The children – ranging in age from toddlers to high school teenagers – swarmed through President Csaba Kőrösi’s office, donning the UN and Hungarian flags that flank a UN seal in the office, and ran around, around the skyline to be viewed outside the balcony. Meanwhile, parents tried to keep her from touching anything and nervously eyed a glass table, which is usually the talk of meetings with heads of state.
“Will there be another world when we have children?” one of the children asked the President.
“This is what the work of the General Assembly tries to guarantee,” replied Mr. Kőrösi, who in speeches sometimes mentions his daughter, who is now grown, and recalled the motivation she gave him to continue working towards a sustainable transformation of the world to urge.
Inspire the next generation
The next stop for the group was a tour of the United Nations led by UN tour guide Jonathan Mishal, who helps lead the UN children’s tours twice a week.
Sitting in front of the multilingual group with world flags attached to a wooden tree, Mr Mishal spoke about the importance of the UN for global cooperation: “This is the only place in the world where countries at war are right next to each other sit down, go downstairs for a coffee and discuss why they disagree.”
The group then visited the General Assembly, where they took their seats in the member states’ seats and posed for photos on the podium, where world leaders and invited guests spoke.
Mr Mishal also underlined the importance of young people’s participation at the UN, citing Malala and Greta Thunberg – both of whom addressed the Chamber.
The dream of Dr. bring King to life
The environment was familiar to the older children, whose parents work for the UN and grew up in international environments and speak Arabic, French, English, Hebrew, Hungarian, Indonesian, Mandarin, Romanian and Spanish.
The children felt comfortable in their surroundings and made suggestions for improving world affairs on the local stage – “My parents don’t always listen to me” – for improving the actual general assembly –
Larger translation ear pieces for large earrings.
Mr Mishal continued the tour with a nod to MLK Day by speaking about discrimination.
Martin Luther King Jr. visited the United Nations in 1967 and met with senior UN official and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ralph Bunche to discuss the civil rights situation in the United States.
In a tweet for the day, President Kőrösi, Dr. King’s vision is consistent with the UN ideals of human rights, economic and social justice and peace around the world: “As we look to crisis management and transformation, the work of the General Assembly is inspired by his courage and conviction.”
Earlier in the day, President Kőrösi welcomed the second cohort of youth fellows – six young women and men from developing countries who will work in his office until September.
