are providing quality education under the Covid-19 pandemic. Dr. Henderson was called out of the country, so her remarks were presented by Dr. Brenda Smith and responded to by Nicole Butterworth, who are both UNA board members and educators. One of the most salient points raised was that the purpose of education and teachers go beyond the schoolroom. Dr. Henderson remarked that “We watched as schools all over the world became feeding centers, community meeting places, support spaces for essential workers, temporary housing, and more, which has reminded us that schools are the center of communities and societies. We’ve seen the best teachers prioritize the safety and well-being of their students and communities, and realize that before they can attend to students’ academics, they have to attend to students’ mental health, building strong relationships with their students and their families.” In her response, Nicole Butterfield, stressed that, “It's a very emotional and stressful time for teachers, but the most exciting things I see, coming out of all of this, are the incredible Innovations in reaching more and more students despite all the challenges and disruptions…. Right now we have lots and lots of kids, internationally and locally, who are missing out on education. There are many gaps, and the only way that we're going to help this situation is to focus on building up education technology, making it more available, having effective and equitable sharing of digital resources, and making sure that governments get together and funnel money toward education.“
Also as part of the segment on the present, Board member Patrick Sciarratta introduced a fabulous Special Musical Tribute for the UN’s 75th anniversary. It featured 26 Ambassadors to the UN, who sang “Heal The World”, with a Special Introduction by Her Excellency Simona Miculescu (Romania). This was a wonderful reminder of how our diverse world can work together for the good of the planet.
The final segment of the program stressed Progress and featured a Youth Panel convened by UNA-Westchester. An outstanding group of young people, led by UNA-Westchester’s Young Professionals identified how various actors, especially youth, can work together locally, nationally, and internationally to build a better and brighter future for everyone.
Moderator Paul Presendieu, Chair of UNA’s Young Professional Program and Student Network Coordinator, Federated Conservationists of Westchester County, introduced four panelists to describe the work they are doing and how their projects have promise for a better future. The young people were particularly inspiring and gave us great hope for the direction we are moving in.
Raina Kadavil, Global Product Marketing Specialist, MasterCard and CEO of Urban Refuge, a nonprofit that breaks geographic and linguistic barriers by mapping aid for refugees and immigrants living in large cities. Ms. Kadavil described how her work is “…transforming the lives of migrants and making them feel more comfortable in their new homes, simply by turning their cellphones into a safe, untraceable aid locator.” Her team is made up entirely of women under 25 and run by young women, including several who are refugees or migrants themselves. She noted that, “Urban Refuge aims to put agency back in refugees' hands and break the stigma around migration by challenging the idea that refugees are helpless - with Urban Refuge, they have the tools they need to help themselves.”
Shane A. Osinloye, Executive Director, Singularity and President of Urban Legacy Foundation, Ltd. is dedicated to closing the racial wealth gap through STEM powered entrepreneurship and facilitating black property ownership. He described how his work equips Minority and Women Owned Businesses (MWBEs) with technology and helps to create an economic ecosystem of Black empowerment.
Harshita Shet, an 11th Grader at Woodlands High School, described her Feminine Dignity project, which provides essential hygiene products to women and girls in shelters, prisons and other venues with limited resources. She is an honors student and has been working with UNA since she was in Middle School.
Anusha Vaish, a 5th grader at Anne Hutchinson School, provided a video showing her passion as an Insect Guardian. Her work is focused on improving nutritional options for people around the world and reducing hunger.
Moderator Paul Presendieu provided details on all his work in support of climate action and the Youth Climate Action Summit he organized on Earth Day 2020. He did a great job of moderating the Youth Panel and their Q and A session.
A very stimulating Q and A period followed the program, moderated by Board members Dan Bena and Colleen Gardephe. Questions were posed for all the speakers and panelists. We were very gratified that almost 70 participants stayed until the very end.
Bios and photos of all speakers and panelists are available HERE
The full program can be viewed at http://www.unawestchester.org/.
Report by
Marcia Brewster
Vice President
UNA Westchester