31/5/2006 - President of the Sixtieth Session of the UN General Assembley Addressed Guests at an AFS International United Nations Luncheon Celebrating Intercultural Understanding
The H.E. Jan Eliasson, the president of the sixtieth session of the United Nations General Assembly and the new foreign minister of Sweden, delivered an eloquent keynote address stressing the importance of intercultural understanding as an antidote to our global problems. Eliasson delivered his address to an audience that included more than 20 ambassadors and 35 consuls general. Four World War II AFS ambulance drivers, two former presidents of AFS International, representatives of the Board of AFS-USA, key AFS donors, and staff from both AFS International and AFS-USA were also among the invited guests at a luncheon hosted at the United Nations by AFS International on May 19, 2006.
Eliasson was pleasantly surprised at the number of former AFS participants among the diplomats and ambassadors present at the luncheon. He started his remarks by recalling his AFS program and by saying that the AFS experience introduced in his mind the possibility that he would make of the United Nations and diplomacy his life’s work. He then remarked on the power of personal relationships, in what proved to be the recurring theme of the event. Eliasson said that AFS programs prove the immense power that personal relationships have on building trust and friendship among the people of the world. He said that diplomacy is characterized by respect for others and their culture and that creating the element of trust is how diplomacy will be made effective.
He also said that the world is in a period of turmoil and great danger and that there are gaps in our knowledge of one another, and in our ability to understand and respect each other. Eliasson described the importance he places on cultural exchanges as an antidote to the numerous global problems that we are facing. He said that if people spent six to 12 months in abroad on exchange programs their lives would change for the better, having been influenced for life by the exchange experience. Eliasson wished that educational institutions would undertake massive cultural exchange programs to counteract the dangerous tendency for polarization, radicalization, growing misunderstanding and antagonism that are at the root of so many of the world’s problems. He underlined the importance of seeing each other as partners and not look inward. “The United Nations is not an abstraction,” said Eliasson “we are the symbol of international cooperation. With the enormous challenges ahead of us, it is imperative that we work together.”
Tachi Cazal, president of AFS International thanked the event sponsors, MasterCard Advisors and Ambassador Gerhard Pfanzelter from Austria. He stated his hope that the event “serve not only as an opportunity to enjoy each other’s company but also to reflect on the importance of bringing the people of our world closer together”. He also said that “AFS programs provide our participants with unforgettable educational experiences which change the course of their lives and we know this makes a significant difference in how we perceive each other across cultural divides.”
J. Brian Atwood, the chair of the AFS International Board of Trustees introduced Jan Eliasson and remarked on his extraordinary trajectory as a diplomat and as a tireless advocate for human rights and peace. Atwood said that “Today we honor a diplomat, a fellow AFS’er (Sweden to the United States in 1957-58) who is about to complete a very difficult assignment, the presidency of the United Nations General Assembly.” Atwood thanked Jan Eliasson for his outstanding contribution to the international community and for his excellent diplomatic skills which have forged a more effective United Nations Human Rights Commission. He said that Eliasson, “in performing his work, has never allowed the very good to become the victim of the perfect. What he has achieved will give new impetus to our collective desire for a world that respects the human rights of individuals and pursues systems of government that offer democratic institutions that will protect the inalienable rights of all people.”
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