The May meeting of this chapter will be held on Saturday, May 7 at 3:00 p.m. at the Main Library in Fort Collins. Dick Rush and his committee will report their findings on how the U.N. is treated in American textbooks and what is actually being taught in local schools. Dick will also introduce a survey (see separate article) that members can take to assess the knowledge and opinions of our community regarding the U.N. Ken Tharp will give a brief report his representation of our chapter at the UNA/USA National Convention in Washington, DC, in April. This would be a good meeting to bring along a teacher or student!

ADOPT-A-MINEFIELD

UNA-Northern Colorado elected to defer the March chapter meeting so that members could participate in Lincoln Junior High School’s Adopt-A-Minefield fund-raiser. About a dozen UNA members attended a chili supper at Lincoln School, and seven members (that we know of) attended dinners in the homes of students. Our chapter members contributed $100 towards special t-shirts for the class. They’re still counting the money raised, but teacher Colleen Conrad reports it will be between $9,000 and $10,000! This event was a huge success. Special thanks to Eleanor Dwight for coordinating our involvement with this fine project!

FORT COLLINS HIGH SCHOOL is working on starting a Model U.N. Club. Four of their students attended the chapter’s April19th meeting on the Model U.N. Speakers were Martha Denney, Director of International Education at CSU, who recently managed a Model U.N. there; her graduate assistant Jackie; and Dr. Tim Kubik, new UNA/Colorado Division president, who has significant experience with Model U.N. We received much practical information from them. We expect to stay in touch with these lively students and their staff advisor, Suzane Dickens. Special thanks to Martha Denney for a separate meeting with about a dozen chapter board members, where she explained in more detail the status of the Model U.N. program at CSU.

UNITED NATIONS KNOWLEDGE SURVEY Dick Rush is heading up a United Nations Knowledge Survey. In this survey, members will visit with friends and neighbors in Northern Colorado to assess: 1) Knowledge regarding the United Nations; and 2) Attitudes concerning the United Nations.

All members will be asked to help with the survey, which will be distributed and explained at the May 7th meeting. Our results will be turned in at the June 11th meeting, and will be tabulated and evaluated. Participation is voluntary and the data we collect may prove interesting. You will want to be a part of this intriguing project!

MUSIC, MUSIC, MUSIC! On April 16th, many chapter members attended “Every Good Boy Deserves Favor” at CSU. Dick Rush arranged for a block of tickets, which allowed the chapter to keep a share of the ticket price. This was a great way to have a good time and raise a little money for the treasury too. We’ll probably be doing something similar again. Thanks, Dick!

Lisa Lundgren, who’s on the Nominating Committee, is planning a June trip with her daughters to volunteer at a rural hospital in Tanzania. As a fundraiser for this effort, the daughters are giving a violin recital. The recital will include both classical music and fiddle tunes. It will be held on Friday, May 20th at 7:00 pm, at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church, 2000 S. Lemay, Fort Collins. This is not a United Nations trip, but since it involves one of our members and an international humanitarian effort, we invite you to attend.

BIENNIAL NATIONAL CONVENTION OF UNA/USA Ken Tharp recently attended the National Convention of UNA/USA, which he reports was “an inspiring overload of ideas and information.” Highlights from the event:

Development of a coordinated calendar, working with international, civic and inter - faith organizations on year - round activities celebrating the 60th anniversary of the UN. BIENNIAL NATIONAL CONVENTION, Contued ???????????????

Register in early May to participate in "The People Speak 2005: Building a Safer World: Can America and the UN Work Together?" Issues: Poverty, Hunger and Health; War and Conflict; Weapons of Mass Destruction and Terrorism; The Environment. Information at: "http://www.thepeoplespeak.org".

Potential for a Northern Colorado "People Speak" conference in 2006.

Idea: Work with 3 Great Decisions groups in Northern Colorado for joint study-discussion of Millennium Goals

Make UN and UNA publications available in public libraries and public schools. Initiate Global Classrooms curricula.

An idea from South Africa: A competition among University teams to developing best strategies for achieving Millennium Development Goals. Top strategies will be publicized and presented to UNA headquarters.

CALENDAR NOTES:

Next Board Meeting will be held Saturday, May 14, at 9:30am at Foothills Unitarian Church.

June Meeting is still in negotiation. We’ll notify you by e-mail when it’s firm.

UNA Board Will Not Meet on its regular date of June 4th. The Executive Committee and other interested board members will meet at a time yet to be determined.

IMPORTANT LINKS:

Information about the UN: http://www.un.org

Information about the UNA: http://www.unausa.org

Information about the Northern Colorado Chapter of UNA-USA: http://www.essayz.com/unausa-noco

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION: JOIN UNA-USA!

Please mail this form, along with your payment to:

UNA-NC Membership Director 907 Sailors Reef Fort Collins CO 80525

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UNA_USA is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit, educational organization.

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Northern Colorado Chapter Newsletter of May-June 2005 --- Volume 1, Number 3