President’s Letter
Dear
Members & Friends,
I
hope you had a blessed
Thanksgiving. We had an
excellent Pre-Thanksgiving Lunch
& Learn with more than 100
members & guests attending.
Prof. Bill Leuchtenburg, UNC
emeritus professor of history
and authority on the life and
career of President Franklin
Roosevelt and Mrs. Eleanor
Roosevelt, gave an eloquent
tribute to Mrs. Roosevelt and
her work with the UN and the
Universal Declaration of Human
Rights.
We have now
received almost $800 in extra
year-end donations, but we need
another $800 to keep from going
in the red in 2011. So we are
again providing a check box on
our Lunch & Learn reservation
coupon, so you can send in your
donation along with the $18 to
reserve your place Dec. 14th
L&L. You can consider your
tax-deductible donation a
Holiday (Christmas, Chanukah,
Kwanza, Solstice, etc.) gift to
the United Nations Association.
Please be generous!
This
will be my last President's
Letter, because we will elect a
new President (probably Gregg
Flood) for 2012 at our Annual
Business Meeting during the Dec.
L&L. We have had a good two
years together, thanks to your
support. I look forward to
continuing to serve as
Past-President.
Holiday Greetings! Pal Palmore
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
West Triangle
Chapter to Hold Annual Meeting
Chapter Budget and Board Members
to be approved
The
December Lunch and Learn meeting
will include the Chapter's
annual business meeting, at
which attending Chapter members
will be asked to vote on the
Chapter's Operating Budget and
to elect officers and of Board
of Directors. Details are below.
Proposed West Triangle
Chapter Budget for 2012
|
INCOME |
|
|
Lunch & Learn |
$16,000
|
|
UNA Dues Rebate |
2,600
|
|
Donations & Gifts |
2,400
|
|
Total Income |
$21,000
|
|
|
|
|
EXPENSES |
|
|
Lunch & Learn |
13,900
|
|
Children's Health |
400
|
|
Education |
4,050
|
|
Membership & Newsletter |
2,100
|
|
Administration |
975
|
|
Total Expenses
|
$21,425
|
|
|
|
|
DEFICIT (to be
covered from reserve
funds) |
($425)
|
Members' questions about the
budget will be answered at the
meeting.
Election of Officers &
Directors
The West Triangle Chapter's
Bylaws require that election of
the Chapter's Officers and Board
of Directors take place annually
at the Chapter's Annual Meeting.
Directors shall be elected for
two years with the unlimited
possibility of reelection.The
Bylaws are available to all the
members on the UNA-WTC website:
http://una-westtriangle.org/UNABylawsRevised9.07.pdf.
The Board has decided that, in
order to provide continuity and
maximum effectiveness, Board
members should be elected on a
staggered basis.
The following candidates are
presented to the membership for
election for 2012-2013:
President - Gregory Flood and
Board Members - Charles “Tuck”
Green, Warren Glick and Robert
Howes.
Serving Board members who will
complete their terms in office
at the end of 2012 are: Jean
Green (Secretary); Ann Sherman
(Treasurer); and Barbara Berke,
Jerrold Berke and Ivan Remnitz
(Board members). In accordance
with the Bylaws, also on the
Board will be a Representative
of the UNO at UNC-CH and the
Immediate Past President, Erdman
“Pal” Palmore. The office of
Vice President remains to be
filled at this time.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Fragile
States, Global Consequences”
Topic of Next Lunch and Learn
For over a century the balance
of power among the world’s
strongest nations was the
dominant issue in discussions of
global security. Many of today’s
post-World War II U.S. policies,
and international institutions
like the U.N., were created to
deal with conflicts between
them.
But today fragile states such as
the Democratic Republic of the
Congo, Bosnia, East Timor, and
Haiti, are emerging as the most
serious threat to global
security. These countries
straddle the thin line between
survival and chaos, suffering
from weak governments, internal
conflict, ethnic conflict,
poverty and sometimes all of
these. Fragile states’
weaknesses often permit
extremist groups to thrive
within their borders, create
breeding grounds for disease
pandemics, stimulate mass
migrations, and offer safe
havens for terrorists, drugs or
arms traders, and for human
traffickers.
In October, the West Triangle
Chapter hosted a conference at
UNC to consider the challenges
posed by these states. Now, on
Wednesday, December 14th, in an
innovative interactive session
using a DVD presentation, West
Triangle Chapter members will
have the opportunity at our
special Lunch and Learn meeting
to learn about these challenges
and consider what they mean to
us and the larger global
community. The session aims to
encourage discussion of ways to
promote stronger nations and
deal more effectively with those
that are already on the brink of
failure. We encourage you to
come prepared to discuss the
following questions:
- Do you believe that fragile
states are a greater global
threat than traditional super
powers today?
- Can you think of any
countries besides those named
above, that might currently be
called a fragile state?
- Should the United States
ever intervene directly in a
fragile state or should it
always act in concert with other
countries or as a part of the
United Nations?
The meeting will be held at the
usual time and place - Carolina
Meadows from Noon-2:00 pm.
However, PLEASE NOTE:
The December meeting will be
a week earlier than usual to
allow ample time for members
wishing to do so to spend the
holidays with their families.
Reservations should be sent to
Warren Glick, 83203 Jarvis,
Chapel Hill, NC 27517 by
December 9th along with a
check for $18 made out to
“UNAUSA West Triangle Chapter”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Education Outreach
By Jean and Tuck Green
Mini MUNCH
Mini MUNCH is an informal Model
U.N. Conference designed to
prepare local high school
students to be effective
participants in full-fledged
conferences such as the one
sponsored by UNC-Chapel Hill
each year, a conference known as
MUNCH (Model U. N.
Chapel Hill).
On Saturday November 12th,
thirty six high school students
from five local high schools
gathered for the third annual
Mini Munch held at the Carolina
Center for Educational
Excellence. The Center, attached
to Smith Middle School in north
Chapel Hill, provides
state-of-the art facilities for
conferences such as this. The
Director of the Center is
Björn Hennings, a West
Triangle Chapter Board member
and UNC-CH faculty member.
The students were divided into
two groups, each simulating a
Security Council debate on what
to do about North Korea.
Overseeing each simulation were
two UNC-CH students experienced
at Model U.N. They coached the
high school students in the
intricacies of parliamentary
procedure, caucusing, and
writing resolutions.
World View
World View, based on the
UNC-CH campus, provides study
abroad opportunities as well as
seminars and symposia on
international topics for the
state’s educators and
administrators. This fall the
topic for both the October
symposium for K-12 educators and
the November symposium for
community college educators was
“Peace and Conflict: 10 Years
after 9/11.” We provided a
table-top display about UNA-USA
and passed out hundreds of
teaching resources about the
U.N. In addition, an advisor for
one of the Model U.N. Clubs we
sponsor, Frank Felicelli
of Cedar Ridge High School in
Hillsborough, conducted
workshops on how to introduce
Model U.N. into the curriculum.
He brought several students with
him to testify as to the various
skills they acquired as Model
U.N. conference participants.
If you would like to support
this Committee’s work, please
check off “Education Outreach”
on the Lunch and Learn
Registration form and send your
donation in together with your
Lunch fee. Suggestions? Please
contact us at
cgreen17@nc.rr.com..
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
US Pulls Support from UNESCO
Balkanizing the UN
By Amanda Conklin, UNA-WTC
Outreach Intern & Jerry Berke
On November 1, the United States
halted funding to the United
Nations Educational, Scientific,
and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO) following the
organization’s vote to admit
Palestine to its membership.
This is the result of
decades-old laws automatically
prohibiting the payment of US
dues to any UN body that
recognizes a Palestinian state.
US funding of UNESCO comprises
22 percent ($60 million) of the
agency’s annual budget. Thus its
loss seriously inhibits its
ability to function. Many people
know UNESCO for its role in
protecting world cultural
heritage sites, but it also
works (in fact its primary
mission) to promote education
and science as vehicles for
building peace and social
progress.
Unfortunately, US cuts in
funding to the UN may not stop
here. The Palestinians
originally declared their
intention to seek membership in
three other UN organizations -
the UN Industrial Development
Organization (UNIDO), the World
Intellectual Property
Organization (WIPO) and the UN
Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD). However,
the United States and other
governments (primarily European)
have been exerting strong
pressure on them to suspend
their drive in this regard
because of fears that it could
interfere with the (presently
stalled) initiative to bring the
Palestinians and Israel together
for direct peace talks.
However, there are no guaranties
and the Palestinians have
reserved the right to continue
their applications for
membership in other United
Nations organizations. It is
uncertain, if they do apply,
what the response of the
governments comprising them will
be, although history has shown
it would be unwise to bet
against them, at least in the
long run.
Meanwhile, Congresswoman Iliana
Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, the
Republican Chair of the House
Foreign Affairs Committee, is
continuing her efforts to
effectively defund the United
Nations by pushing legislation
that would require US funds
given to the organization to be
switched to voluntary
contributions rather than
obligatory assessments, as
historically been the case with
contributions made by all
governments. This would have the
practical effect of balkanizing
the UN’s activities by allowing
governments to choose which UN
programs they would like to
support, thereby pitting
programs against each other in
an unworkable managerial
structure that would only weaken
United States influence in the
organization, and eventually the
UN’s effectiveness. Her efforts
would also be contrary to the
results of an October 2011 poll
which found that 86% percent of
voters want the US to take an
active role within the UN, over
66% believe that the UN plays an
important role in world
governance, and 64% support
payment of the United States’ UN
dues in full and on time.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
UNC’s United Nations
Organization Update
By Amanda Conklin, UNA-WTC
Outreach Intern
The United Nations Organization
at UNC has been very busy this
semester. They have recruited a
large number of underclassmen to
join their organization and plan
to put their expanded ranks to
work running their high school
and college conferences in the
spring. They have also attended
two conferences, at Columbia
University and Duke University.
UNO took a delegation of eight
delegates to Columbia, and two
won awards. Twelve delegates
went to Duke, and six received
awards. They will attend two
more conferences in the spring,
at the University of Virginia
and the University of Chicago.
In other activities, President
Anna Gage and Secretary-General
of the college conference Amanda
Conklin served as assistant
discussion leaders for the West
Triangle Chapter’s Fragile
States, Global Consequences
seminar. UNO’s second annual
college conference will be held
February 3-5 in Graham Memorial
on UNC’s campus, and their
popular high school conference
will be held March 16-18 in
UNC’s Student Union. Members of
the UNA are welcome to observe.
Please contact Amanda Conklin at
conklin.am@gmail.com
for more information.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Archived November 2011Newsletter
Archived October 2011 Newsletter
Archived September 2011
Newsletter
Archived May 2011 Newsletter
Archived April
2011
Newsletter
Archived March
2011
Newsletter
Archived February
2011
Newsletter
Archived January 2011 Newsletter
Archived December 2010 Newsletter
Archived November 2010 Newsletter
Archived October 2010 Newsletter
Archived September 2010 Newsletter
