Non Government Organizations

The United Nations is an organization of nation states. Seeking to respond to the great problems of our time, governments are gradually learning to harmonize their actions for the common good. There is an evolutionary momentum towards oneness and interdependence and one of the clearest places to see this at work is through the endless round of UN meetings and negotiations leading to internationally binding conventions; as well as through the wide array of activities carried out by such specialized agencies as the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO). In order to achieve the objectives of harmonizing the actions of nations for the common good, the UN works closely with civil society groups, including not for profit, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO’s).

Towards this end NGO’s which seek to advance the purposes of the United Nations and which wish to be engaged in supporting the organization are invited to apply for association with the Department of Global Communication.

2000 – 2015 A Promise is Made

At midnight in 1999, humanity celebrated as never before. We were one global neighbourhood, delighting in our unity and in our differences; partying, joyful and full of hope – a spirit that continued for many with the television coverage of the Sydney Olympics. In so many ways the transition into a new millennium signified, at a popular level, transition into a new culture inspired by the vision of human unity and interdependence.

Millennium Summit

This visionary spirit was reflected in an extraordinary document. The Millennium Declaration was produced at the end of a special Summit of heads of state at the United Nations. A promise was made by the governments of the world to the peoples of the world. The Declaration was a negotiated, agreed statement of specific, targeted goals. All 191 members of the UN promised that by the year 2015 they would concentrate their efforts to fight together against poverty and hunger, gender inequality, environmental degradation, and HIV/AIDS while also improving access to education, health care, clean water and sanitation – all by 2015. Eight Millennium Development Goals were agreed, and Secretary-General Kofi Annan was instructed to make an annual report on progress towards meeting those goals.

Global goals for human development can only be achieved if all sectors of the worlds peoples are inspired and actively working to achieve them. The MDGs began a process of bringing together civil society groups from around the world in a concerted effort to mobilise the will in support of the high vision of the Goals. As a small part of this global effort, In December 2006 Lifebridge Foundation began a program of regular meetings at the Lifebridge Sanctuary focused on the Millennium Development Goals and their relevance to the local community.

2000 – 2015 A Promise is Made

At midnight in 1999, humanity celebrated as never before. We were one global neighbourhood, delighting in our unity and in our differences; partying, joyful and full of hope – a spirit that continued for many with the television coverage of the Sydney Olympics. In so many ways the transition into a new millennium signified, at a popular level, transition into a new culture inspired by the vision of human unity and interdependence.

Millennium Summit

This visionary spirit was reflected in an extraordinary document. The Millennium Declaration was produced at the end of a special Summit of heads of state at the United Nations. A promise was made by the governments of the world to the peoples of the world. The Declaration was a negotiated, agreed statement of specific, targeted goals. All 191 members of the UN promised that by the year 2015 they would concentrate their efforts to fight together against poverty and hunger, gender inequality, environmental degradation, and HIV/AIDS while also improving access to education, health care, clean water and sanitation – all by 2015. Eight Millennium Development Goals were agreed, and Secretary-General Kofi Annan was instructed to make an annual report on progress towards meeting those goals.

Global goals for human development can only be achieved if all sectors of the worlds peoples are inspired and actively working to achieve them. The MDGs began a process of bringing together civil society groups from around the world in a concerted effort to mobilise the will in support of the high vision of the Goals. As a small part of this global effort, In December 2006 Lifebridge Foundation began a program of regular meetings at the Lifebridge Sanctuary focused on the Millennium Development Goals and their relevance to the local community.

UN Meditation Room – A Room of Quiet

Usually open to the public Monday to Friday, the UN Meditation Room was designed, in its present form, by Dag Hammarskjold who took great interest in it. Information on the Room on the UN website includes a story by journalist Pauline Frederick: I remember very distinctly one night, when I heard that he had been working most of the night, and about two o’clock in the morning, he called some of his aides in, and they assumed that there had been some bad news from one of the fronts where the United Nations Emergency Forces were then located, but he  but he said, “I want to go down to the Meditation Room.” More from the UN website.

Chagall’s Window of Peace at UN HQ, New York

UN Headquarters in New York contains a rich collection of art. One of the most stunning pieces is the stained glass window by Marc Chagall in the public lobby. Presented in memory of visionary Secretary General, Dag Hammarskjold, and of those who have lost their lives in service of peace, it stands right outside the Meditation Room. With its rich dream-like imagery of angels, animals, motherhood and ‘a young child being kissed by an angelic face’ the Chagall Window is a visual meditation in itself. Read more about the origins of the window and the story of its 2001 restoration.