As the United Nations is marking its 70 th anniversary this year, it is looking back on its history and considering its achievements, as well as the challenges ahead.
To engage with youth on this special occasion, the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) Vienna has launched "UN 70 in Classrooms"- a special outreach programme at local schools to teach students about the history and work of the United Nations.
Last week, staff from the UN visited young children aged 9-10 at the local primary school Zennergasse in the 14 th District of Vienna to talk about how the life of a Viennese schoolchild has changed since the end of the Second World War, using props from 1945 to the present day. The school children reflected on their own experience, compared it with the stories they have heard from their grandparents and parents and noticed the differences in lifestyle of each generation.
Through discussions and games, UN colleagues highlighted the role of the UN in bringing about this change and talked about how much has yet to be done in order to improve living conditions for all people worldwide. Presented with images of child labour, young refugees and the state of schools abroad, the children reacted with astonishment and sometimes even disbelief. By comparing their reality with that of children of the same age in other countries, the school group learnt about the value of education, the need to end extreme poverty and hunger and what it meant to be a refugee.
By the end of the playful one-hour session, the children were eager to learn even more about the history, work and goals of the UN and were invited to visit the Vienna International Centre to participate in this year's Holiday Games (Ferienspiel) offered by UNIS Vienna's Visitors Service from 6-31July 2015.
Schools in Vienna who would like to sign up for the UN70 in Classroom programme, which is free, are encouraged to contact us.
Further information and requests can be sent to:
Irene
Hoeglinger-Neiva
Public Information Officer, UNIS Vienna
Telephone: (+43-1) 26060-4448
Email: irene.hoeglinger-neiva[at]unvienna.org
