Another new beginning

This issue of the UNA-USA Florida Division Newsletter marks a new beginning. We have a new president of the organization with Dr. Daniel Luu, a long-time and tireless supporter of the UNA, and a new newsletter editor. It is with some trepidation that both of us take-up our new responsibilities. For several years Nancy Sever, the retiring president, has led the organization with a firm commitment to UNA goals and a dedication to building consensus within a civil context. Mary Fullerton likewise has produced many newsletters (often with little assistance from the rest of us) without ever compromising quality. The good news for the Florida Division is that both will remain active participants in the UNA-USA.

This newsletter primarily focuses on summaries of the panels and presentations to the 47th Annual Convention of the Florida Division UNA-USA held in St. Petersburg, Florida on April 26-27, 2002. The theme of this convention, hosted by the Tampa Bay Chapter on the beautiful grounds of Eckerd College, was �Building Bridges to the World Community.� Essentially it focused on ways of helping the United Nations help the world.

John Donne was right when he observed: �No man is an island.� We are all intimately connected to the world community and yet, as Americans, we tend to think of ourselves as largely unaffected by the crushing poverty and disease in other parts of the planet. It�s as though occasional aid provided to famine or disaster areas is a sufficient expression of our communal responsibilities. The panels, workshops and presentations at the convention provided an important antidote to that type of thinking and many examples of our common interconnectedness.

Stephen Baker,Editor

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