IOP Group Takes Inside Look at U.N.

UNITED NATIONS—In the United Nations delegates’ dining room high above the East River yesterday, 35 members of an Institute of Politics (IOP) study group confronted three different kinds of forks, seared grouper and braised duck with yellow rice.

They were there as part of a day-long lesson in the U.N.’s global mission, hosted by Assistant Secretary General Gillian M. Sorenson, who led their study group on the U.N. this fall.

Sorenson, who was on sabbatical from the U.N. until December to come to Harvard as an IOP fellow, broached the idea of a trip to Manhattan at the beginning of the semester. Her five undergraduate liaisons, who assist the fellows, took Sorenson up on her offer and coordinated the excursion.

According to Stephanie N. Kendall ’05, the liaison who led the trip, the day was an opportunity for Harvard’s aspiring diplomats to get a feel for their futures.

“There are definitely people using this event to try to further their own career goals,” Kendall said as she distributed donuts and coffee to the dazed pilgrims boarding the bus at seven in the morning.

Sorenson met the group in the lobby of the U.N. headquarters building and led them up to lunch in the delegates’ dining room, where the immersion in international politics began in earnest.

Executive Director of the U.N. Fund for International Partnerships Amir Dossal began by addressing the gathered students asDossal began by addressing the gathered students as “bright young whiz kids for the future.” Dossal then launched into a discussion of developing world technological initiatives sprinkled with anecdotes about his administration of media mogul Robert E. “Ted” Turner’s billion-dollar grant to the international organization.

After lunch, study group members took one last glance at the vast view of the river before splitting up into groups to tour the building.

Strolling through the Security Council chambers and the massive blue-seated General Assembly hall, some of the visitors said they could not help but feel a sense of awe.

“It was amazing,” said Whitney E. Washington ’05. “Just seeing all those rooms, I was thinking of the things that had been done there. You feel closer to them because you’re there.”

The corridors are lined with elaborate murals and tapestries presented as gifts, one from each member country. The land under the building is international territory, owned jointly by the 191 member countries.

“We’re not in the U.S. anymore,” tour guide Davie Palanivelu announced as they entered the lobby, where the United Nations sells stamps for its own postal system.

For Meagan M. Marks ’05, who is involved with the Harvard Model U.N. simulation, the building and its artwork were a perfect fit for its global tenant.

“The artwork from every single country—ivory sculptures from China and golden boats from Thailand, and even the building is designed by architects from 11 different countries—the essence of the building itself is international,” Marks said. “It’s like you couldn’t help but solve global problems when you’re in this building.”

After the tour, Sorenson ushered her protégés into a conference room ringed by translator’s booths and microphones, where she had invited four high-level guests to speak.

They detailed the U.N.’s work on world reproductive health, sustainable development, cooperation between businesses and the U.N., and land mine disarmament.

Marco Kalbusch, associate political affairs officer in the Department for Disarmament Affairs, spoke about the difficulties of U.N.’s massive campaign to clean up land mines around the world.

“Land mines are designed to maim, not to kill. They are weapons of terror.” Kalbusch said. “Producing a land mine costs about a dollar, removing it costs a thousand.”

For Marks, the enthusiasm of the speakers helped bolster her faith in the U.N. and the importance of its work.

“The people were very smart, they loved what they were doing,” Marks said. “If you’re an investment banker, you make a million bucks, but so what? Working for the U.N., at the end of the day, you’ve saved what, 100 lives, 1000 lives?”

Sorenson said that this was the kind of message she had hoped to convey with the trip and the study group.

“I want them to believe that they have a stake in the U.N.,” Sorenson said. “I am also very eager to see if some of them are interested in U.N. careers.”

Several of the trip’s participants expressed hopes of finding a job at the international organization, especially after visiting in person.

After the briefings, the study group filed out into a cold New York night, past the security guards and Sorenson’s farewell.

“I was interested in working with the U.N., and seeing this environment of hopefulness and unity, I was affected just by the surroundings,” said Stephanie E. Brewer ’04 on the bus ride back to Cambridge.

—Staff writer Ben A. Black can be reached at bblack@fas.harvard.edu.