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US Servas at the UN|

Shelley Walden's reflections on the 57th Annual NGO Conference

This year's Annual NGO Conference entitled, “Millenium Development Goals: Civil Society Takes Action," was held at UN headquarters in New York, from Sept. 8-10.

The winner of the essay contest, Shelley Walden of Scituate, Massachusetts represented Servas at the conference. Here are her reflections on the conference experience and the collaboration between Servas and the U.N.

On September 8th I entered a room of people who believe that by 2015, hunger can be halved, gender disparities can be eliminated, the spread of HIV/AIDS and malaria can be halted and child mortality rates can be reduced by two thirds. And these are only half of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that they are trying to accomplish. In other words, I had the profound privilege to be in the presence of people who believe in their dreams, believe in each other and believe that compassion will ultimately triumph over greed.

These U.N. affiliated nonprofit representatives, who numbered more than 2,000, filled the United Nations General Assembly Hall in New York City, where they were gathered for the opening ceremonies of the three-day “Millennium Development Goals: Civil Society Takes Action” conference. These representatives would spend the next few days evaluating how the world has progressed on the MDG’s and learning what they can do to ensure that these goals are met.

If someone had told me this time last year that I would be sitting in the main meeting place of the U.N among these distinguished representatives, I would never have believed them. After all, I am a recent college graduate, and as such I am lucky if I can gain admittance into an employment agency, let alone the center of world government. But thanks to a U.S. SERVAS essay contest held earlier this year, which offered the winner a spot at this year’s annual UN NGO Conference, I was now sitting in one of the most prestigious buildings in the world. And to top it off, I was surrounded by professionals who could give me valuable insight into the nonprofit field, which is what I hope to work in.

The conference began with a speech (given via video) by Kofi Annan. But his speech was only the tip of the iceberg; for the next three days I would hear impassioned addresses from various development figures and journalists from throughout the world. One of the highlights was the speech given by The Earth Institute economist Jeffrey Sachs, who I had learned about in my college classes. Sachs spoke of how the U.S. is funding war rather than peace. He said that this year alone the U.S. will spend about $450 billion for the military and only $15 billion on international aide to fight global poverty, environmental degradation and disease. This $15 billion is not only 30 times less than the amount spent on the military, but also 60 billion dollars short of what the U.S. had promised to spend on international aide, according to an international agreement. While other parties have met their promises to contribute the agreed to percentage of their GDP, the U.S. has fallen short of its commitment. Sachs stressed how development is related to security and how the U.S. government’s spending priorities will ultimately lead to an increase in terrorism. This was reaffirmed by Farida Allaghi, the senior adviser to the President of the Arab Gulf Programme for UN development organizations, who said, “The street children that we have failed to help in the last twenty years are the same ones who are picking up the guns now.”

During the conference, I also attended several workshops, such as “The Role of Spirituality in Peacemaking and Conflict Resolution.” This particular workshop made me realize the importance of SERVAS, for it stressed that success in conflict resolution comes when people tell their stories and interact with each other. SERVAS allows us to do just this, and to celebrate our differences, as well as our similarities, in the process. As one of the workshop participants said, “We are one world—one soul.”

Each night after the conference was over, I would return to my home away from home with my SERVAS hosts, Martha and Marvin Usdin. Their kindness and hospitality enriched my experience. They introduced me to Brooklyn, a beautiful part of New York that I was unfamiliar with, arranged for me to see a play and shared their Shabbat celebrations with me. Staying with SERVAS hosts such as the Usdin’s has given me hope that compassion can triumph over greed and that the MDG’s can become more than just optimistic dreams.


US Servas at the UN\| Shelley Walden's reflections on the 57th Annual NGO Conference This year's Annual NGO Conference entitled, “Millenium Development Goals: Civil Society Takes Action," was held at UN headquarters in New York, from Sept. 8-10. The winner of the essay contest, Shelley Walden of Scituate, Massachusetts represented Servas at the conference. Here are her reflections on the conference experience and the collaboration between Servas and the U.N. On September 8th I entered a room of people who believe that by 2015, hunger can be halved, gender disparities can be eliminated, the spread of HIV/AIDS and malaria can be halted and child mortality rates can be reduced by two thirds. And these are only half of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that they are trying to accomplish. In other words, I had the profound privilege to be in the presence of people who believe in their dreams, believe in each other and believe that compassion will ultimately triumph over greed. These U.N. affiliated nonprofit representatives, who numbered more than 2,000, filled the United Nations General Assembly Hall in New York City, where they were gathered for the opening ceremonies of the three-day “Millennium Development Goals: Civil Society Takes Action” conference. These representatives would spend the next few days evaluating how the world has progressed on the MDG’s and learning what they can do to ensure that these goals are met. If someone had told me this time last year that I would be sitting in the main meeting place of the U.N among these distinguished representatives, I would never have believed them. After all, I am a recent college graduate, and as such I am lucky if I can gain admittance into an employment agency, let alone the center of world government. But thanks to a U.S. SERVAS essay contest held earlier this year, which offered the winner a spot at this year’s annual UN NGO Conference, I was now sitting in one of the most prestigious buildings in the world. And to top it off, I was surrounded by professionals who could give me valuable insight into the nonprofit field, which is what I hope to work in. The conference began with a speech (given via video) by Kofi Annan. But his speech was only the tip of the iceberg; for the next three days I would hear impassioned addresses from various development figures and journalists from throughout the world. One of the highlights was the speech given by The Earth Institute economist Jeffrey Sachs, who I had learned about in my college classes. Sachs spoke of how the U.S. is funding war rather than peace. He said that this year alone the U.S. will spend about $450 billion for the military and only $15 billion on international aide to fight global poverty, environmental degradation and disease. This $15 billion is not only 30 times less than the amount spent on the military, but also 60 billion dollars short of what the U.S. had promised to spend on international aide, according to an international agreement. While other parties have met their promises to contribute the agreed to percentage of their GDP, the U.S. has fallen short of its commitment. Sachs stressed how development is related to security and how the U.S. government’s spending priorities will ultimately lead to an increase in terrorism. This was reaffirmed by Farida Allaghi, the senior adviser to the President of the Arab Gulf Programme for UN development organizations, who said, “The street children that we have failed to help in the last twenty years are the same ones who are picking up the guns now.” During the conference, I also attended several workshops, such as “The Role of Spirituality in Peacemaking and Conflict Resolution.” This particular workshop made me realize the importance of SERVAS, for it stressed that success in conflict resolution comes when people tell their stories and interact with each other. SERVAS allows us to do just this, and to celebrate our differences, as well as our similarities, in the process. As one of the workshop participants said, “We are one world—one soul.” Each night after the conference was over, I would return to my home away from home with my SERVAS hosts, Martha and Marvin Usdin. Their kindness and hospitality enriched my experience. They introduced me to Brooklyn, a beautiful part of New York that I was unfamiliar with, arranged for me to see a play and shared their Shabbat celebrations with me. Staying with SERVAS hosts such as the Usdin’s has given me hope that compassion can triumph over greed and that the MDG’s can become more than just optimistic dreams.
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