The United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Pretoria Director and National Information Officer were invited to the launch of the Democracy in Development Report, prepared by the Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) and the European Union Presidency Project (EUPP).

The report is the culmination of a series of studies and consultations involving key institutions including the African Union, Association of Southeastern Asian Naitions, the League of Arab States and the Organisation of American States and was commissioned by the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The launch was hosted by the Embassy of Sweden.

Ms. Ingrid Wetterqvist, the Director of the International IDEA, delivered a presentation on the salient points in the report. She was followed by Dr Patrick Molutsi, the Executive Director of the Botswana Tertiary Education Council. Dr Molutsi used his own country as an example of a successful democracy though he cautioned against complacency and apathy.

The report and other public information materials by IDEA were handed out after the formal presentations. The NIO made contact with the IDEA colleagues and offered to share information materials with them.

On 26 October 2009, the second ordinary session of the second legislature of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) took place at Gallagher Estate in Midrand, outside Johannesburg. In addition to members of the PAP, in attendance were members of South Africa’s government and diplomatic corps as well as local and international media.

Opening statements were issued by the representatives of the PAP from the Arab League, Senegal, Chad, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and South Africa. The majority of remarks addressed the challenges facing the continent, while emphasizing the need for African solidarity in light of the global economic crisis and other factors. The Zimbabwean speaker referred to the current challenges facing the country and elaborated on the SADC mission that was scheduled to arrive in Zimbabwe in a week. The Nigerian representative issued a strong statement against ‘constitution-tinkering’ in Guinea and Chad, and firmly reminded delegates of the dangers of military coups as well as Nigeria’s experience of this in the recent past.

The keynote address was then delivered by the President of South Africa, Mr Jacob Zuma, who spoke about South Africa’s ongoing commitment to the PAP. The address could be a veiled reference to concerns that the post-Thabo Mbeki government in Pretoria may lessen its involvement in the PAP which was seen as a major focus area of the Mbeki administration. President Zuma, while noting current challenges, also emphasized the strides made by the continent over the past few years.

The United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Pretoria Director, Marie-Evelyne Petus-Barry used this event to approach the country representatives and discuss new ways to support UN values and disseminate information as a way to promote the Millennium Development Goals, human rights, climate change and other UN and African priorities.

A youth in South Africa runs a stand in which UN material was distribute

The commemoration of 2009 United Nations Day was organized by the United Nations Workplace Wellness Programme (UNWWP) and the United Nations Communication Group (UNCG). With the wellbeing of staff becoming an increasing priority, it was decided to have a wellness-focused UN day with the objective of improving the holistic health of UN staff in South Africa. The commemoration took place on Friday, 23 October 2009 at the University of Pretoria from 10h30 to 13h30 and all United Nations staff in South Africa were invited.

To highlight the wellness theme, outside exhibitors including Dischem pharmacy, Mangwanani spa, the South African Blood Services and Virgin Active gyms were invited. In addition, United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) Pretoria, through the UNCG, arranged for agencies to set up information and exhibition tables as many UN staff do not know what other agencies do.

The programme commenced with the message of the Secretary-General which was televised on a large screen and welcome remarks were delivered by the UNIC Director, Ms Marie-Evelyne Petrus-Barry who used the opportunity to wish the UN “happy birthday”. Further remarks were then delivered by the Resident Coordinator, Dr Agostino Zacharias who spoke about the UN’s role in South Africa.

This was followed by a briefing on the Workplace Wellness Programme by its chair, Mr Simphiwe Mabhele and the screening of a short video on the “UN4U” campaign which highlighted the work done by the organization globally.

As has been the case in previous years, UNIC invited a team of Model UN high school students to share their experiences and awareness of the United Nations. These four articulate young people left the audience with much food for thought and were both informed and passionate.

The Information Officer, Mr Nde Ndifonka, who is also an accomplished musician, performed one of his songs which was well received by the staff present. With the formalities over, staff was invited to meet the exhibitors and join in the exercise, find out their blood type, get a cholesterol test or get a massage. Once this was done, a light buffet lunch was served while staff interacted with their counterparts in other agencies.

In addition to this event, the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation hosted a UN Day reception on the 26th of October which was attended by representatives of the UN, government, the diplomatic corps and civil society.

Students from South Africa and Kenya participating in the Finals of the Model UN in Cape Town, South Africa

The United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Pretoria was involved in the South African Model United Nations International Conference.

After an intensive five months of preparation which commenced with the training of students on Model UN debating, the programme culminated in an Awards Ceremony on Robben Island.  At this ceremony, held on 19 October 2009, 12 students from each of the 9 provinces in South Africa were selected to participate in an international Model UN Debating conference in the United States in 2010. The entire project was funded by the South African MTN, wireless phone service provider.

Each team consisted of four students, two from a resourced school and two from an under-rescourced school as determined by the National Ministry of Education who are partners in the programme along with Education Africa, the Model United Nations of South Africa (MUN-SAS) and the UNIC Pretoria. In addition to teams from all nine provinces of South Africa, there were also students from schools in Kenya, the United Kingdom and the United States who participated.

UNIC Pretoria is actively involved in the Model UN Debate Competition for South African High School students from its inception. This includes in the selection of topics, allocation of participating ‘countries’, selection of tutors and training of students.

In addition, UNIC Pretoria arranged for the UN agencies in South Africa to be involved through the deployment of UN staff members to the various provinces to adjudicate the nine provincial competitions which are held in conjunction with each provincial Ministry of Education. Among the adjudicators in the provinces this year were the UNIC Information Officer and the Outreach Officer.