UN celebrates its 66th Anniversary

The United Nations in Armenia together with its partners - government officials, representatives of the diplomatic community, international organizations, civil society, and media celebrates the UN Day and marks the 66th anniversary of the organization through the UN Week (20-27 October).

The UN Week was inaugurated on October 20 by a photo exhibition by renowned Armenian photographer Zaven Khachikyan. The bright and colorful postcards and photos illustrate the country’s efforts towards sustainable development and raises public awareness on the values and principles of the UN.

Today the UN Resident Coordinator Dafina Gercheva and Heads of UN Agencies, Funds and Programmes discussed with the students of Armenian Universities the role of the UN in promoting human rights, peace and securing and accelerating human development. Other outreach lectures about the UN will be delivered by the staff of the UN Department of Public Information during this week. The UN literature will be distributed to the students of different Yerevan Universities by the Biblio-Bus of the National Library of Armenia, which hosts the UN Depository Library.

The culmination of the celebration was the UN Journalism Awards Ceremony, where three talented journalists received awards for their professional coverage of the issues related to the UN work in Armenia. The winner of the 1st award was Liana Gyozalyan (Respublika Armenia daily), who received a laptop, the 2nd winner was Hripsime Jebeyan (Aravot daily), who was awarded with a net-book and the 3rd winner, Irina Barseghyan (Public Radio) received a photo-camera. The UN expert jury selected the winners according to their professionalism, in-depth knowledge of the UN objectives and creativity.

The UN Office in Armenia is the first UN country office which installed the solar panels. Through installation of solar panels on the rooftop of the UN House, the UN wants to provide an example of the new vision of building a low-carbon economy and fostering non commercial renewable energy deployment. It can provide a model for other organizations to follow and at the same time build local entrepreneurship for solutions in the renewable energy generation sphere.

The UN Resident Coordinator Dafina Gercheva said: “The UN activities in Armenia would not be possible without the full engagement and support of the Government of Armenia, as well as our international partners and the Armenian civil society. We are here to support the national development efforts in an open, impartial and transparent manner, both in government and the non-government sector, in line with the internationally recognized UN norms, values, standards and good practices. I express my great appreciation to the Armenian people who believe deeply in our work for peace, sustainable development, and human rights.”

She also thanked all UN partners, including government, civil society, and media for their cooperation and support to the work of different UN Institutions operating in Armenia.

The UN Secretary General video message was screened. Ban Ki-moon said: “In our increasingly interconnected world, we all have something to give and something to gain by working together. Let us unite in the name of the global common good.”

On October 24, 1945, sixty-six years ago, the founding Charter of the UN entered into force. The UN Office in Armenia was opened in December 1992.