GFDD Elected to Executive Committee of the Council on Organizations (COO) — an Initiative of United Nations Association of the United States of America (UN-USA)

On June 1-4 GFDD attended the 2013 UNA-USA Annual Meeting that took place in Washington, DC.  To honour UNA-USA 70th anniversary, in the Meeting, the Foundation proudly participated in the celebration of the Association’s recent developments, including strengthening its liaison position with the UN and launching new initiatives such as GenerationUN (GenUN), which greater involves young people in the work of UNA-USA, UNA-USA’s first Affinity Group and
UNA Women, which has helped connect members with the vital work the United Nations is doing to empower women worldwide.

GFDD became an official member of the UNA-USA Council of Organizations (COO) in January 2013, and was nominated and elected to its select Executive Committee by unanimous vote on June 2. The Council of Organizations is the Association’s
critical link to the United Nations. Carrying out its mission, COO provides its members with an opportunity to coordinate advocacy and education campaigns related to US -UN relations with the purpose to maximize their impact.

As an initiative of UNA-USA, the COO is a coalition of non-governmental organizations and grassroots that work in the areas of education, social justice, labour, sustainable development, energy and climate, millennium development goals, human rights,
health and women issues. The participated organizations share common goals of strengthening the US–UN relations and advancing knowledge of the targeted groups about global issue concerns.

Traditionally, UNA-USA hosts an Annual Meeting that brings together members to a variety of skills training, issue briefings, networking opportunities and capacity-building.

This year agenda encompassed, amongst others, discussions about hot spot themes, including the
Millennium Development Goals, human rights, UN Women and civil society, and grassroots mobilization, inviting to the floor prominent state and public figures such as Wesley J. Reisser, Foreign Affairs Officer, US Department of State; Kieran Dwyer, Chief, Public Affairs Section, Department of Peacekeeping Operations, United Nations; David Morrissey, Executive Director, United States International Council for Disabilities; Kathy Calvin, President and CEO, UN Foundation; and Mike Beard,
Executive Director, UN Foundation Advocacy and Global Health. Crucial to the discussions was UNA-USA first ever, Post-2015 town hall-style meeting, touching on this topic as well as defining the role of youth and civil society in regards to it.

As part of the Annual Meeting, UNA-USA also hosted the most important advocacy event of the year – Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill, which gave the members an opportunity to meet with the elected officials and to remind them about an
institution that, similarly to their function in the government, also represents public interests but on a different level – in the United Nations.

About UNA-USA
The United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA) is a membership organization that represents the single largest network of advocates and supporters of the United Nations in the world.

It is dedicated to educating,
inspiring and mobilizing Americans to support the principles and vital work of the United Nations, strengthening the United Nations system, promoting constructive United States leadership in the system and achieving the goals of the United Nations Charter. For 70 years, UNA-USA has been working to accomplish its mission through the national network of Chapters, youth engagement, advocacy efforts, education programs and public events.

Related links:
http://www.unausa.org
http://www.flickr.com/photos/unausa/8970277891/