United Nations Virtual Tour

By Abbie Nott

​On the 3rd February, we were joined by guests from the United Nations Headquarters who gave us a tour of their building. The tour guides were from Germany, China, Senegal and Russia; it was so interesting to find out more about the work of the UN and its history!

​We learnt interesting facts like how the building site was previously home to a slaughterhouse, saw a mosaic gifted by Nancy Reagan and learnt about how the ceiling in part of the building is left unfinished to symbolise that the work of the UN is never finished. 

The UN team then answered some questions sent in by students…
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‘How can students help the work of the United Nations?’

• The answer was that if you are part of the Goals Project, you are already doing that!
• The guides also said that ‘if you are passionate about the work you do, there is absolutely a job here for you’. 

Another person asked about what comes next after 2030, when the Sustainable Development Goals are aiming to have been achieved?

• The UN staff shared a beautiful Nelson Mandela quote: ‘It always seems impossible until it is done’.
• They said that ‘everybody should be a part of the solution’, and to remember the ceiling in the UN building - there is always more to do. 

A big thank you goes to the team from the United Nations who gave us such a great experience, to the interns who helped behind the scenes and to Jennifer and Ayush for hosting!

If you missed it, you can stream a recording of the UN tour here…