Past Events
Get Informed! Find Out What You Can Do!
May 10 - Wednesday - 7 pm-8:30 pm
Presentation, Discussion
Somalia to Syria: Evolving Humanitarian Crises and the UN Response
At a time when the US may further slash funding for crucial humanitarian aid - please join UNA Brooklyn to hear UN veteran, Dr. David S. Bassiouni, about the plight in Syria and the United Nation's historic role protecting vulnerable populations.
We'll also explore actions you can take.
Co-sponsors include UNA's Young Professionals-Southern NY Division; Brooklyn for Peace; Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture; Delta Rho Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. & LIU's UN Graduate Certificate Program.
Where: Brooklyn Campus, Long Island University (1 University Plaza), Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Pratt Bldg 1st. floor
Dr. Bassiouni is the chairman and CEO of The Bassiouni Group, where he leads the company’s mission to empower global institutions and communities in the developing world through Sustainable Development, Strategic Public/Private Partnerships and Socially Responsible Investment. He is also adjunct professor on International Humanitarian Assistance for United Nations Graduate Certificate Program at Long Island University. A former government official/minister, diplomat and international development veteran, his track record encompasses a wide range of experiences.
Dr. Bassiouni served in the United Nations system for over twenty-five years, primarily working with UNICEF, DHA, OCHA and UNDGO and held several senior positions including deputy director for UNICEF’s Office for Emergency Programmes and chief of the Inter-Agency and Response Branches in DHA/OCHA. He also marked an important milestone in UN history by becoming the first-ever humanitarian coordinator and the only coordinator directly appointed by the secretary general and the Security Council. Dr. Bassiouni also served as the UNICEF representative in Somalia, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Ethiopia, Israel/Palestine, Egypt and Bangladesh. Prior to his career in the UN, Dr. Bassiouni served in senior government positions, including regional minister of Agriculture in the Sudan. His experience includes Humanitarian Aid/Assistance, Complex Emergencies, Conflict/Crisis Resolution, Post- Conflict Reconstruction, Change Management, Sustainable Development, Agricultural & Natural Resources Management, and Veterinary Science/Medicine. Dr. Bassiouni is a graduate of Veterinary Medicine School of Khartoum University, Sudan, and he holds a Masters Degree in Public Administration from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government as well as a Parvin Fellowship from Princeton University. He sits on the boards of the Sérgio Vieira de Mello Foundation, International Institute for Rural Reconstruction, Global Humanitarian Forum and Mary N. Bassiouni Foundation.
FILM & DISCUSSION: What Can We Do About Climate Change?
Sunday, Sept. 11, 3 pm-5 pm
Private Screening! Free Admission!
Drought, flood, scarcity, migration. How do the effects of climate change inflame world conflicts? What are the consequences of our actions – and of inaction? A documentary, The Age of Consequences, investigates climate change through the lens of global stability. Some 100 people joined UNA-Brooklyn and supporters at the Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture, with filmmaker Sophie Robinson, for a private screening and discussion about local action on climate change.
For more information: unabrooklyn@gmail.com
Community sponsors:
UNABrooklyn, Delta Rho Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha, 350Brooklyn & Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture.
Brooklyn Celebrates the UN at 70 at Borough Hall
October 22nd, 2015, 4:30-9pm
[UPDATE: Read about this event by clicking here]
To celebrate United Nations Day and the UN at 70, come to Brooklyn Borough Hall!
Learn how the United Nations is at the fulcrum of global society and its efforts to improve our world. Hear distinguished community, national and international leaders give their thoughts about the UN and its centrality to our local and national goals for great equity, peace and environmental security.
Network, learn about UNA: 4:30-6:30
Keynote Speakers: 6:30-7:30pm
* United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations Political Affairs Officer for West Africa Kristen Petillon
* International Planned Parenthood Foundation-WHR Advocacy Coordinator María Antonieta Alcalde
* Anna Keye - UNA-Southern NY State Division, Young Professionals, Director of External Relations and Partnerships
Reception/Music: 7:30-9pm
Partnering with Delta Rho Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha and NY UNA Young Professionals Group.
What’s it like to be a humanitarian aid worker?
Wed, Nov 19, 2014, 5:45 - 7:45, Pacific Library, 25 4th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11217
FREE EVENT - DIRECTIONS
RSVP: https://www.facebook.com/events/310878232433282/
Jessica Alexander discusses her acclaimed book: ”Chasing Chaos." In this honest and irreverent memoir, she introduces readers to the realities of life as an aid worker. We watch as she manages a 24,000-person camp in Darfur, collects evidence for the Charles Taylor trial in Sierra Leone, and contributes to the massive aid effort to clean up a shattered Haiti. But we also see the alcohol-fueled parties and fleeting romances, the burnouts and self-doubt, and the struggle to do good in places that have long endured suffering.
Over the past 12 years, Jessica Alexander has worked in various capacities in humanitarian response across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East for the United Nations and various NGOs. She has responded to crises in Rwanda, Darfur, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Myanmar, South Sudan, Pakistan, and the Horn of Africa. She is an adjunct professor at NYU's Wagner School of Public Service, Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health and Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs. Alexander is a Fulbright Scholar who received the award to research child soldiers in Sierra Leone in 2006. In addition, she has received a Master of Public Health and a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University. Jessica Alexander is currently pursuing her Ph.D. at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, focusing her research on accountability in humanitarian action.
UN peacekeeping: building peace after hostilities cease
October 23, 2014, 6:30-8:30 - FREE!
Brooklyn Campus of the Long Island University, 1 University Plaza. Map.
RSVP on Facebook or unabrooklyn@gmail.com
To bring real and lasting peace to end a violent conflict, the UN often must disarm, demobilize, and reintegrate (DDR) troops and militias, institute strategic sector reform (SSR), meaning build capacity, efficiency, and unity among military and law enforcement personnel, and encourage justice sector reform (JSR) so that laws and law enforcement institutions are transparent, equitable and in accordance with international human rights norms. We are bringing together a spectacular expert panel to discuss these critical components of successful UN peacekeeping operations: Christopher O'Donnell, a program officer with the UN Department of Peacekeeping, DDR section, with ten years of very recent field experience in DDR operations; Professor Mark Ungar from Brooklyn College, who has published extensively on post-conflict, multilateral efforts with a focus on Central America. Professor Ungar has also advised the UN in its post-conflict programs that incorporate DDR and SSR strategies. We are especially honored to have Joseph Stephanides, a 28 year veteran of the UN and an adjunct professor at the Brooklyn Campus of Long Island University’s UN Graduate Program. Mr. Stephanides Head of the Office of the UN Secretary-General in Iran (UNOSGI) and Head of the Kamanjab and Sesfontein Political Office of the United Nations Transition Assistance Group (UNTAG).
By attending and participating in this event, you’ll learn how UN peacebuilding operations really unfold and have the opportunity to network with the experts who have planned them and made them happen.