In celebration of the UN’s 70th anniversary, the
UN Office in Geneva hosted an open day. Banners outside the UN read ‘Let’s
Celebrate Together’, inviting the public to be a part of the festivities, giving
an opportunity to see inside the UN buildings and learn more about what the UN
does. More than 18,000 people visited UN Geneva on the 24 October, and a UN
spokesperson declared the open day ‘a phenomenal success’.
As part of the UNOG’s open day, NGOs showcased the work they do,
contributing to the UN’s mission to take action on the issues confronting
humanity in the 21st century, such as peace and security, sustainable
development, human rights, climate change, and gender equality. Presenting Soroptimist
International’s work and contributions were SI UN Representatives, Wilfrida
Hendrickx and Sabine Kinzer.
Photo: The queues were over 300 meters long to get into the UN Office Geneva for their open day.
“That Soroptimist International was one of only ten NGOs
chosen to display and promote our work as part of the UN Geneva’s open day
shows how valuable what we do is,” explains Wilfrida, “the public, government
representatives and other international organisations, could all see the
commitment of SI to make real change in the lives of women and girls – it’s
great exposure!”
At the UN Geneva open day, Soroptimist International
displayed the successes and work of Birthing in the Pacific. “We chose to share
this project with the public because it shows how international development
really matters to people”, says Sabine, “maternal health is a very important
issue and is something many people can relate to.”
Photo: SI UN Representatives Wilfrida Hendrickx (left) and Sabine Kinzer (right) showcasing the work of Soroptimist Internaitonal and Birthing in the Pacific at the UN, Geneva.
Birthing in the Pacific is a project initiated by SI South
West Pacific and was adopted by Past International President Alice Wells as her
President’s Appeal 2011-2013.
“That improving maternal health has been a goal in the
Millennium Development Goals, and now the Sustainable Development Goals is also
important”, Frida points out, “we are connecting local issues to international
trends and helping solve them at the grassroots level.”
“It was
exciting to hear so many different languages in the crowds who travelled to the
UN”, says Sabine, “we couldn’t count the people who passed by, who asked
questions and asked for documents which we had prepared. Some of the
interested people even returned to find out more about our organization! And
some of them thanked us for doing the work we do too! Those were joyful moments
and Wilfrida and I felt good that we do something worthwhile – and, at the same
time, are so aware of the help that women still need."
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