Stand Up campaign event organized by UNIC Colombo

Over 1,500 people stood up against poverty at the “Stand Up, Take Action” campaign event held in the ancient capital city of Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka on 16 October 2009. The participants made the pledge in one voice displaying their commitment to the eradication of extreme poverty and its root causes and demanded their leaders to act now.

The event combined with the World Food Day celebrations took place at the Institute of Post Harvest Technology (IPHT) located in the city of Anuradhapura, which is 215 kilometers away from Colombo.

Participants included several Ministers and Officials of the Sri Lankan Government and Provincial Administration, the IPHT Chairman and the faculty staff, farmers, traders, teachers, students and the media. The Minister of Agriculture Development and Agrarian Services led the eight member ministerial delegation. The majority of the crowd was farmers and rural people from villages around Anuradhapura.

The programme included, among others speeches by the Minister of Agriculture Development and Agrarian Services, Chief Minister of the North Central Province, a stage play with a strong message on poverty and hunger, a presentation by the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Colombo National Information Officer, screening of video on poverty, making the pledge, distribution of plants and vegetable seed packets and refreshments.

The event was organized by UNIC Colombo with the active support from the UN Communication Group.

Participants of a peace march in the city of Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

Over 700 school children and their teachers took part in a peace march in the city of Anuradhapura, and later attended a seminar organized by the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Colombo with the support of Provincial Department of Education and the United Nations Association (UNA) in Sri Lanka to mark the International Day of Peace on 22 September 2009.

Students dressed in white uniforms commenced their march from the Nivaththaka Chethiya High School in Anuradhapura in rural Sri Lanka. Upon trekking for four kilometers through busy city streets, they returned to the starting point. The participants held three big banners with the humanity’s eternal wish “Let there be peace forever in the world” written in Sinhala, Tamil and English.

The seminar was held in the auditorium of the school with the participation of all those who took part in the peace march. Provincial Director of Education, North Central Province, UNIC National Information Officer and a representative of the UNA in Sri Lanka addressed the audience on different issues and aspects related to peace and the United Nation’s contribution towards maintaining peace in the present day world. Several cultural items presented by students of Nivaththaka Chethiya added color to the seminar.

Teachers and students participate in seminars organized by UNIC Colombo about the United Nations

The United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Colombo planned and organized three seminars for students and teachers about the United Nations during the month of June 2009.

One of the seminars took place in Galewela, 140 km from Colombo on 5 June, and another in Balangoda, 150 km from the capital, on 11 June. Each seminar was attended by sixty teachers who teach subjects such as Political Science, History and Citizen Studies which require students to learn about the UN, human rights, peace and security, conflict resolution, HIV/AIDS, globalization, and environmental issues. The day long seminars covered the origin, organizational structure, purposes and specialized agencies of the United Nations and the UN’s past and present contribution in resolving major global problems confronted by humanity.

Running parallel to the Galewela seminar, a half day seminar was held at the nearby Government Central College for students preparing for the Advanced Level Examination in August. Approximately 900 students from sixteen schools throughout the area were in attendance. In addition to the National Information Officer who spoke about the UN, the Centre arranged to have two lecturers from the University of Colombo address the participants on human rights and good governance.

In its efforts to educate as many people as possible about the UN and its activities around the globe, UNIC Colombo has initiated seminar programmes aimed at audiences such as teachers, students, media personnel, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs ) since 1997. Seminars involving teachers and students are always held in collaboration with the Zonal Education Office of the hosting area as determined by the Government Ministry of Education. The National Information Officer conducts these collaborations. Each year, an average of ten seminars is organized.

UN publications translated into Sinhala and Tamil on display at information stand

The United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Colombo, together with other UN agencies working in Sri Lanka, set up an information stand at the national development exhibition entitled "Deyata Kirula." The exhibit, held from 4-9 February 2009 at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall, marked Sri Lanka's 61st Independence Day and drew an estimated two million visitors.

The UN information stand provided visitors with books, leaflets, posters and brochures that described the work of the United Nations both nationally and internationally. Locally produced UNIC Colombo publications such as “UN in Brief”, “The UN Family”,  “ Human Rights Quiz” and  “Human Rights in Brief” in Sinhala and Tamil languages were in high demand. Photographs on display depicted UN development and humanitarian assistance provided in Sri Lanka. In addition, DVDs highlighting UN global actions in different areas such as climate change, human rights and gender were screened for visitors.

UN staff also answered questions and briefed visitors about the UN, its actions in Sri Lanka and in the world.