Meeting Details
Saturday Aug 30, 2014
2:00 pm to 4:00 pm - doors open at 1:30
African American Arts and Culture Complex, third floor conference room, free parking in lot next door - 762 Fulton Street, San Francisco, CA 94102
This will be the first organizing meeting for the UN 70th Committee which will put together a big 70th Anniversary for the United Nations on Saturday, Oct 24, 2015.
Background
Through UNA-SF we have a reservation for Oct 24, 2015 of Herbst Hall and the Green Room in the War Memorial where the UN Charter was signed on June 26, 1945. The War Memorial building is being renovated and while expected to open in August 2015, there is a chance of delay and our reservations will not be confirmed until sometime in September. At that point we will need about $1000 to hold them.
UNA SF Bay Area Council of Organizations is hosting the UN 70th Organizing meeting on Aug 30, but clearly the UN 70th needs to be thought of as a coalition effort. We hope that UNA NorCal and the Northern California UNA Chapters will all participate in making the event a great success. We need to bring in many other organizations to make the event a success.
Herb Behrstock, President of UNA Eastbay with Eliz Weinberg and Roger Eaton, co-chairs of the UNA SF Bay COO met with Elizabeth Murray, Managing Director of the War Memorial. She is going to help arrange for a plaque to be installed on the War Memorial proclaiming the building to be the birth place of the United Nations - which does not mean the city will come up with the funds needed. She also has contacted Charlotte Shultz, San Francisco Chief of Protocol, who has agreed to help make the event a success, though being careful to say that she is not interested in taking a leading role.
There is a possibility that the Global Fund for Women will be able to bring the Exec Dir of UN Women Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka to the event as Keynote. We won’t know more until mid September. If she will attend, then clearly the main event will be organized around such issues as CEDAW and the role of women in realizing the post-2015 sustainability development goals of the UN.
Mary Steiner will be coordinating the event. Mary Steiner's background is strategic planning and implementation of international projects. She has founded and led several educational and business organizations. She has also participated both officially and unofficially in international conferences such as the Global Forums for the Survival of Humanity in 1990 in Moscow in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro.
Agenda
1) introduce ourselves briefly
2) Introduction of UN 70 by Mary Steiner
3) discussion of the main events:
a) Unveiling of the plaque outside the War Memorial with city officials and press
b) Main event in Herbst Hall with Dr Mlambo-Ngcuka or Barbara Lee or ??
Question: after keynote, what does main event consist of?
c) Concurrent Model UN demonstration?
d) Follow up reception in the Green Room
e) Possible side events such as Diplomatic Reception, Flag Marches, etc.
4) Organizing ourselves
a) OK UNA SF Bay Area Council of Organizations as 501(c)(3) umbrella
b) Committee Structure handout - discussion and signup
5) next meeting
6) other?