The Spirit of the United Nations: Markings for the Future
On the occasion of the 60th Anniversary of the United Nations and the
100th Anniversary of the birth of Dag Hammarsköld, the second Secretary-General of the UN.
“The purer the eye of her attention, the more power the soul finds within herself.
But it is very rare to find a soul who is entirely free, whose purity is not soiled
by the stain of some secret desire of her own. Strive, then, constantly to purify
the eye of your attention until it becomes utterly simple and direct.”
Markings by Dag Hammarskjöld
On Thursday October 27, 2005 in conference room 3 of the United Nations Headquarters in New York, the Values Caucus;
the NGO Committee on Spirituality, Values and Global Concerns in cooperation with the Department of Public Information
and the United Nations Staff Recreation Council and numerous supporting organizations hosted a special event, in celebration
of the 60th Anniversary of the UN and the 100th Anniversary of the birth of Dag Hammarskjöld, the second Secretary-General of the UN.
The title of the event was "The Spirit of the United Nations: Markings for the Future".
This event was part of a week of celebrations taking place at UN Headquarters around (October 24), United Nations Day.
This particular event celebrated the past 60 years of the United Nations by remembering its founders and also to lay
“markings”, of our goals and visions of the future that reflect more deeply the values and principles upon which the United Nations was founded.
Apart from highlighting many of the values in the Charter it was also a celebration for the United Nations family,
and the main focus was to bring us all together to highlight the true spirit of the United Nations, and in so doing,
acknowledge the invaluable contributions of its members, over these past 60 years.
It was a truly celebratory event, The conference room was transformed; we filled it with balloons, gifts of cookies,
gorgeous flowers, and beautifully printed programs creating a joyous space where everyone could be welcomed into the party,
which became full to capacity with over 650 people. It was a rich program, which had been created from the ideas of a whole
team of people representing a cross section of the UN community and so everyone had the feeling that it was their event
– so the atmosphere in the room was one of joy and unity. See printed program
The event was webcast and has been archived on the UN website at www.un.org/webcast then click on archives, then Special Events,
and then you will see the program listed under October 27, 2005.
Full report with peoples thoughts on the program click here
More images as a collage click here
