Overwhelming President Csaba Kőrösi’s office, children – ranging in age from toddlers to high school students – hoisted the United Nations and Hungarian flags with the United Nations stamp in the office and ran around to overlooking the skyline outside the balcony. Meanwhile, parents try to prevent their children from touching anything and nervously stare at the glass table usually reserved for meetings with Heads of State and Government.
“Will there be another world when we have children,” one of the children asked the President.
“That is what the General Assembly’s job is to try to ensure,” replied Mr. Kőrösi, sometimes referring to his now-adult daughter in speeches, recalling the motivation she imparted. for him to continue to drive sustainable transformation in the world.
Inspire the next generation
The group’s next stop was a tour of the United Nations, led by United Nations Tour Guide Jonathan Mishal, who helps lead the twice-weekly UN Children’s Tours.
Sitting with a multilingual group in front of world flags planted in a tree, Mr. Mishal discussed the importance of the United Nations to global cooperation: “This is the only place in the world where nations are located. were at war sitting right next to each other, going downstairs for coffee and discussing why they disagreed.
The group then visited the General Assembly, where they sat in the Chairs of Member States and posed for photos at the podium where world leaders and guests spoke.
Mr. Mishal also noted the importance of young people’s participation in the United Nations, mentioning Malala and Greta Thunberg – both of whom spoke before the auditorium.
Bringing Dr. King’s Dream to Life
The setting is known for older kids, whose parents work for the United Nations and grew up in an international environment speaking Arabic, French, English, Hebrew, Hungarian, Indonesian, Mandarin, Romanian and Spanish.
Comfortable with their surroundings, the children made suggestions to improve world affairs at the local level – “parents do not always listen to their children” – to improve the actual General Assembly –
Larger ear pads to accommodate large earrings.
Mr. Mishal continued the tour, in agreement with MLK Day, by discussing discrimination.
Martin Luther King Jr. visited the United Nations in 1967, meeting to discuss the civil rights situation in the United States with senior UN official and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ralph Bunche.
In a tweet for the Day, President Kőrösi said Dr King’s vision aligns with the United Nations’ ideals of human rights, economic and social justice and peace around the world: As we work towards crisis management and transformation, General Assembly’s job is to be inspired by his courage and conviction.”
Earlier the same day, President Kőrösi welcomed the second group of Youth Fellows – six young men and women from developing countries who will work in his office until September.
