In September, United Nations New York Headquarters held its 69th session of the UN General Assembly beginning 16 September- 1 October, 2014; which contained a morning and afternoon session that involved various high-level meetings, speeches, and conferences. The air was filled with excitement and booming with activities as Presidents, Ambassadors, UN personnel, Delegates, and Academicians from all over the world reunited in the newly renovated GA to address many global issues such as climate change, terrorism/war, peace, and education as well as the actions ready to be taken in creating a sustainable change. ATOP Meaningfulworld has participated in the GA sessions annually. As an ATOP Meaningfulworld Alternate Representative Intern, I had the honor of attending the Thursday session on 25 September, 2014, a day-long conferences and plenary addresses by world leaders voicing the urgency to take stand in the Post 2015 Agenda; including our very own President Obama. The Secretary General, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, prioritized his commitment to the Millennium Development Goals and the Sustainable Development Goals in a conference titled “Moving to Implementation: Findings from UNDG Dialogues on Post- 2015 Implementation” with a focus on ‘the world we want.’ Civil societies were informed to organize council on Sustainable Development in an open and inclusive manner, and take lead in institutional and global change. The needs for inclusive partnerships, voices to be heard, quality of life and education were stressed by speakers of all countries. I proudly applauded Forest Whitaker, American actor and UNESCO Special Envoy for Peace and Reconciliation, for delivering a presentation on “Moving to Implementation: Findings from UNDG Dialogues on Post-2015 Implementation,” advocating for technology access, better quality of education, and peace in developing countries. He emphasized that education needs to be used as a power to promote peace and reconciliation in communities. The value of cultural education, transforming violence, and human connection were the focal point of the day’s sessions. I was impressed and inspired by the action plans of many world leaders who aimed to provide real-time tools to handle challenges, fight against terrorism/aggression, and democratize education for a more sustainable growth not only in their country but worldwide. Overall, it was one of the best times to be present at the UN as it provided the opportunity to meet and be educated by dedicated and powerful leaders who have great experience in dealing with global issues. I felt incredibly enriched having experienced an unforgettable and informative General Assembly.

 

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Founded in 1990, the Association for Trauma Outreach & Prevention (ATOP) Meaningfulworld, charitable organization affiliated with the United Nations Dept. of Public Information, has achieved international recognition as a leader in training humanitarian outreach professionals as well as responding to two decades of global and local disasters. ATOP is committed to health and global education promoting state-of-the-art scientific theory, peace, forgiveness, consciousness research, internship, and the development of technical skills to train mental health professionals, teachers, psychologists, art therapists, nutritionists, alternative medicine practitioners, clergy, nurses, mediators, interfaith ministers, and lay persons committed to service the self and humanity. Meaningfulworld Humanitarian Outreach Teams have helped rehabilitate survivors from over 45 calamities, making a daily difference in people’s lives helping to transform tragedy and trauma into healing and meaning-making through post trauma growth, resilience, emotional intelligence, mindfulness, mind-body-ecospirit health, visionary leadership, empowerment and artful collaboration through a new world view. Our Motto: When one helps another BOTH become stronger