Representatives from the Seventh-day Adventist Church and other organizations from more than 100 countries are working together at the United Nations as positive "agents for change" in contemporary society.
Representatives from the Seventh-day Adventist Church and other organizations from more than 100 countries are working together at the United Nations as positive “agents for change” in contemporary society.
The 56th Annual United Nations Dept. of Public Information/Non-Governmental Organizations conference, “Human Security and Dignity: Fulfilling the Promise of the United Nations,” is drawing more than 3,000 representatives in what is the largest gathering of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in the world.
“As NGOs, we are committed to becoming agents of change,” said Fannie Munlin, conference chair, in her opening address Sept. 8 to delegates in the U.N. General Assembly hall. Munlin added that one of the goals of the conference is to create a global village where human security and dignity are the norm, rather than the exception.
The United Nations and civil society need to work together to achieve “freedom from the fear of hunger, poverty and oppression,” commented Jan Kavan, president of the 57th Session of the U.N. General Assembly in his welcome to conference participants.
NGOs work with the United Nations to lobby for and implement activities promoting human rights, humanitarian aid, education, health reform, gender issues, poverty reduction and many other programs directly related to improving quality of life.
“Many Adventist causes correlate directly with projects at the United Nations, such as health issues, development assistance and education,” said Dr. Jonathan Gallagher, U.N. liaison director for the Seventh-day Adventist Church. “Our presence here provides a way to interface with other agencies for positive change to benefit humanity on a global scale.”
The conference ends Sept. 10. For updates on Adventist representation to the United Nations, visit
http://un.adventist.org
