UNA-GKC News

Lt. Col. John Curatola (USMC) and Major Luis Cepeda at attention during the reading of names of peacekeepers who gave their lives in 2008 at the UN Peace Plaza in Independence, Missouri.

Among presenters at the Fourth Kansas City Food Aid Symposium included, from left, Max Finberg, director, Alliance to End Hunger; Allan Jury, director, U.S. Relations, World Food Program, and Ambassador Tony Hall.

JCCC Model UN wins big in New York

APRIL 23, 2009 -- The Johnson County Community College (JCCC) Model United Nations team is pleased to announce that it won an Outstanding Delegation Award and an Outstanding Position Paper Award for its portrayal Kenya at the National Model United Nations Conference (NMUN) in New York City, April 4-9, 2009. In addition, JCCC students Trent Brining, (Overland Park, KS) and Ashlie Van Hoecke, (Overland Park, KS, & Reston, VA) in the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) received an outstanding delegate award (selected by vote of the student delegates in the committee).

“The amount of research and knowledge that every student in my committee brought to the discussion was very impressive,” said Ashlie Van Hoecke. The team advisor, Dr. Brian Wright, JCCC Associate Professor of Political Science, said, “This is an exceptional group of students who worked very hard.”

Sixteen JCCC students competed with students from other colleges and universities from across North & South America, Europe and Asia.

“These awards would not have been possible without the hard work and collaboration between of every member of this team,” said JCCC student Jessica Seitter, of Overland Park, KS. In addition to Miss Seitter, the JCCC team members included: Donnie Hicks (team co-captain) from Shawnee, KS; Calvin Baumgarten of Kansas City, KS; Brandy Schmitz of Olathe, KS; Sarah Taylor of Lawrence, KS; Jason Beury of Lawrence; Olga Bodan of Chiºinãu, Moldova; Adam Drovetta of Gardner, KS; Keith Adams of Kansas City, MO; Ross of Prairie Village, KS; Joanna Mazurek of Zamosc, Poland; Hilary Hutton of Bonner Springs, KS; Heather Odell of Lawrence, and Rebecca Elo of Kansas City, MO. Ms. Elo was chosen to work as part of the conference staff on the World Trade Organization.

This NMUN award caps four years of success for JCCC, during which the team has won awards at the last twelve consecutive conferences in which they competed. It also completes a sweep for the school year with this JCCC team having won similar awards at National Collegiate Model United Nations and Leadership Conference at Northwestern Polytechnical University, X’ian China and Mid-West Model UN in St. Louis.

“This is an exceptional learning experience where JCCC students are able to interact with many international students to share ideas about and find solutions to global issues. I am proud to be a part of such a successful team” said Heather Odell. JCCC Model UN faculty advisor and current Adjunct Professor. George Belzer added, “I hope everyone understands how big an achievement this is for JCCC. NMUN is by far the world's largest and most prestigious Model UN conference. Participants include major universities from throughout the world, each of which sets the main focus of their program on award recognition at New York. Although the NMUN is huge and continues to grow, it has kept its number of awards small and to win one clearly says to the rest of the Model UN community that you have one of the strongest programs in the world. Winning such awards is a great experience for our students will stay with them throughout their lives.”

More than 2,500 students participated in the conference by proposing resolutions and writing reports dealing with world issues. The conference helps students to further understand global issues and international relations in a forum that allows them to discuss global concerns in an atmosphere that is similar to that of the United Nations. Student Donnie Hicks said of the conference, “This experience at NMUN has been an educational and eye-opening experience, allowing the JCCC team to bond together and cooperate to achieve the highest accolades possible.” Keith Adams “When you enter the United Nations General Assembly Hall and witness so many students from around the world working on international issues. Nothing compares to the feeling of everything coming together which spending time at the United Nations. Just imagine what we can accomplish in the future.”

Presenters, Fourth Kansas City Symposium on Food Aid

Monday, April 6, 2009, 4:00 p.m. to 6:00

Westin Crown Center hotel, Century Ballroom C

Ambassador Tony Hall

Three times nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, former U.S. Ambassador Tony P. Hall is one of the leading advocates for hunger relief programs and improving international human rights conditions around the world. In 2002, President George Bush asked Mr. Hall to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture. His was sworn in by Secretary of State Colin Powell in September 2002. As chief of the U.S. Mission to the U.N. agencies in Rome – The World Food Program, the Food and Agriculture Organization and the International Fund for Agricultural Development – Ambassador Hall was responsible for “putting into action America’s commitment to alleviate hunger and build hope in the world.” Before entering the diplomatic corps, Mr. Hall was a 12-term member of the House of Representatives from the Ohio third district. He was chairman of the House Select Committee on Hunger and the Democratic Caucus Task Force on Hunger. He founded and was one of two House members on the steering committee of the Congressional Friends of Human Rights Monitors. Mr. Hall also was founder and former chairman of the Congressional Hunger Center, a non-governmental organization dedicated to fighting hunger by developing leaders.

Allan Jury, director, U.S. Relations, World Food Program

Mr. Jury has been director of the World Food Program’s U.S. relations office since Sept. 1, 2008. Mr. Jury is responsible for managing W.F.P.’s relations with its major partners in the U.S. government and representing W.F.P. in dialogue with U.S.-based civil society and private organizations interested in global food assistance issues. He also coordinates W.F.P.’s relations with the World Bank headquarters. Mr. Jury previously served as W.F.P.’s director of external relations (2004-2008), where he was responsible for representing the program and developing organizational policy on U.N. reform, interagency affairs, and relations with non-governmental organizations. He joined the W.F.P. in March 2001 as chief of the policy services, a post he held until June 2004. Mr. Jury is an American citizen and came to the W.F.P. following a 25-year career with the U.S. Department of State.

Jeffrey Borns, director, Office of Food for Peace, USAID

Mr. Borns is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service with more than 21 years of USAID experience. Mr. Borns joined the USAID Office of General Counsel in 1987, followed by postings as the USAID regional legal advisor in Kenya (covering east and southern Africa) and Ecuador (also covering Peru and Colombia). He then served as director of the USAID Office of Democratic Initiatives and Training in Peru, followed by service as director of the USAID Office of Democratic Initiatives in Guatemala. Mr. Borns was selected to attend the National War College and was graduated with a Masters degree in National Security Strategy in 2002. Upon graduation, he served as the director of the Disaster Response and Mitigation Division in the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance, directing the planning and execution of emergency programs worldwide. Mr. Borns then served in the Bureau for Africa as the director of the Office of East African Affairs. Mr. Borns’ most recent previous assignment was as director of the Office of Sustainable Development, which houses the Bureau for Africa’s technical expertise in agriculture, democracy, economic growth, education, environment and health.

Max Finberg, director, Alliance to End Hunger

Mr. Finberg is the director of the Alliance to End Hunger, a non-profit organization that engages diverse institutions in building the public will to end hunger both in the United States and worldwide. The alliance brings together U.S. businesses, religious bodies, charities, foundations and individual donors to change the politics of hunger. Before becoming the alliance’s first director, Mr. Finberg served Ambassador. Tony Hall for 12 years in a variety of capacities. Most recently, Mr. Finberg was for three years special assistant to the ambassador at the U.S. Mission to the U.N. Agencies for Food and Agriculture in Rome. He also was Congressman Hall’s senior legislative assistant and covered domestic hunger and poverty issues. He worked on the successful passage of the Hunger Relief Act and the Community Solutions Act with a variety of anti-poverty and faith-based organizations.

Kevin Anderson, senior public policy associate, Friends of the World Food Program

Mr. Anderson joined Friends of the World Food Program in 2008 after working on Capitol Hill for Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky of Illinois. Earlier, he served for one year as a Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellow with the Congressional Hunger Center. Mr. Anderson was graduated magna cum laude from Northwestern University with a double major in political science and legal studies. As an undergraduate, he interned with Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley and the Northwestern University School of Law.

Dr. John Stone's address to Mayor's UN Day Dinner

Notes for Talk to Kansas City Mayor’s UN Day, October 24, 2008

Good Evening and Thank you for inviting me to join you.

Climate change is:

An issue that has generated considerable political and media interest – sound and sometimes fury but not always signifying much;

• An issue with an almost continuous round of international meetings and great promises but as yet little real action;

• An issue which, despite significant scientific progress and clear indications that climate change is accelerating is still not being addressed with the necessary urgency;

• An issue that can be simply understood but yet represents possibly one of the greatest scientific challenge of our times;

• An issue of morality where actions today and in any one country will benefit people on other shores and of future generations (who we will never meet) and which sometimes defies simple economic accounting;

• An issue that presents a new kind of challenge - uncertain in its form and extent, insidious rather than (as yet) directly confrontational, long term rather than immediate.

An issue which will not go away…

Climate change is above all a global issue and requires a global response. It is caused primarily by our prolifigate burning of fossil fuels for energy – the waste of which we have dumped freely into the atmosphere. The principle waste is carbon dioxide which can stay in the atmosphere for 100 years or more. It is therefore well mixed and it doesn’t really matter from where it is emitted.

We have dumped so much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere that its concentration is now outside the levels it has been for the last six or seven ice ages – nearly a million years. We have taken the atmosphere into uncharted territory. We know from basic physics the effect of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases on the climate system. These gases act like a blanket around the Earth making it some 32 ^oC warmer than it would otherwise be and hence inhabitable. The more we add to this blanket the warmer will be the Earth. This is the essence of the “threat” of climate change.

Climate change is already a reality. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in its latest Fourth Assessment Report concluded that: “warming of the climate system is now unequivocal”. It also concluded that: “Most of the observed increase in global temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely due to the increase in greenhouse gas concentrations as a result of human activities”. It is a strong document. Its conclusions mustn’t be ignored by governments, or indeed any of us. The UN Secretary-General in his recent speech at the 20^th Anniversary of the IPCC referred to climate change as a “crisis”.

We may not be able to say exactly how the climate will change and what and where will be the impacts. But we do know that change it will because of what we have already done to the composition of the atmosphere. The climate has a memory and it will not let us forget. We also know that we cannot change over night how we generate and use energy. To replace our motor cars, power plants and industrial machinery with more energy efficient systems will take some years. In other words there is very little we can do to avoid some of the impacts that we will experience over the next few decades. That part of history has already been written. Adaptation thus is no longer a policy option but a policy imperative.

If we want to avoid dangerous climate change then we are going to have to address the root cause of the threat and reduce our emissions of greenhouse gases. The sooner we do this the better – any delay will be more expensive and risky. We may not have more than 10 years to get us on the right track – and yet governments and many sections of society seem deaf to the science.

The IPCC assessment is quite conservative; it stepped back from asserting what many scientists now believe - that climate change is in fact accelerating. It may be that climate change is closer than we had thought. Without being alarmist, I believe there is an international, national, local and personal urgency to address this issue. I’m not alone, allow me to quote the Chairman of the IPCC: “What we do in the next two or three years will determine our future. This is a defining moment”. And the UN Secretary-General has added: “Slowing and then reversing the emissions of greenhouse gases is the defining challenge of our age”.

There are things we can do. We already have technologies that could allow us to at least maintain global emissions at today’s levels until the middle of the this century. But we will need a portfolio of technologies, we will need to harness all possibilities, there is no single silver bullet. And we need a suitable enabling environment created by government policies and incentives. We have, for example, to put a price on carbon and for that we need honest political will.

For me a crucial point is that we mustn’t just see climate change simply as an environmental issue but recognize the pervasive link to development. Making development more sustainable can enhance our capacities to respond, reduce emissions, and lessen vulnerabilities. Put another way, there are advantages in framing climate change as one that can, for example, stimulate technological development, enhance competitiveness and provide greater energy security. I believe that by framing climate change in a multiplicity of manners we will be able to broaden the coalition of interests engaged in truly tackling the issue.

Twenty years or so ago Margaret Thatcher at the annual dinner of the Royal Society in London, spoke of our need as humans to care for the Earth. She explained that "We must pass on the Earth to the next generation in a better state than we found it”. We all have an interest in the integrity of the environment on which we all depend to provide us with the essential goods and services that we take too much for granted. We have a moral responsibility; what defines us as a civilized people is our concern for others and for the environment.

A particularly strong challenge to our stewardship comes from the realisation that the adverse impacts of climate change will fall disproportionately on the poorer nations; that it will likely exacerbate the disparity between the rich and the poor. We, in the developed countries, have already benefited over many generations from abundant fossil fuel energy. Most of the greenhouse gases presently in the atmosphere is of our making. This is not only unsustainable, it is also grossly inequitable.

The problem is that I believe we may be running out of time. We have defined the problem, now we need to put all our efforts into developing and implementing the solution. And that has to involve all of us. We need to take climate change into consideration every time we go shopping, or when we take a short vacation in winter, or when we think about where we might live, and so on.

You can make a difference, a big difference. To quote from a British parliamentarian of 200 years ago, "No one made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do so little."

If there is one essential ingredient in addition to political will that we will need to address this issue it is imagination. We will need our imagination:

- to imagine new affordable sources of renewable energy that will secure our long-term energy needs without compromising the environment;

- to imagine new technologies that will generate new and improved commercial products that will stimulate our economy, produce worthwhile jobs and require less energy; and

- to imagine different life-styles, not better or worse, that will be equally fulfilling and release all sorts of possibilities.

As a French film-maker recently said: “ It is too late to be pessimistic”.

To conclude let me quote from Ross Garnault in his report to the Australian government: “Climate change is a diabolical policy problem. It is harder than any other issue of high importance in living memory”. We won’t fix this problem in this generation but we have to make a start – the sooner the better for us, our children, and their children. Any effective remedies lie beyond any act of national will, requiring international cooperation of unprecedented dimension and complexity. Let us tackle it together, as communities of responsible individuals and good stewards of this Earth.

Thank you.

Dr. John Stone of IPCC to address Mayor's UN Day Dinner

SEPT. 1, 2008 -- Dr. John Stone of Canada, member of the bureau of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), will address the 2008 Mayor's UN Day Dinner on Friday, Oct. 24, 7:00 p.m., Pierson Auditorium, University of Missouri -- Kansas City. The IPCC is the UN-backed organization of scientists that shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with Vice-President Albert Gore. Dr. Stone has represented Canada on the IPCC since 1997. He currently is a vice-chair of IPCC Working Group II, which addresses the vulnerability of socio-economic and natural systems to climate change, negative and positive consequences of climate change and options for adapting to it. He formerly was a vice-chair of Working Group I, which assesses the scientific aspects of the climate system and climate change.

In addition to his leadership role in IPCC, Dr.Stone has represented Canada through his affiliation with the NATO Science Committee, the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, the UN/ECE Senior Advisors on Science and Technology, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Scientific Steering Committee for the START program and as co-chair for the Canada-Germany S&T Agreement.

Dr. Stone retired from government service in 2005 and currently is adjunct research professor at Carleton University in Ottawa.

Dr. Gary Morsch named 2008 Kansas City World Citizen

SEPT. 1, 2008 -- Dr. Gary Morsch, president and founder, Heart to Heart International, was named 2008 recipient of the Kansas City World Citizen Award. The award will be presented at the 2008 Mayor's UN Day Dinner on Friday, Oct. 24, 7:00 p.m., Pierson Auditorium, University of Missouri-Kansas City. Dr. Morsch is a family physician who believes each of us longs to make a positive difference in the world and every person is uniquely gifted to do so. Dr. Morsch's lifelong commitment to volunteerism has taken him around the world -- from inner city shelters to rural clinics, from refugee camps to mission hospitals. Along the way, he has encountered some remarkable people, including Mother Teresa, the Dalai Lama and Pope John Paul II.

In 1992, Dr. Morsch helped found Heart to Heart International where he is president. Heart to Heart is an international medical relief organization working worldwide to deliver pharmaceuticals, medical supplies and medical education to people in need. Dr. Morsch has organized and led Heart to Heart volunteer teams on missions throughout the world. Dr. Morsch also founded an organization of family physicians who desire the flexibility to practice medicine and devote time to volunteer opportunities. Docs Who Care provides family practice and emergency room staffing for rural hospitals in seven states.

Dr. Morsch has served with distinction in the military, enlisting at the age of 17 during the Vietnam war. He holds the rank of colonel in the Army Reserves and recently served in Iraq, Kosovo and Germany.

May 31 tribute to U.N. Peacekeepers

APRIL 30, 2008 -- The Greater Kansas City United Nations Association and the Harry S. Truman Library will mark the 60^th anniversary of United Nations peacekeeping operations and pay tribute to U.N. peacekeepers who gave their lives in the line of duty with a program to be held at the Library and at the United Nations Peace Plaza on Saturday, May 31. The program at the Library begins at 2:00 p.m. and will conclude at 3:30 p.m. Participants then will retire to the U.N. Peace Plaza on the grounds of the Community of Christ Church for a wreath-laying ceremony in honor of fallen U.N. peacekeepers. The ceremony at the Peace Plaza will take place at 4:00 p.m.

Special guest speakers for the program at the Truman Library are Major General Anis A. Bajwa, director, policy, evaluation and training division, U.N. Department of Peacekeeping Operations, and Lt. Colonel Graeme Finney of Australia.

General Bajwa retired from the Pakistan Army in July 2003 to join the U.N. DPKO as its first director of change management. During his career in the Pakistan Army, he held several senior positions including command of an infantry division, Vice-Chief of the General Staff and Chief of Staff to the President of Pakistan. His U.N. peacekeeping experience includes assignments in Somalia, where he was Chief of Staff at the force headquarters, and in Georgia, where he was Chief Military Observer. He was appointed Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s deputy special representative in Timor-Leste in mid-2005 and held that post until his transfer to DPKO headquarters in New York.

Lt. Colonel Finney commanded the 103^rd Medium Battery of the Australian Army and was deployed to Timor-Leste in 1999 as part of the International Force for East Timor. That multinational force was dispatched under U.N. mandate to bring peace to the fledgling nation until a U.N. peacekeeping force was assembled. Lt. Colonel Finney was awarded a commendation for distinguished service in 2000 for his service to the 5^th/7^th Battalion in East Timor.

The first U.N. peacekeeping operation, commissioned during President Truman’s administration, monitored the armistice ending the 1948 war between the new State of Israel and its neighbors. The second, also during the Truman administration, observed the peace between the newly independent states of India and Pakistan. Since these early peacekeeping missions, the U.N. Security Council authorized 61 operations, most recently the African Union/UN hybrid force in Darfur and the U.N. mission in the Central African Republic and Chad. In the course of these 63 peacekeeping operations, 2,461 soldiers from U.N. member states have lost their lives in efforts to secure the peace.

JCCC Model UN team wins awards at 2008 National Model UN Conference in New York City

NEW YORK -- The Johnson County Community College (JCCC) Model United Nations team won three awards at the National Model United Nations conference in New York City March 18-22, 2008. JCCC won two outstanding awards for their portrayal of Lao People’s Democratic Republic. The Outstanding Delegation award is the most prestigious award for Model United Nations in the world. The Outstanding Delegation award recognizes the overall performance of JCCC across all committees. Students are evaluated on their skills at: (a) representing the Lao People’s Democratic Republic’s policy position; (b) JCCC student performance in formal and informal speaking and (c) proper use with rules of procedure. JCCC was the only Community College among the short list of other schools that received the award. The award list included Alma College; Brigham Young University; Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris France; Ludwig-Maximillians-University, Munich, Germany; University of Montréal; Macalister College; California State University, Northridge; California State University, Chico; Rider University; University of Miami; University of Laval; Florida International University, and Johnson County Community College.

JCCC also won an Outstanding Position Papers award for representing the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. Again, JCCC was the only community college to receive this position paper award among a short list of other colleges and Universities. This award is received in recognition of outstanding pre-conference preparation. In addition, JCCC in combination with Wichita State won an Honorable Mention award for representing the Philippines. According to JCCC team member Trent Brining, “The National conference allowed me the opportunity to interact with students from around the world. The quality of the students in New York was truly remarkable.” Viktoryia Schnose said, “After the conference, professors from other colleges asked me how and why the JCCC team did so well. This is because my fellow JCCC team members were outstanding since they quickly gained the respect of other students by being knowledgeable, friendly and respectful.” “The intensity of the effort by JCCC and other schools was extraordinary. I particularly enjoyed the diversity of the experience via the interactions with other students from around the world,” said Lowell Fletcher.

Sixteen JCCC students competed with students from more than 200 other Universities and Colleges from across the world. The students who represented Lao Peoples Democratic republic are Jason Beury (Lawrence, KS), Trent Brining (Overland Park, KS), team captain Jared Hedge (Atwood, KS), team co-captain Nida Fatima (Overland Park, KS), Stephanie Goings and Viktoryia Schnose. The Outstanding Delegation award was for these students representing Laos’s policy positions on the following topics: Breaking the Link Between Diamonds and Armed Conflict; The Role of Private Military and Security Companies in Conflict; The Politics and Economics of the External Debt Crisis; The Evaluation and Implementation of the United Nations Literacy Decade.

Students who represented the Philippines are Stephanie Richner (Overland Park, KS), team co-captain Brandy Schmitz (Olathe, KS), Lowell Fletcher (Kansas City, MO), Haena Kahng (Lawrence, KS), Norman Decelles (Lawrence, KS), Danny Eakins (Stilwell, KS), Lois Grimshaw (Olathe KS). The Honorable Mention award was for these students representing Philippines policy positions on the following topics: Global Management of Water and Other resources; Reversing the “Urban Penalty:” Empowering Vulnerable Urban Populations; Implementation and Strengthening of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

In addition, three JCCC team members received coveted staff positions for the National Model United Nations conference. Brandon Bezner (Overland Park, KS) was the Chair of the General Assembly Second Committee: Economic and Financial, Rebecca Elo (Kansas City, MO) co-chair of the General Assembly Third committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) David Willis (Cleveland, MO) was chair of the International Atomic Energy Agency. This opportunity helps these students to build their skills in facilitation of debate, rules of order, and conflict resolution.

MARCH 9, 2008 -- World Food Program executive director Josette Sheeran warned the world is entering "a new era of hunger." Global grain prices have surged. World wheat stocks at the end of the current marketing year will be the lowest since the 1970s, when the world had far fewer mouths to feed. World wheat supplies compared with demand are the tightest they've been in records extending back to 1960. Several grain-exporting nations have restricted sales abroad concerned world demand will claim stocks needed to supply domestic markets.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated the wheat supply in the U.S. on May 31, 2008, the end of the current crop year, at 272 million bushels, the lowest since 1948. Some voices in the U.S. urged grain exports be limited.

Meanwhile, the number of the world's hungry rises. What can we do. What must we do.

The Greater Kansas City United Nations Association and the International Affairs and Trade Office of the City of Kansas City will convene the Third Kansas City Food Aid Symposium on April 14 to discuss these and other issues related to providing international food aid. An expert panel has been selected including Michael Usnick, director, U.S. Relations, World Food Program; Jeffrey Borns, director, Food for Peace, U.S. Agency for International Developing; Patricia Sheikh, deputy administrator, Foreign Agricultural Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture; Michel Gabaudan, regional representative, U.S. & Caribbean, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and Frank Orzechowski, Catholic Relief Services.

The symposium will be held at 4:30 p.m., Monday, April 14, at the Westin Crown Center Hotel, Century Ballroom C, 2nd Floor, 1 East Pershing Road, Kansas City, Missouri. Crown Center shops provide 3-hour free parking if you validate your ticket.

Suggested donation at the door is $5, with proceeds above meeting costs to be donated to the World Food Program.

MARCH 9, 2008 -- The Greater Kansas City Young Professionals for International Cooperation have scheduled several events the week of April 14 to provide a lead to the K.C. community on how to assist the people of Darfur. The calendar of events follows:

Public meeting in downtown Kansas City. Maurice Brooks, YPIC chair; Thomas Pritchard of Sudan Sunrise; Kathleen Schneider of Save the Children and Michael Arunga of World Vision will discuss what is being done to assist refugees and end the conflict. The session be held at 7:30 p.m., Monday, April 14, at the Westin Crown Center Hotel, Century Ballroom C, 2nd Floor, 1 East Pershing Road, Kansas City, Missouri. Crown Center shops provide 3-hour free parking if you validate your ticket.

12:30 p.m. address on Conflict in Africa by Moussa Diop, former African Union peacekeeper

2:00 p.m., address by Peter Makori, former Kenyan journalist and survivor of political persecution.

6:00-9:00 p.m. Silent art auction, reception and film screening at UMKC School of Nursing, Health and Science Building.

6:30 p.m., Reception for Elizabeth Gibbons, chief of global policy, UNICEF. All Souls Universalist-Unitarian Church.

Coriolis Effect Concert for Darfur, The Beaumont Club, Westport area of Kansas City.

SEPT. 4 -- The outstanding achievements of the Johnson County Community College Model United Nations team will receive special recognition at Mayor's United Nations Day Dinner, Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2007, at Pierson Auditorium, University of Missouri -- Kansas City, said Jay Sjerven, president, Greater Kansas City United Nations Association, and George Belzer, GKC UNA vice-president.

A combined JCCC and Wichita State University team, representing France, won two outstanding delegation awards at the National Model UN Conference (NMUN) in New York in March 2007. The NMUN awards capped two years of successes for the JCCC Model UN. In that span, the team won awards at the six conferences they attended.

"We are proud that JCCC has become known on the national collegiate Model UN circuit as a consistently award-winning team that can compete with prestigious universities from around the world," said team co-captain Christine Turner. Mr. Belzer, former JCCC Model UN faculty adviser, added, "This is a wonderful achievement and places JCCC among the very best Model UN programs in the country. It also completes a sweep for the school year with this JCCC team having won similar awards at the American Model UN in Chicago and the Midwest Model UN in St. Louis. I am so proud of the team."

The JCCC team won three outstanding delegation awards for its portrayal of Greece and Tanzania at the 2007 Midwest Model UN Conference Feb. 21-24, 2007, in St. Louis. It also won an outstanding delegation award for its portrayal of Spain and Portugal at the 2006 American Model UN in Chicago Nov. 18-21, 2006.

The team won an outstanding position paper award for its 12 position papers representing Mali at the 2006 NMUN conference in New York April 11-25, 2006. The team also won an outstanding delegation award for its portrayal of France at the 2006 Midwest Model UN in St. Louis Feb. 22-25, 2006. Lastly, the JCCC team won an outstanding delegation award for its portrayal of Kenya at the Nov. 18-22, 2005, American Model UN International conference.

James M. Malouff III to receive 2007 Kansas City World Citizen award at Mayor's U.N. Day Dinner

AUG. 15 -- The Mayor's Committee on United Nations Day is pleased to announce the selection of James M. Malouff as this year's recipient of the Kansas City World Citizen award. Mr. Malouff was notified of his selection by Linda Trout, executive director of the International Relations Council, who was chair of the World Citizen Selection Committee. Mr. Malouff will be presented the award during the Mayor's U.N. Day Dinner on Wednesday, October 24, 7:00 p.m., at Pierson Auditorium in the University Center of the University of Missouri - Kansas City.

Mr. Malouff is a long-time Kansas City, MO, resident, businessman and civic leader. He currently is president of the Malouff Companies. He previously was president and director of the Eugene D. Brown Companies and earlier was associated with Hallmark Cards, Inc, and the Kansas City Star. He is a graduate of the University of Missouri-Kansas City and he is a veteran of the United States Navy.

Mr. Malouff is interested all aspects of international affairs. A particular interest is promoting Kansas City as a global city. He conceived the concept of the Kansas City Pan American Initiative, which includes the Grand Boulevard of the Americas Project. He is a member of the United Nations Association-Kansas City Chapter, People to People International, where he serves on the Board of Trustees; the Greater Kansas City People to People Chapter, the International Relations Council, and the International Visitors Council. He is member of Sister Cities International and serves on the Advisory Board of the Sister City Association of Kansas City. He has traveled to multiple countries and territories and has been inducted into the King Christian IV Guild of Denmark. He serves on the Board of Governors of the Liberty Memorial /National WW1 Museum. He recently received a Mayoral appointment to the newly formed KC Global Commission.

His many past international activities include: serving as a delegate to the first People to People International Peace Camp Initiative in Egypt in 2003, chairing the Mayor’s Task Force that revitalized the Kansas City Sister City Association in 1984 and serving as a vice-president of the Association; leading efforts to establish Sister City relationships between Kansas City, MO, and Xi’an, China, and recently, with Metz France; serving as a member of the Midwest Regional Board of the Institute of International Education, a worldwide organization; Chairman of the International Student/Business Connection Program; member of the Board of the Lalamba Association, which supports humanitarian projects in Africa; an appointment by the President of the University of Missouri System to the Strategic Planning Committee on the Global Economy; service on Rockhurst University’s Committee on Global Studies, an appointment by the U. S. Secretary to Commerce to the District Export Council for the Kansas City area; serving as a member of board of the Kansas City Foreign Trade Zone, and as Chairman of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce International Business Partners Subcommittee on World Trade. He has initiated and chaired humanitarian projects that aided an orphanage in Viet Nam during the Viet Nam War and projects that aided people in Africa and in the Middle East.

In 2006, Mr. Malouff was recognized as a recipient of the Circle of Distinguished Volunteers medal by Sister Cities International during its 50^th Anniversary celebration. In 2005, the Kansas City Sister City Association awarded Mr. Malouff its Community Service Award. Mr. Malouff is a Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow and in 1970 was honored with a prestigious lifetime JCI Senatorship by Junior Chamber International.

JULY 15, 2007 -- Michel Gabaudan, regional representative for the United States and the Caribbean, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (the U.N. refugee agency), has accepted the invitation of Kansas City Mayor Mark Funkhouser to be guest speaker at the 2007 Mayor's U.N. Day Dinner. The event will be held Wednesday, Oct. 24 (U.N. Day), 7:00 p.m., in Pierson Auditorium of the University of Missouri Kansas City. Complimentary parking will be available outside Pierson auditorium.

Mr. Gabaudan was appointed UNHCR regional representative for the U.S. and the Caribbean in September 2006. Mr. Gabaudan has been with the UNHCR for more than 25 years. Trained as a medical doctor, Mr. Gabaudan spent a decade working in Guyana, Zambia, Brazil, London and Yemen before joining the UNHCR as a field officer in Udon, Thailand. His U.N. career subsequently took him to field operations in countries ranging from Cameroon to Pakistan. He also served several years at the agency's headquarters in Geneva.

In 1995, Mr. Gabaudan was appointed UNHCR regional representative to Mexico. Then then went on to become head of UNHCR's funding and donor relations service at headquarters. From 2001 to 2004, he was UNHCR's regional representative in Australia. And from 2004 until his assignment to the U.S., he was UNHCR regional representative in Beijing.

Mr. Gabaudan attended the University of Bourdeaux in France, where he studied medicine. He is married and has three children.

For information on this year's Mayor's U.N. Day Dinner, or to request speakers on the U.N. and refugee issues, please email unagkc@aol.com or call 816 569-4523.

July 15, Parkville, MO -- Park University MBA student Salam Lazkani has been awarded a highly competitive full-time internship at the U.N. headquarters in New York, according to Erik Bergrud, director of Park U's international center for civic engagement. At Park, Mr. Lazkani is president of the Model UN club, through which he participated in the American and National Model UN last year. He also served as a volunteer at the 2007 Midwest Model UN.

In June, Mr. Lazkani served as a facilitator for the People to People Future Leaders Summit in International Diplomacy in New York City and Washington, D.C. Other leadership positions he holds at Park U include treasurer of the World Student Union, president of Global Future and board member of the People to People International chapter. In the spring of 2007, Mr. Lazkani served as a panelist on the Great Decisions forum on the Middle East held at Park. Mr. Lazkani is a native of Syria.

World Refugee Day 2007 panel, from left, Maurice Brooks, chairman, Young Professionals for International Cooperation, Greater Kansas City; Stephen Weitkamp, director, refugee and migrant programs, Catholic Charities, Kansas City, KS, and Abdul Bakar, refugee placement specialist, Jewish Vocational Service, and member of the board of directors of the Greater Kansas City United Nations Association.

JUNE 24 --The Young Professionals for International Cooperation of the Greater Kansas City United Nations Association celebrated World Refugee Day 2007 with fellow Kansas Citians, including representatives of the refugee community, at the Waldo branch of the Kansas City Library on Sunday. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees declared "A New Home, A New Life" as the theme for this year's commemorations of World Refugee Day. Citizens in several cities across the world participated in celebrations and meetings declaring their commitment to providing refuge to those in need and to assisting refugees in settling in their new home countries. In the U.S., meetings and concerts were held in New York, San Francisco and Washington, as well as in Kansas City.

Maurice Brooks, chairman, Young Professional for International Cooperation, Greater Kansas City, opened the Kansas City meeting. Maurice noted in the past year the number of refugees has increased sharply because of civil war and ethnic violence across several regions of the world. He said most people fleeing homes with families choose to return home, if possible. But when return is not an option, they must seek refuge abroad. Maurice said Kansas City has opened its arms to refugees and introduced representatives of two agencies principally responsible for resettling refugees in this area, Catholic Charities and Jewish Vocational Service (JVS). Catholic Charities resettles refugees in Kansas, and Jewish Vocational Service resettles refugees in western Missouri.

Stephen Weitkamp, director, refugee and migrant programs, Catholic Charities, Kansas City, KS, provided an overview of the history of the U.S. refugee resettlement program. The program began as a means to resettle refugees from Southeast Asia in the wake of the Vietnam War, and over the years has reached out to people from other regions of the world seeking refuge. Most of the current flow of refugees is from Africa. Stephen said 9-11 virtually shut down the refugee program, but in recent years, the U.S. has accepted refugees in increasing numbers. He said it was hoped the U.S. may grant entry to as many as 50,000 refugees this year.

Abdul Bakar, refugee placement specialist, Jewish Vocational Service, provided a moving account of his own experience as a refugee from Somalia. Abdul lived in a UN camp in Kenya, attained refugee status, and was given refuge in the U.S. Abdul explained the difficulties faced by refugees when arriving in their new host countries. He has dedicated himself to assisting those who today encounter the same challenges he and his family faced and overcame. Abdul now is an American citizen. Last January, he was elected to the board of directors of the Greater Kansas City United Nations Association, and he is active in YPIC.

Two days before the Kansas City meeting, Martin Okpareke, refugee employment and training manager, JVS, was interviewed on KKFI, a community radio station, about World Refugee Day, the Kansas City refugee community, services of JVS and the Mayor's UN Day Dinner. The dinner's focus this year will be the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR. The dinner will be held Wednesday, Oct. 24, 7:00 p.m., Pierson Auditorium, University of Missouri-Kansas City. The principal speaker will be Michel Gabaudan, the United Nations Higher Commissioner for Refugees regional representative for the U.S. and the Caribbean.

Young Professionals for International Cooperation is a division of the Greater Kansas City United Nations Association. YPIC members are UNA members between the ages of 20 and 40.

For additional information about YPIC, refugees in the K.C. community, speakers on UN and/or refugee issues, and the Mayor's UN Day Dinner, email: unagkc@aol.com

Committee updates Mayor Mark Funkhouser on 2007 United Nations Day Dinner plans

Members of the Mayor's Committee on United Nations Day meet with Mayor Funkhouser. From left: Sheldon Stahl, GKC-UNA board member; Linda Trout, executive director, International Relations Council; Ray Geselbracht, interim deputy director, Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum; Mayor Funkhouser; Jay Sjerven, president, GKC-UNA; Godlove Tebe, GKC-UNA board member.

JUNE 4 -- Members of the Mayor's Committee on United Nations Day met with Mayor Mark Funkhouser at City Hall to brief the Mayor on progress in organizing the 2007 Mayor's United Nations Day Dinner, which will be held Wednesday, October 24, 7:00 p.m., in Pierson Hall at the University of Missouri--Kansas City. Committee members emphasized the broad support the Mayor's U.N. Day Dinner has maintained over the years. The first Mayor's U.N. Day Dinner was held in 1972. In that year and in each following year, the Mayor of Kansas City has been host to the event. Each of the past four Mayors of Kansas City -- Mayor Charles Wheeler, Mayor Richard Berkley, Mayor Emanuel Cleaver and Mayor Kay Barnes -- has been host to the event. Mayor Illus Davis, who was mayor before the inaugural Mayor's U.N. Day Dinner, was recipient of the Kansas City World Citizen award, which was presented to him at the 1980 event.

The plight of refugees and what can be done to protect and aid them will be the theme of this year's special address at the Mayor's U.N. Day Dinner. Michel Gabaudan, regional representative, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, will be the keynote speaker.

Visit to Jewish Vocational Service kicks off campaign for Mayor's UN Day Dinner

Members of the board of directors of the Greater Kansas City United Nations Association and leading staff of Jewish Vocational Service. From left: Sheldon Stahl, GKC-UNA board; Father David B. Altschul, social work coordinator, JVS; Martin Okpareke, refugee employment & training manager, JVS; Maurice Brooks, UNA member; Dan Stoll, ex-officio member of GKC-UNA board and director, International Academic Affairs, University of Missouri-Kansas City; Karen Janas, director, refugee, immigration & cultural services, JVS; Joy Foster, executive director, JVS; Abdul Bakar, JVS refugee placement specialist and GKC-UNA board member.

MAY 30 -- Members of the board of directors of the Greater Kansas City United Nations Association toured Jewish Vocational Service offices in downtown Kansas City today. They met with Joy Foster, JVS executive director, Karen Janas, JVS director of refugee, immigration, language & cultural services, and other leading staff of the agency responsible for refugee resettlement in western Missouri. The JVS Center for New Americans offers assistance to immigrants and refugees, enabling them to become fully productive and participatory citizens of the United States.

The visit to JVS marked the launch of the campaign for the 2007 Mayor's UN Day Dinner scheduled for Oct. 24 at Pierson Auditorium, University of Missouri -- Kansas City. The principal speaker at this year's celebration of the founding of the UN will be Michel Gabaudan, regional representative for the U.S. and the Caribbean, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Mr. Gabaudan is a French national and is a 25-year veteran with the UNHCR.

KANSAS CITY – A panel of food aid experts and advocates reached out to the Kansas City community May 2 to explain the essential role U.S. food aid plays in saving and rebuilding lives in the world’s poorest nations. The community events were held the day before the start of the U.S. Department of Agriculture/U.S. Agency for International Export Food Aid Conference and were sponsored by the Greater Kansas City Chapter of the United Nations Association.

The expert panel included Lauren Landis, director, Office of Food for Peace, U.S. Agency for International Development; Judith Lewis, director, U.S. relations office, World Food Programme, and Bert Farrish, deputy administrator for commodity operations, Farm Service Agency, U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Panel members first were heard by thousands of Kansas Citians listening in to a discussion on food aid broadcast live on KCUR, the local public radio station. Steve Kraske, host of “Up to Date” and political reporter for The Kansas City Star, led the discussion, which included questions from listeners.

The panel then was joined Tony Richardson, fullback for the Kansas City Chiefs, for an assembly of secondary school students convened at the Barstow School in southern Kansas City. Mr. Richardson, after playing in the Pro-Bowl in Hawaii in February, took a flight to Sri Lanka, where for a week he assisted W.F.P. staff in providing assistance to victims of the tsunami. The program was introduced by Erin Ryan, a senior at the Barstow School active in humanitarian issues. Nick Haines, executive producer, public affairs/news, at KCPT, the Kansas City public television station, moderated a lively interchange between students and the food aid panel.

Mr. Richardson later was co-host with the Kansas City Chapter to a reception in honor of the W.F.P. that was attended by several youth representing Kansas City area college and high school Model United Nations teams.

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