Director-General/Executive Director
(delivered on behalf of the Executive Director)
Good morning, everyone. I have the honour to read out these remarks on behalf of the Director-General of UNOV and Executive Director of UNODC, Ms. Ghada Waly:
Dear Principal Starr,
Dear Students,
Welcome to the Vienna International Centre – the VIC - which houses one of the four main headquarters of the United Nations globally.
We are happy to host enthusiastic young people like you, who are eager to learn about the UN.
The VIC brings together around 5,000 staff members and more than 20 international organizations and offices, working on different subjects that affect our everyday lives, from justice and security to energy and development.
It is also a place of diplomacy, where representatives of different countries gather and agree on common goals.
The theme of your meeting focuses on diplomacy, and diplomacy is what empowers the UN to carry out its important work.
For example, at the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, our role is defined by treaties that were agreed by Member States of the UN through dialogue, and by the decisions of UN bodies that meet here.
Their agreements allow us to operate in 150 countries, training judges and police officers, working with young people to prevent drug use, protecting sports from corruption, helping to make online spaces safe for young people like you, and much more.
We also help experts from around the world communicate and cooperate to stop criminals who work in complex networks across many countries.
Dialogue is how countries resolve their differences and focus on what they need to do together.
Today, the differences are severe, and we need diplomacy and dialogue more than ever.
Wars and violence are making our world a much more fragile, dangerous, and tragic place.
And this is especially true for young people.
According to UNICEF, more than 473 million children live in places affected by conflict today. More than 47 million have been forced to leave their homes, and many thousands have lost their lives.
Unlike them, the young people in this room have great privileges.
You get to live and grow up in better circumstances. You have access to a huge amount of information online. And you have powerful digital platforms to express yourselves.
But these privileges also come with responsibilities.
You have the responsibility to speak up for those who are not as lucky as you. And you have the responsibility to think about what you see and read, to distinguish between facts and misinformation, and to promote peace, tolerance, and understanding.
Your engagement with the Model United Nations is a great start. It shows that you are serious, passionate young people who want to have an impact on their world.
I am sure that you will make the most of this conference, and I want to ask you for three things:
First, I want you to be voices for justice, to stand up for what is right, and to use your advantages for the good of humanity.
Second, I want you to maintain your hope that solutions are possible, and to never accept the tragedies you see on the news every day as unavoidable.
And third, I want you to always be ready to listen and to compromise.
Today, it has become popular to be loud and insist on your point of view. But diplomacy is about reaching win-win solutions.
As we mark 80 years of the United Nations this year, we need the fresh energy, optimism, and determination of your generation. And we need your ability to connect with each-other like never before.
You are the ones who can protect and promote the values of the UN Charter, and the ones who can make the Sustainable Development Goals a reality.
The future is in your hands. Simulate a better one today, so that you can shape it tomorrow.
Thank you.
