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India Visit 2015

The Future We Want

12 January 2015

Participants:

UN Secretary-General H.E. Mr. Ban Ki-moon

Nobel Laureate Mr. Kailash Satyarthi

(Bharat Ratna) Mr. Sachin Tendulkar

Ms. Sharmila Tagore

Ms. Nandita Das

Moderator: Mr. Rajiv Chandran, National Information Officer, UN Information Centre for India and Bhutan

Venue: Diwan-i-Am, Hotel Taj Mahal, 1 Mansingh Road, New Delhi, INDIA

In New Delhi, on Monday, 12 January 2015, at the UN Goodwill Ambassadors Dinner hosted by the United Nations in India, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon met with Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi, UNICEF Ambassador and cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, UNICEF National Ambassador Sharmila Tagore and, actor-ativist Nandita Das. The evening commenced with the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addressing the ambassadors and the distinguished guests that included a delegation from Indian Federation of United Nations Associations (IFUNA) and the Executive Board of the National Progressive Schools’ Conference (NPSC).

The Secretary-General told the audience, which included a number of students, how much he appreciated the efforts of the Goodwill Ambassadors present in their respective fields. He officially launched the UN@70 campaign to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. He took that opportunity to thank all the UN staff in India for their hard work and dedication. He spoke about the YoUNg@70 initiative that is especially valuable in a country like India, which has more young people than anywhere else in the world. The Secretary-General underscored the strong partnership between India and the United Nations in the fight for equality of all individuals, giving priority to children and women welfare.

The Secretary-General also told the audience that while we may all different from one another, we all have the same human rights.

“I am proud to stand for the equality of all people – including those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender,” Ban said.

Following this Mr. Kailash Satyarthi addressed the gathering and talked about how important it is for children to be free to dream, drawing from his personal fight against child slavery and labour. He said, “Whenever I liberate a child, I liberate myself. Freedom is my strife, my inspiration and my power”. He spoke of the need to end child labour, after having earlier submitted a petition to Ban Ki-moon with over 550,000 signature to include abolishing child labour in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for Hygiene and Sanitation, Sachin Tendulkar shared an anecdote about his dream of being a cricketer as a child and having the freedom and support of his family to reach his goal. Having worked with child rights issues, he asserted, “Children are the future of our planet.” On the fight to end exploitation of children, he found that the staggering numbers were not a record to be proud of.

Veteran actor Sharmila Tagore rallied in support of improving maternal health, with a special focus on the non-urban areas. She shared her personal experiences about working with women and her learnings on how easily avoidable maternal deaths are. “We need to value are daughters as much as our sons”, she said. She stressed on the vulnerability of excluded groups that includes persons with HIV and members of the LGBTQ community.

Actor Nandita Das pressed on the idea of how it is as important to understand the need for men to get sensitized as it is for women to practice freedom. She mentioned how she envisions the “same future for every child” as she does for her own, and how we must all understand and implement that idea.

Secretary General Ban Ki-moon spontaneously pinned UN Women’s HEforSHE campaign badges on Kailash Satyarthi and Sachin Tendulkar.

The evening, moderated by UNIC National Information Officer Rajiv Chandran, ended on a note of optimism that we will together be able to create, build and achieve The Future We Want.

For full text to SG’s statement see:http://www.unic.org.in/display.php?E=13765&K=SG_Visit2015