This is going out to the UN 70th Subgroup of the UNA SF Bay Area Council of Organizations on InterMix - please feel free to forward to others who may be interested.
Plans are underway to host a big UN 70th Anniversary at the War Memorial, Oct 24, 2015, possibly bringing in Exec Director Mlambo-Ngcuka of UN Women and/or US Representative Barbara Lee and Senator Barbara Boxer as main speakers.
The UNA SF Bay COO has its next general meeting on Tuesday, August 19th at the Unitarian Universalist Church on Franklin at Geary in San Francisco. Doors open at 5:30. Meeting begins at 6:00. Potluck. Please come if you can possibly make it. We will be discussing UN 70th as a chief item on the agenda. By then we should have a somewhat better idea whether we can secure Dr Mlambo-Ngcuka for UN 70th.
The UNA San Francisco Bay Area Council of Organizations, a growing network started by UNA-SF in 2013, has reserved the War Memorial Building, both Herbst Hall and the Green Room, for Oct 24, 2015. Herbst Hall can seat 950+ and the Green Room can hold 250 seated and up to 500 standing. If possible we want to use both venues, at two different times during the day. See sfbaycoo.org for more about the Council.
I have checked with Stephanie Smith at the War Memorial and our reservations stand, but we have to remember that with War Memorial renovation ongoing, the Oct 24, 2015 date is not yet confirmed. Odds are excellent that confirmations of existing reservations will go through this fall. At that time we will need to put about $1500 down to keep the reservations. Herbst Hall events generally run between 4,000 and 15,000 dollars. The new fee schedule for the renovated hall has not been published yet, though, and the cost depends heavily on exactly what we plan. If we need stage management, for instance, that makes it more expensive. The Green Room will be considerably less, but it is clear there are going to be major expenses and we will need major fund-raising to succeed.
Here is some very good news: In July 2014, Herb Behrstock of UNA Eastbay, with Eliz Weinberg and Roger Eaton of the UNA SF Bay COO met with Beth Murray, Managing Director of the War Memorial. She offered to help get a plaque mounted on the front of the building to recognize its role in the birth of the U.N. - the U.N. Charter was signed there on June 26, 1945. Also, she offered to work with us on the UN 70th Celebration. It was clear from the discussion with her that key to any successful UN 70th, would be having a great Keynote speaker. She has since taken the UN 70th idea to Charlotte Shultz, who is on the Board of the War Memorial and Chief Protocol Officer for the City of San Francisco. According to Beth Murray, Charlotte Shultz responded positively that she would help with the celebration effort. So the ball is in our court to secure one or more great speakers as our star attraction for the event.
Through the UNA Gender Crosstalk initiative (see ugc.iwd.intermix.org) we have connected with the Global Fund for Women headquartered here in San Francisco. Anna Tenuta, Social Media Coordinator with the Global Fund for Women will put us in touch with GFW leadership shortly about bringing Dr Mlambo-Ngcuka to San Francisco for UN 70th. GFW is going through a transition and things have to wait a few days. As it happens, Valeria Brabata, GFW Program Director for Latin America and the Caribbean attended our UNA Women’s Committee mixer recently and likewise expressed strong support for the idea of bringing in Dr Mlambo-Ngcuka, so I am sure this possibility will be considered by GFW, where Dr Mlambo-Ngcuka was on the Board until she took up her new post at the UN.
Several people have also mentioned US Representative from Oakland Barbara Lee as a real possibility, saying they have good relations with her. She is representative to the U.N. from Congress as well as being an important local member of the U.S. House of Reps, so she would be great. Could we have both Barbara Lee and Dr Mlambo-Ngcuka? Something to be considered. Senator Boxer is another good possibility. We can think in terms of an outside event to unveil the new plaque, with dignitaries and a small crowd and someone from the press and one or two inside events.
Mary Steiner, UNA Eastbay Vice President, has expressed to me her confidence that if we can secure Dr Mlambo-Ngcuka, then she is sure that she knows a number of capable people who will want to form a team to make the event happen. That is so important. With a capable team, and with the help of Charlotte Shultz and Beth Murray we have the ingredients to put together a great event.
Herb Behrstock suggests that it may not be so easy to secure a big name from the UN so far in advance. The problem is that Dr Mlambo-Ngcuka may need to keep her options open in case she is needed for a NYC UN 70th. Also, we probably need to have something more concrete to propose than just offering the Keynote spot. What exactly are we planning? Can we offer to pay expenses - air and hotel? Can we offer a separate fund-raising possibility for UN Women when the Exec Director is here in San Francisco? That would be a great attraction.
To answer these questions, we clearly need to have a UN 70th Committee meeting soon, and a Saturday would be best for travel from Eastbay, so we are aiming at Saturday afternoon Aug 30th, in San Francisco - either the Unitarian Universalist Church on Franklin, or the African American Arts and Culture Complex on Fulton near Civic Center. Please mark your calendar.
-- Roger Eaton
UNA SF Bay Area COO Co-Chair
UNA-SF Communications Chair
UNA-SF Women's Committee Secretary
415 933 0153
rogerweaton@gmail.com
