Students pose questions to the UN and Government Officials at the launch of the book “Together Strong– Die Vereinten Nationen ”

The Austrian Minister for Education, Claudia Schmied, the Minister for European and International Affairs, Michael Spindelegger and the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Vienna Director, Maher Nasser, launched the teaching materials "Together Strong – Die Vereinten Nationen" (the United Nations) at an event in the Vienna secondary school Gymnasium Rahlgasse on 20 October 2009.

Together Strong is a set of German-language teaching materials on the United Nations, published by the three partners in this educational project. Copies will be distributed free of charge to all secondary schools around Austria. Reactions from teachers and pupils already are very positive. The launch event was timed to mark the upcoming United Nations Day (24 October), as well as Austria’s Presidency of the United Nations Security Council in November 2009 and the 30th anniversary of the Vienna International Centre this year.

Welcoming the guests to the school, headmistress Heidi Schrodt referred to the Gymnasium's long history of multi-national education and pointed out that Rahlgasse was the first middle school for girls in the Austrian Empire, and founded by women's rights activists at the end of the 19th century. In an interactive question and answer session, students of the class 4c (8th grade) had the opportunity to ask the Ministers and UNIS Director Nasser questions about the UN and Austria's relationship to the organization. 

The teaching material was initially developed by UNIS Vienna to prepare visiting school classes for a tour to the Vienna Information Centre. Building on this material, additional chapters focusing on the relationship between Austria and the UN. The material is designed to correspond to the Austrian curriculum and offers pupils an overview of the history, structure and main functions of the UN. Aimed specifically at grade 7 and above, the material is age-appropriate and interactive and offers plenty of scope for further study, as well as hands-on exercises, such as a simluated Security Council debate. 

Mr. Maher Nasser said: "with the help of this book, Austrian school children will be able to take a first step into the world of the United Nations, learn about its structure, its history and its role. They will also find pointers where to go for more information. The hope is that pupils will gain a better understanding of the organization and also of their own relationship to the United Nations and what the organization is doing to address the increasingly globalized challenges of the 21st century."

UNIS Director Maher Nasser with students in the "Stand Up Against Poverty" campaign event at the Vienna International Centre

The swinging sounds of Bob Marley's “Stand Up” song joined children's voices in livening up the Rotunda, the circular entry hall of the UN headquarters in Vienna, at lunchtime on 16 October 2009.

Over 100 pupils with their teachers from four schools in Vienna, many of them dressed in red for the occasion, joined UN staff members to participate in the “Stand Up Against Poverty” campaign event at the Vienna International Centre, adding their voices to the millions standing up against poverty around the globe.

UNIS Director Maher Nasser reminded participants of the importance of reaching the Millennium Development Goals to eradicate extreme poverty, improve maternal health, achieve global primary education and work towards a sustainable environment.

Mr. Nasser read out the “Stand Up” pledge and invited participants to tie ribbons into symbolic knots to remind world leaders of the promises made at the Millennium Summit in 2000. The school children formed a large circle around the Rotunda and let a 'wave' of arms travel around it several times before squatting and then standing up in unison to show their support for the campaign.

Celebrations in Vienna continued until 17 September 2009 with a free concert of Brazilian music in the Museumsquarter organized by the NGO Global Responsibility.

The experimental group "Cidadania" performs at the “Space and Time” show in the Vienna International Centre

To celebrate World Space Week, the United Nations Office on Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Vienna organized a world premiere of a live music/video performance entitled, “Space and Time” in the Vienna International Centre on 5 October 2009. The performance was also co-sponsored by the Austrian Permanent Mission to the United Nations in Vienna was created and performed by Cidadania, an experimental troupe from Darmstadt, Germany.

In 1999, the UN General Assembly declared the period from 4 to 10 October the World Space Week (WSW), marking the anniversary of the launch of the 1st human-made satellite Sputnik 1, on 4 October 1957 and the entering into force of the Outer Space Treaty on 10 October 1967.

The “Space and Time” performance, which combines live music with video projections, took the audience of diplomats, astronaut, staff members, students and general public on a “mind boggling” 60-minute journey through the world of astronomy, space and time. Questions projected on the screens during the performance reflected on issues of human existence, climate change, environmental degradation, space debris, asteroids and the future of our planet and life as we know it.

The coordinator of the play, Pedro Aibéo, explained that they aimed to “show the big picture of human self-perception and help the audience to place earthly issues in the context of the infinite universe”. He added that they have decided to dedicate the play to World Space Week and the International Year of Astronomy 2009 because astrophysics can “drive people and societies to pose big questions and seek grand answers”.

Following the performance, guests and Cidadania troupe members engaged in a lively discussion during a reception hosted by UNOOSA. Guests particularly appreciated the incorporation of live music into the performance which many agreed raised “valid” questions about how fragile our existence is compared with the enormity of the universe.

Two more performances of “Space and Time” were held on 6 and 7 October for an audience of school and university students, staff, members of the civil society and the general public.

Thirty young climate advocates from Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Slovenia, Turkey and the United Kingdom gathered for an International Climate Camp in Jezersko, Slovenia from 21 to 24 September.

The International Climate Camp was organized by the British Council, with the support of the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) Vienna, the British Embassy, the European Commission Representation in Slovenia, the Office of the President of the Republic of Slovenia, the Office of the Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Slovenia, the Slovenian Ministry for Environment and Spatial Planning, the Slovenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Danish Embassy in Slovenia, the Finnish Embassy in Slovenia, the Hungarian Embassy in Slovenia and the Turkish Embassy in Slovenia.

The camp, which was held under the umbrella of the "Seal the Deal!" campaign of the United Nations, brought together a multinational group of climate advocates and provided them with a creative space in which to share their experience, gain new knowledge and generate ideas that they would like to see presented at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen this December.

In a personal video message to the participants, H.E. Dr. Danilo Tuerk, President of the Republic of Slovenia, emphasized the critical role of the young generation with respect to climate change: "It is the young generation that will suffer most of the consequences of global warming, it is the young generation that is the most sensitive part of the population to this issue, and it is the young generation that is most creative in finding ways towards good solutions," said President Tuerk. "We have to go to Copenhagen to Seal the Deal, not to talk the talk," he emphasized.

Pavel Gantar, President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia responds to the presentation of the climate advocates at the Slovenian parliament

On 24 September, the participants met with the President of the National Assembly of Slovenia, the Slovene Government's Working Group for International Negotiations on Climate Change and the Director of UNIS Vienna to present their conclusions and recommendations for Copenhagen.