UNA News Updates for Early January 2024
Dear Davis UNA members and Friends,
We hope you have started 2024 with good health, pleasant memories of the recent holiday season, and sincere dedication to promote efforts toward peace and constructive collaboration. Below are reports about two events in which our chapter engaged during the first two weeks of this new year.
On January 8 our Annual Membership Meeting, open to all regardless of membership status, was presented via Zoom, describing our mission, accomplishments, challenges and future plans. As a special benefit, UNA-USA’s Senior Director for Programs and Policies, Farah Eck, sent an inspiring opening statement and welcome from national UNA headquarters specifically addressed to the Davis chapter, highlighting the fact that we are celebrating 80 years of UNA-USA.
Our mission: to inform, inspire and mobilize the public to support the principles and vital work of the United Nations and to encourage a constructive relationship between the U.S. and the UN. We strive to do that through informational programs (like the UN Day event last October on the Sustainable Development Goals), through collaborating and forming partnerships with like-minded groups and through supporting youth leaders. A very significant aspect of our mission is advocacy with our elected leaders to inform them about the great value the UN brings to the world, and most importantly, to secure their support for full funding of our UN commitments.
Among the chapter’s accomplishments we proudly highlighted the recent three in-person events (the City Council Proclamation of UN Day, the UN Day program in October and the highly successful Human Rights Day program in December attended by one hundred persons. Additionally we mentioned the newly launched website, unadavis.org, and outreach through continuing regular tabling sessions at Farmers Market and on the UCD campus.
Because our chapter has been a significant element of the Davis community for many decades, we also provided selected historical highlights, among them the 1997-2019 International Film Series, the UNA-sponsored International Documentary Film Festival, the decades-long coordination of the UNICEF campaign engaging Davis schoolchildren and community members, participation in the national UNA Essay Contest for high school students and Model UN at various levels, Adopt-a-Future fundraising for students in the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya, and the 1995 gift of fifty Peace Roses to the city commemorating fifty years since the signing of the UN Charter.
Among the challenges discussed were membership, outreach, increased costs and the need to undertake strategic fundraising to enable the chapter to organize strong programs focusing on the Sustainable Development Goals. Membership has declined in recent years and fully half of our members are Youth whose membership is free until age 26. Increased outreach (digitally and through regularly scheduled tabling) will ideally increase membership. Standard membership is a very reasonable $50, half of which is eventually returned to the chapter. While we previously offered events at International House without charging admission (because the venue was generally free), we now pay rent and need to develop fundraising strategies to cover our costs.
Edgar Trujillo, who developed the website, gave a quick overview of this useful tool, encouraging everyone to check it regularly for updates, upcoming events as well as records of past events.
The program ended with the election of the 2024 Board of Directors, including "UNA veterans” Laleh Rastegarzadeh, Edgar Trujillo and Verena Borton, and new member Molly Thompson, an International Relations major at UCD. When our Annual Report was submitted on January 11, we could claim that our board represents Youth, Young Professional, Working Adult and Retiree - a considerable improvement in diversity.
UNA Davis’ annual Martin Luther King Day service project took place on January 14.
Background: Following up on an idea that originated with Ray Borton, a significant gift of fifty Peace Rose plants was presented to the City of Davis by the UNA chapter (with Mary Ellen Dolcini as President, as noted on a plaque) in February of 1995 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the signing of the UN Charter in San Francisco. With the assistance of a city employee, board members planted two beds of Peace Rose plants south of 600 A Street.
The roses need to be thoroughly pruned every January and this project has become a regular MLK Service opportunity for UNA members. Volunteers Laleh Rastegarzadeh, Stephanie DeGraff-Hunt, Shahla Faranak and Molly Thompson (just elected chapter secretary) were invited for a hearty meal of “Everything” soup and bread at Ray and Verena’s home on January 14th. Reflecting on this gathering afterwards, Laleh wrote: “I was thinking your soup was a perfect metaphor for a harmonious community! The secret of the nurturing quality of the soup was the abundance of ingredients used (17!); similarly the path to a peaceful society is to embrace and cherish the diversity of its members.”
(l to r) Laleh, Shahla, Verena, Molly, Stephanie, & Ray
The six of us then headed down the street armed with clippers and gloves to tackle the thorny roses and deal with muddy soil after the previous day’s rain. Whether working by ourselves or in small groups, we enjoyed the feeling of collaboratively completing a task, no matter how uncomfortable the constant bending over was. We left a respectable pile of clippings to be picked up by County employees who take care of the grounds around the rose beds and who appreciate our volunteer work. Shahla wrote later: “As the work we did today gives the Peace Roses a healthier start in the spring, I wish peace and kindness will also spread in the world.”
Peace is a fragile commodity, but over the years these rose beds have demonstrated that with patience, attention, goodwill and loving care it can and will blossom forth to be an inspiration to all who witness it. We invite you to witness the plants in full bloom by April and May and through the fall months. Next year we shall celebrate thirty years of the beauty and inspiration these plants have given to the citizens of Davis.
(l to r) Laleh, Shahla, Stephanie, Molly, Verena, & Ray
Upcoming Events
UNA-USA Town Hall: Conflict in the Middle East
January 25 | 1:00 P.M. (PT)
Want to foster a deeper understanding of the conflict in the Middle East? Join UNA-USA on Thursday, January 25th, at 4:00 PM ET for a crucial town hall.
We will welcome Vincent Valdmanis, the Better World Campaign’s Director of Peace and Security Policy, who will delve into a comprehensive regional analysis of the ongoing conflict. Bill Deere, Director at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) will also address the humanitarian operation in the Gaza Strip, which has become one of the most complex and challenging in the world, as well as other UN operations addressing the conflict.
UNA Sacramento Global Goals Local Leaders: Quality Education
January 28 | 3:00 - 5:00 P.M.
111 I ST., SACRAMENTO (STANFORD GALLERY AT RAILROAD MUSEUM)*
The United Nations Association, Sacramento Chapter, is proud to present the fourth event in our "Global Goals Local Leaders" speaker series. Each forum in the series will be dedicated to celebrating the Sustainable Development Goals -- and exploring how local leaders are making these goals a reality in our own community.
This month, the forum will focus on Sustainable Development Goal #4: Quality Education.
Our panel of policy experts and practitioners will discuss the innovative programs and practices that are being deployed to ensure more equitable access and outcomes across all levels of the educational system.
Quality education isn't just about standardized test scores, it's about building a system that works better for all students at each step in the process. And Sacramento innovators, teachers, and policymakers are leading the way.
Attendees will have the opportunity to network, ask questions, support the efforts, and learn about the progress that is being made.
Global Engagement Summit 2024
at UN Headquarters in NYC, Friday, February 16, 7 am- 3pm PST, "PUSHING FORWARD FOR PEOPLE AND PLANET”
Our theme for GES2024—PUSHING FORWARD>>>FOR PEOPLE & PLANET—highlights the importance of empowering our advocates to take bold action in order to achieve great impact in the areas of people and planet. The event will serve as a continuation of the celebration of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights’ 75th Anniversary. In addition, the event will feature a unique Fashion Showcase to demonstrate how individuals and businesses are bolstering the push for sustainability through their products and platforms. The full day event will begin at 10:00 am ET with an Opening Plenary, panel discussions at 30 minutes, fireside chat conversations at 20 minutes, multiple recorded Field Visit Videos, and a unique 45-minute Fashion Showcase. In order to ensure that GES2024 is able to cover diverse topics, geographic hotspots, and ensure awareness and attention on situations for which we cannot dedicate time for live discussions, we will curate recorded Field Visit Videos. These 5-7 minute videos will transport our audience to view the UN’s impact “out in the field.”
In addition, the Summit will offer all participants–whether in person or online– the opportunity to advocate for the UN. Prior to the event in-person attendees will have access to complementary pre-Summit activities, including a UN careers session, discounted UN tours, and more.