A WEEK OF GLOBAL EVENTS IN NYC
By: Hope Wilkos, Writer/Blogger Photographer: George Whylie Videographer: Maxine NolanThis has been a very busy week in the cultural capital of the world, New York City. The 67th session of the United Nations General Assembly is underway with 190 world leaders attending and topics of discussion being ceremonial tribunes, womens’ rights, the fight against poverty, Muslim violence, Israeli and Iranian tensions and the ongoing Syrian conflict.
Today, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pleaded his case for the halting of Iran from developing nuclear weapons for means of destruction and war. There is heated tension between Israel and Iran. In the last few weeks, Iran has been particularly aggressive going as far as to threaten the United States as well if the Israeli/Iran situation were to go any further in a negative direction pointing towards war.
Palestinian Authority President Mohmoud Abbas also gave a very compelling speech. He assured the Assembly that a vast majority of the world leaders support the nation’s initiative for salvaging peace. He criticized Israel for denying the Palestinians access to houses of worship, schools, hospitals and housing. Abbas is bothered by Israel’s rejection of the Palestinian state and their refusal to end their occupation.
One of the main topics of contention is Iran’s stance on nuclear weapons. The Syrian conflict is also at an impasse as the global community cannot agree on what the solution to the unrest should be.
The majority were in agreement that the crisis in the Sahel region of Africa can no longer be tolerated. The Assembly continues throughout the week with discussions many burning issues.
At the same time, the city has also hosted the Clinton Global Initiative at the Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers. Representation came together in the form of 130 different speakers coming from all walks of life from the media, the world of philanthropy, politics and business all to tackle the world’s most pressing problems. Beginning on Sunday, September 23, 2012 and ending on Tuesday, September 25, 2012, there were three intense days of workshops and discussions.
Strategic partners included the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Barclays, P&G and even the Ford Foundation. ExxonMobil, Dow, Western Union and Toyota all did their part as corporate sponsors. Discussions entailed on such crucial issues as how to partner together to solve poverty, health problems and environmental issues. The theme this year was “Designing for Impact.” What made this event even more interesting was the participation from both presidential candidates, President Barack Obama and Former Governor Mitt Romney.
Both politicians spoke to a packed room. Here are some excerpts from President Obama’s speech:
“And that’s why I’m here. As Bill mentioned, I’ve come to CGI every year that I’ve been President, and I’ve talked with you about how we need to sustain the economic recovery, how we need to create more jobs. I’ve talked about the importance of development — from global health to our fight against HIV/AIDS to the growth that lifts nations to prosperity. We’ve talked about development and how it has to include women and girls — because by every benchmark, nations that educate their women and girls end up being more successful.”
This year the President focused on human trafficking, its cruelty and its injustice. Obama promises to continue to be a leader in this global movement. Assisting him with this goal is Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. He had some unbelievable statistics of victims and that number has climbed rapidly to 20 million. Every citizen can also take action by going to Slaveryfootprint.org. He had some extremely powerful stories of actual examples of individuals who made it through the horrific experiences and that got right to the heart of the matter.
Romney’s speech focused on the turmoil in the Middle East and highlighted the need for entrepreneurial spirit. He put forth a plan of “Prosperity Pacts” whereby trade regions focus on medium and small businesses. His other idea was the ‘Reagan Economic Zone.’ Any nation that does their best to follow the rules can participate in a new community committed to fair and free trade.
There could not be a more climatic time in the Big Apple than now. So many global issues to attend to , situations to resolve and worldwide problems to try and find solutions to. We are in the hands of our world leaders and must trust that positive decisions will be made.
PHOTO CREDITS: Getty Images, AP/Reuters, Clinton Global Initiative Website
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