Lighting up bridges and buildings with the trademark blue of the UN

UN agencies participate in activities ranging from assistance in times of disaster, both those coming from natural disasters and those caused by the ravages of war. 

They offer medical assistance to those in need in these places, as well as providing clean water, food, and habitations in which to rest and recover.

The UN has been represented as both hero and villain depending on which movie or show you wind up watching. United Nations Day celebrates the foundation of this great organisation, and is a great opportunity for us to learn the truth about its past, its present, and what its plans are for the future. In 1945 the foundational treaty of the United Nations came into effect, the United Nations is an intergovernmental organisation intent on creating co-operation between all governments of the world. Its original intent was to replace the League of Nations, and prevent another war like World War II from occurring.

All the member states of the United Nations contribute funds to its operation to help further its goals. Aside from World Peace its role has grown to include protecting people from human rights violations, promoting social and economic development, and providing aid around the world in cases of famine, natural disasters and armed conflicts.

The UN also represents a series of specialised agencies that enable it to do its job in each of the areas it focuses on. Agencies like FAO (Food and Agricultural Organisation), IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) and several others, each handles a major aspect of global economic and social demands. United Nations Day celebrates the original enactment of the foundational charter of the UN. Celebrating United Nations Day can be done by getting to know about this great organisation and the difference it makes in our daily life. Some of the basic rights and privileges enjoyed by people around the world are a result of the work done by the United Nations. Recently, access to the Internet was declared a basic human right, a declaration which ensures that everyone has access to the world wide information and communication network. While this doesn’t guarantee that everyone will have the ability to access the internet, it moves the global agenda that everyone has the right to do so.

It is for this reason that UN Day celebrations are held around the world. Some of the commemoration is as simple as lighting up bridges and buildings with the trademark blue of the United Nations, while other forms of celebration represent art from around the world and are used as part of an art installation. This can reflect life changing events by UN agencies at a particular place, or cultural conviviality as a thematic aspect of being a human race united under the same goals and purposes. It echoes the idea that the world is a village, and the UN is definitely the main building where this village meets and charts its periodic tasks and purposes, or urgencies.

At the national level, celebrating UN Day also involves some stock taking as to its local operations, which a few years ago were brought under one roof under the motto, ‘Together as One.’ As agency chiefs resident in the country organise their own events to mark UN Day, each portion of this work is likely to be reflected, much as there are distinctive days for various thematic aspects marked separately all over the year. 

No global thematic commemoration can solidly be marked outside some sort of UN framework, as each aspect of life is permeated by UN mediation, liaison and networking role. Its impact can’t be underestimated, as the force of example within the UN is an overriding quality.