From the President
Another year has passed and it is my duty, as president, to report to members the progress of activities carried out by our Division in 2003. Generally the work has progressed as scheduled and reflected quite well the Division's objectives, although some targets have not yet been reached.
The 2003 Florida Division activities can be classified into two categories: special projects and regular program. In 2003, two special projects, with specific targets and deadlines, were undertaken: (1) the Adopt-A-Minefield Campaign for the clearance of minefields in Viet Nam and (2) the distribution of Nane Annan�s book in all Florida elementary schools. .
Adopt-A-Minefield.
The Minefield project consists mainly of (1) increasing public awareness of the impact of landmines and (2) fundraising to help Viet Nam remove millions of landmines still remaining in its territories since the end of the war. .
Beginning early in 2003, over 1000 brochures were prepared and sent with solicitation letters to some 500 potential donors; others were distributed at various gatherings. The sums of money raised at these events were substantial. At the Night of one Thousand Dinners, organized on 6 November 2003 by our Division with the help of the Sarasota-Manatee Chapter and the Sarasota Alliance Fran�aise, almost $8,000 was collected. Other chapters, including the Broward County, Gainesville and Miami Chapters, also raised impressive contributions. With more than $20,000 already collected, we are only $2,000 short of our target and expect to reach it soon. .
I would like to thank all UNA members who have helped the Division with this project, especially Ruth De Vargas and Dr. Blanca Moore-Velez from the Broward County Chapter, Dr. Bob Hornberger, Nancy Sever and Mary Polly Doughty from the Gainesville Chapter, Ed Cooke from the Miami Chapter and Bob Coppenrath and Dr. Peggy Bates from the Sarasota-Manatee Chapter. .
Book Distribution.
At the beginning of 2003, with the agreement of the Florida Department of Education, we undertook a project to distribute The United Nations, Come Along With Me, a book written and illustrated by Mrs. Nane Annan, wife of the UN Secretary General, to 1649 Florida elementary schools. The cost of reprinting 65,000 copies, including shipping, was estimated at around $58,000. About $30,000 had been pledged but, despite our best efforts, we could not collect the remainder of the funds necessary to cover the cost of implementing this project before the deadline imposed by funding agencies, and reluctantly had to cancel it. I would like to take this occasion to thank the Chair of the book Distribution Committee, Shahla Evans of the Volusia County Chapter, and its members for their commendable efforts with respect to this project.
State Convention
THE 48TH UNA Florida Division Convention, hosted by the Gainesville Chapter, was held at the Holiday In West, Gainesville,on February 28-March 2, 2003, focusing on a very important, but often forgotten, theme: Saving the Earth.
The program of the Convention includes: three presentations (at lunch and dinners) and three workshops on diverse global issues especially in relation with population policies and development, the deterioration of global environment, global health with particular emphasis on the impact of HIV/AIDS, the improvement of the United Nations, the School of America and the Model UN as a tool for school education.
All these topics will be presented by a group of speakers, familiar with UN works and international issues, namely Dr. Werner Fornos, Ambassador Dennis Jett, Elizabeth Odum, Rita Lucy, Dr. Asim Jani and Linda Falsulo.
Two plenary sessions of the Annual Meeting of the UNA Florida Division will be also held as parts of the state convention. The 2002 activities of the Division were reported by the president (Details are given in the spring and summer issues of the Florida Division newsletter)
Other regular program accomplishments:
- The quarterly Florida Division Newsletter, edited by Stephen Baker, focused as usual on the activities of the Chapters and the Division. Each quarter 1100 copies of the Newsletter were printed and sent to our members. .
- The Florida Website was regularly updated, approximately once per month, and included texts of newsletters. In the future, more input from the Chapters would be welcome. .
- The Chapter Development Committee, chaired by Shahla Evans and Polly Doughty, focused on strengthening some of the weaker chapters throughout the state and efforts in this respect will be redoubled next year. .
- The Speaker Bureau Committee, chaired by David Saca, encountered difficulties in enlisting a sufficient number of prominent speakers and greater contributions from the Chapters are essential. .
- The UN Textbook Committee, chaired by Shiela Morgan, continued its work with the Textbook Selection Committee of the Florida Department of Education to include the UN and global issues in high school textbooks.
- The Model UN Committee chaired by Tom Cook has made excellent progress, especially in the organization of FHSMUN and a Global Classroom for Florida schools and in providing technical support to the Chapters.
- The Advocacy committee, chaired by Mary Fullerton, has closely monitored US contributions to the UN, US ratification of UN treaties, and has coordinated related actions taken by the Chapters. .
- The resolutions committee, chaired by Wade Matthews, has updated and reintroduced two resolutions carried over from the previous year, the first on the World Population Awareness Week and the second on the Defense Against a Doomsday Meteorite/comet. Both resolutions were approved by the state convention. However, only the first resolution on population was approved by the national convention, held some months in Washington. .
We take satisfaction in our 2003 accomplishments, achieved despite problems of distance, communication failures and frequently divergent opinions among members. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all Board members, especially Chapter presidents, for their generous contributions and support. Their devotion and selflessness, qualities rare in a society where money and personal profit are the usual goals, have been the �hidden� secret of our success. Volunteerism remains, as stated by Mark Malloch Brown, UNDP Administrator �one of the so-often forgotten jewels in the UN crown�.
Daniel Luu
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