Getting Into Model United Nations?

United Nations Speaker

• Who is the most senior person in the United Nations who regularly gives speeches at conferences and events. An advantage is someone who visits Australia occasionally or has links to Australia. The purpose is because the Society I'm in (www.amuncjcu04.net) is bidding to host the Asia-Pacific Model United Nations Conference (www.amunc.net) and we need an impressive speakers list, we were going after Kofi Anan himself for a video link up speech, however we have been unsuccessful in getting through to anybody in his office that is the right person to talk to ... This is all background info which doesn't really affect the parameters of the search. I'm asking for: Name of person(s), their position and the facts you have to support them been speakers at a lot of events. E-mail and phone number for their secretary or office. There are no limits on where they are based. Thank you.

• Answer:

  Hello. My research indicates that an excellent candidate for your event would be Shashi Tharoor, U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information. http://www.un.org/News/ossg/sg/stories/tharoor_bio.htm Mr Tharoor has a web site at: http://www.shashitharoor.com/ Contact information: http://www.shashitharoor.com/contact.html Contact information at the U.N. http://www.un.org/ga/gacttee.htm Contact information U.N.'s Sydney information office: http://www.un.org/aroundworld/unics/sydney.htm --------------- I have located numerous examples of Mr Tharoor doing guest lectures and making appearances on behalf of the United Nations. Here are a few: U.N. Association of Australia - Guest Speaker, January 2003 http://www.unaavictoria.com.au/events/index.php South Asian Journalists Association - Guest Speaker, 1997 http://www.saja.org/shashi.html "Conversation with History" at U.C. Berkeley 1999 http://globetrotter.berkeley.edu/people/Tharoor/tharoor-con0.html York University Ralph Bunche Symposium, Guest Speaker, Oct 2003 http://web.gc.cuny.edu/dept/rbins/calendar03_04.htm National Committee on American Foreign Policy, Guest Speaker, Nov 2002 http://www.ncafp.org/events/ Swarthmore College, Guest Speaker, Nov. 2000 http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/org/phoenix/2000/2000-11-16/news/10390.html Events such as the U.S. Open Tennis Championship Draw Ceremony: http://www0.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=461 ----- Additionally, Mr Tharoor has also spoken at past Model U.N. conferences. Here's what he said at a 2002 event in New York City: "It's a unique and interesting time to be involved with Model United Nations," said Shashi Tharoor, the Undersecretary for Public Information for the United Nations who was one of the event's guest speaker. He spoke of the benefits of the conference in bringing together students from all over the world who are interested in the future of world affairs. http://www.ulaverne.edu/campustimes/040502/MUN.htm He also spoke at an August 2000 Model U.N. event in New York City: "Mr. Shashi Tharoor (Office of the Secretary-General) talked about the problematic areas of peace keeping and the ways in which they can be improved. " http://www.unimun.org/unimun_final_report.html Even if Mr Tharoor can't attend, he might be able to send a representative on his behalf. At a Model U.N. conference in Lebanon last April, Ms. Pascale El-Kassis, of the UN Information Centre (UNIC), made a speech on behalf of Mr Tharoor. http://www.escwa.org.lb/information/press/un/2003/apr/29_3.html search strategy: "united nations", "guest speaker" I hope this helps.