UN Day
Has S. Korean
Sponsors, of
Lang Lang,
UNCA &
GSF, What
Would Dag Say?
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
October 19 --
The upcoming
UN Day, on the
UN's 70th
anniversary,
will be
sponsored by
South Korea,
with
performances
by the Korean
Broadcasting
System's
symphony and
“K-Pop”
artists, as
well as
Chinese
pianist Lang
Lang.
Inner
City Press on
October 19
asked UN Under
Secretary
General
Cristina
Gallach how
the sponsors
were chosen,
if all member
states were
notified they
could put in
proposals, and
about her
participation,
admittedly
early in her
tenure as USG
for Public
Information,
as events of
the Global
Sustainability
Foundation,
named in the
charge sheet
against John
Ashe, Sheri
Yan and Frank
Lorenzo, and
of the
Lorenzo-affiliated
South South
Awards. Video
here.
Gallach genial
referred the
selection or
“vetting”
question to
her colleague
Maher Nasser,
and said that
UN Spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric's
answer minutes
earlier, on
which we'll
separately
report, was
her answer as
well.
Maher Nasser
said that
under previous
USG Peter
Launsky-Tieffenthal,
the Vienna
Philharmonic
was to play at
this 70th UN
Day, but then
(after
Launsky-Tieffenthal
returned to
his native
Austria) found
it was unable.
So South Korea
stepped
forward,
Nasser said,
adding that
future
sponsorships
are open.
We'll have
more on this.
Other UN Day
events beyond
the concert
with Lang Lang
-- who also
gave a speech
at the
founding of
the Global
Sustainable
Foundation and
will appear at
an UN
Correspondents
Association-affiliated
event this
week,
including
Spanish
sculptures on
October 24 in
Central Park,
and
photographs
and a show
about Dag
Hammarskjold's
“Markings”
inside the UN
on October
27. Some
of these, the
UN sent only
to UNCA.
Of the
Ashe / Lorenzo
scandal at the
UN, one might
well ask and
try to answer,
“What Would
Dag Say?” What
indeed. The UN
can and must
do better,
including
being more
transparent.
The Free
UN Coalition
for Access,
along with
others, is
working for
this. Watch
this site.
Footnote:
Since the UNCA
representative
who only last
week demanded
the first
question when
not called on,
and told Inner
City Press for
FUNCA to “shut
up,” did
not on October
19 try to
brand the
briefing for
UNCA, Inner
City Press
offered a
general thanks
to USG
Gallach. It
works fine
that way:
briefing are
not for
branding. But
branding by
UNCA,
particularly
given recent
revelations,
will be be
accepted. Follow @innercitypressFollow @FUNCA_info
, 
