ONE-Hour UN @ 75 Intergenerational Dialogue Show
P U R P O S E:
- To educate communities about the UN’s achievements of the last 75 years and to enhance our ability to rise to the challenges that await us in the next 75 years.
- To empower and inspire the young people on whom it will chiefly fall to deliver on those challenges, and to re-ignite their faith in the UN to support them;
F O R M A T: This format is designed to bring parents, grand-parents, community-leaders and the public together with young Secondary and Primary school students in a community celebration that explores and challenges the achievements of the United Nations over the last 75 years. It can be done as an extended assembly or a short concert evening.
C R E A T E Y O U R O W N F O R M A T: In any Peace Child project, we expect the young people of the cast, and their director / producer, to create their own dialogue, and choose their own songs: you can choose any song like from the Peace Child Song Book. Or you can write your own, or choose others that express your feelings more accurately. FEEL FREE to do what works for you in any format!
SONG: Listen to Me
[SONG / SCORE / VIDEO (@ 32 mins. 30 secs.)]
Please listen to me – hear the words that I say
We live in one world so our home is the same
The same sun is our fire
The same clouds give us rain
So whatever you desire – our future’s the same!
Chorus
Say not that you’re Christian – nor Muslim nor Jew
Say not that you’re red – nor that I am blue
Say only we are friends,
And that we want to live in Peace
In this here our world, let all war’s cease
For where would we go – if this world we destroy?
There’s only one home, this world, to enjoy
The same world fills our hunger
And we all breathe the air
So change your desires, this world we must share
Say not that you’re rich – nor that you are poor
Say not that you’re less – nor that you are more
Say only we are friends,
And we want to live in Peace
In this here our world – let all war’s cease
In this here our world – let all war’s cease
The Host comes forward and, backed up by a Powerpoint, narrates the following:
HOST
Ladies and Gentlemen, we come together to mark the 75th Birthday and celebrate the achievements of one of the most precious institutions our human family has ever created: the United Nations. The UN has asked us to answer the question: “What three things can save the World?” – so we want you to listen carefully to our presentation and, at the end, come up with your own answers to that question. We We owe so much of what happens – and what does NOT happen – in our daily lives to the thought leadership and diplomatic skills of some of the most committed public servants the world has ever seen. The essence of the United Nations is contained in the Preamble to the Charter, which ?? (Young Person) – will read for us now:
Reading:
WE
THE PEOPLES OF THE UNITED NATIONS DETERMINED
- to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, and
- to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small, and
- to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained, and
- to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,
HOST
The Second Document the United Nations produced is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, created by a Committee led by the widow of the US President, Elinor Roosevelt. A landmark document which every UN Member government signed up to, ?? (Young Person) – will read the Preamble to it now:
Reading:
- Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the
equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the
foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world, - Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have
resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind; - Whereas the advent of a world in which human beings
shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has
been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people, - Now, Therefore THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY proclaims THIS
UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS as a common standard of achievement
for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every
organ of society shall strive by teaching and education to secure their
universal and effective recognition and observance.
Article 1.
- All human beings are born free and equal in dignity
and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards
one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
HOST: Introduces a Powerpoint History of the United Nations & its Achievements
Let’s review the 75 year history of the United Nations and see if that can help us answer the UN’s question about “What three things can save the World?” [be sure to open the pictures in Google slides and print out the Speaker Notes that explain them.].
Reading:
- The States Parties to the present Convention, bearing in mind the great contribution of women to the welfare of the family and to the development of society, hereby agree on the following:
- We condemn discrimination against women in all its forms and agree to pursue by all appropriate means a policy to eliminate it by undertaking:
- To embody the principle of the equality of men and women in their national constitutions or other appropriate legislation;
SONG: Child for a day
[SCORE / AUDIO / VIDEO / INSTRUMENTAL]
I was a child who ran full of laughter
I was a child who lived for a day
My heart full of sunshine
My heart full of smiles
I was a child for a day.
We were the children who sang in the morning
We were the children who laughed at the sun
Who listened to those
Who spoke with their wisdom
We were the ones we would say
We’re getting older as time goes by
A little older every day
We were the children of – yesterday.
We are the men who worry of nothing
We are the men who fight without aim
Who listen to no one
Yet speak of our wisdom
We are the pawns in the game
We’re getting older as time goes by
A little older every day
We were the children of – yesterday.
HOST
In 1989, the Member governments of the United Nations agreed perhaps their most successful Convention: the Convention on the Rights of the Child – which enshrines in law the rights and protections due to any and every child born on this planet. ?? will read an extract from it now:
Reading:
|
The States Parties to the present Convention,
|
HOST
Finally, the UN will always be remembered for –
- Promoting and defining the concept of Sustainable Development and environmental
conservation - The fight to arrest and reverse Climate Change
- The idea of eliminating absolute poverty – and
leaving no one behind;
There is no human institution more deserving of our support – and it is my fervent wish that some of you will go forward and serve this great institution to ensure that it survives and prospers in the next 75 years. For though we rightly celebrate the achievements of the United Nations and its agencies in their first 75 years, our service this evening is about looking forward – forward to the challenges that remain to be solved in its next 75 years. And, as we all know – some of those challenges are very considerable:
SONG: W O R L D (1)
World – look at the way we are
Look at the things we do
Look at the words we say
Life! – look at the way we live
Look at the love we had
Look at the things we’ve made
Gone, gone are all those lovely days
Gone are all the peaceful ways
All that’s left is old and grey
And our world is fading
Our world is dying – today!
Can’t you see the tide is changing?
Don’t you know that truth is fading?
People coming out from under
Slowly rising to the thunder
Listen to the shouting people
Broken churches, broken steeple
There’s no one for them to follow
Every one’s a God tomorrow
Can’t you see the world is dying?
Repentant people all are crying
Law and order has been drowned
Chaos rules and has been crowned!
World – look at the way we are
Look at the things we do
Look at the words we say
Life! – look at the way we live
Look at the love we had
Look at the things we’ve made
Gone, gone are all those lovely days
Gone are all the peaceful ways
All that’s left is old and grey
And our world is fading
Our world is dying – today!
10 x Inter-generational Questions
Questions from Youth to the Elder:
- Why should we celebrate the UN at 75? What’s the UN ever done for us – for me?
Questions from Elder to the Youth:
- What good did you think you will do demonstrating for the Climate Emergency?
- What do your friends, parents & teachers think about you doing all this demonstration stuff?
Questions from Youth to the Elder:
- What are the achievements of your generation – your life – that you are most proud of?
- What are your biggest regrets?? What do you wish you could have done more to change?
Questions from Elder to the Youth:
- What kinds of protest / action do you think are most effective? Do you learn any lessons from the protest?
- Have you figured out the specific goals you would like to have achieved by – say – 2030?
- What would you like me – and the older generation – to do to help you??
Questions from Youth to the Elder:
- How do you keep going? When door after door is slammed in your face, and the people in power care nothing for the thing you are protesting about, why don’t you just give up?
- Everyone tells us we have to form ‘partnerships’ – to work together: but don’t you think all great movements require people to rally around individual, charismatic leaders? – and that therefore we should aspire to do our own thing?
SONG: Reach Out!
[SCORE / AUDIO / INSTRUMENTAL]
Reach out for a star!
Come out from where you are
Show me what you can do
Believe in me, I believe in you!
Reach out for your dream
It’s not as hard as it may seem
Together we can make it through
Together – me and you!
Wake up -open our eyes,
This is our world, our paradise.
Reach out, don’t be afraid
Come on now, we” find a way
There’s a whole new world for us to see
There’s a universe in you and me.
Reach out, put your hand in mine!
Oh see! – see how we shine!
Together – we’ll make it through,
Together me and you!
Don’t be shy, just be yourself!
You are your greatest wealth!
Reach out for a star!
Come out from where you are
Show me what you can do
Believe in me, I believe in you!
Show me what you can do
Believe in me, I believe in you!
HOST
As we gather here tonight, we should reflect that we cannot Unite Nations unless we are able to Unite Faiths – or at least stop their members killing each other. So let us question our faith leaders about what more they can do to build respect and understanding for each other’s faith traditions:
3 x Inter-Faith Questions:
If possible, gather the Methodist priest together with an Imam and a rabbi and get a young person to ask questions along the following lines:
- If you say that the God you worship is a “God of Peace”
– why are religions the fuel and reason for so many of the world’s wars? Shouldn’t
religions outlaw violence & encourage pacifism? - If you outlaw violence against people, shouldn’t
religions take stronger steps to outlaw violence against the environment and to
encourage better stewardship of the natural world; - Your religions are all founded by prophets who lived
thousands of years ago: aren’t religions therefore inevitably backward-looking
rather than forward-looking to the world we need to create in the future?
SONG: I Have a Vision!
[Video] [Audio] [Vocal Score] [Instrumental]
I have a vision,
I have a dream
I have the answer
– or so it seems.
Don’t you see the truth, to fight is not right,
We shall have our rainbow, we will have our sunlight
If we unite!
There’s a way you see, where no one gets hurt
There’s a way with love if you try!
There is hope and faith to keep you alive
In your darkest day, just pray!
Chorus Reach out with love, gather all your courage,
Reach out with love, seek a brighter day!
Love as our sword, peace as our weapon
Reach out with love! Let us win this way!
Martin Luther King had a vision! He had a dream
He had the answer, or so it seemed!
He knew the truth – to fight is not right
We can have our rainbow, we can have the sunlight!
We must unite!
A new world, A new light!
A new world, A new light!
A new hope! A new light –
Chorus Reach out with love, gather all your courage,
Reach out with love, seek a brighter day!
Love as our sword, peace as our weapon
Reach out with love! Let us win this way!
HOST
We have to learn that the only way we are going to solve problems is together – across generations, across frontiers of culture, ethnicity, language, wealth and geography. And the UN has more experience of doing that than any other organisations. That’s why we need to work with the UN – and it’s local organisations like the UNA here in <<– Your Town / area –>> to build the global institutions we shall need to organise our world in the future. Here is ?? to explain how we can all join the Global Conversation which the UN has launched in this, it’s 75th Anniversary Year:
G L O B A L C O N V E R S A T I O N
OUR MISSION: Throughout it’s 75th Anniversary year, the UN is inviting “We the Peoples of these United Nations…” to discuss and answer these three questions:
1. What kind of Future would you like this generation to create? – describe the kind of world you would like you and/or your children and grand-children to be living in by the year 2050 and explain how would it be different from the world of today?
• Do you think your children, grandchildren, will have fewer or more opportunities than you had?
• Will they be better or worse off – when it comes to education or job prospects for example?
• Do you think you/the next generation will be more or less mobile, socially, economically, physically?
• Do you expect to live in a more or less healthy natural environment
2. Are we on track? – are we, and our governments, our law courts, our businesses doing enough in the following areas to create that Future that we would like to live in? –
• to tackle climate change and environmental issues?
• to reduce poverty and inequality?
• to harness the power of new technologies wisely?
• to prepare for the growth and changes in population realities?
• to reduce violence and security threats?
• to build trust between governments, and between people and governments?
3. What Actions are needed to bridge the Gap? – get each participant to make a list of 3 x Actions that individuals, communities, businesses and / or governments should take with UN support to get our human family back on track to achieving the creation of the Future we Want. Identify which sector of the population needs to take a lead on delivering each Action.
O R
CLIMATE CHANGE DISCUSSION
- The Host gives each Panellist a minute to explain what they would like to see governments push for at the Glasgow COP 26 in December.
- The Host invites the Panel to ask questions of each other about their priorities – then opens it up to the audience to ask questions of the Panel.
- Because the UN Global Conversation asks for THREE ACTIONS – we will ask the Panel and audience to attempt to prioritise the suggestions that have come up from the Panel and the Audience – to agree a consensus on the priorities we should be pushing for in December.
SONG: Peace in the Heart!
[Audio] [Vocal Score] [Instrumental]
Chorus: French – La Paix du monde –
Swahili – Amani duniami!
Spanish – Aquí llego la Paz!
Russian – Mir oo Mir!
Japanese – Heiwa seka!
English! – Everybody’s saying, saying Peace in the Heart!
– Everybody’s singing, singing Peace in the Heart!
– Everybody’s dancing, dancing Peace in the Heart!
– Everybody’s making, making Peace in the Heart!
Soloist: Walking inside my mind
I see a vision of mankind
Breathing as one body
In syncopated rhyme
and everybody… everybody…. everybody’s singing….!
Chorus: La Paix du monde –
Amani duniami!
Aquí llego la Paz! – Mir oo Mir!
Heiwa seka!
English! – Everybody’s saying, saying Peace in the Heart!
– Everybody’s singing, singing Peace in the Heart!
– Everybody’s dancing, dancing Peace in the Heart!
– Everybody’s making, making Peace in the Heart!
Soloist: Looking before my eyes
So many colours side by side
moving with a peaceful motion
Sharing the gift of life
and everybody… everybody…. everybody’s singing ….
Chorus: La Paix du monde –
Amani duniami!
Aquí llego la Paz! – Mir oo Mir!
Heiwa seka!
English! – Everybody’s saying, saying Peace in the Heart!
– Everybody’s singing, singing Peace in the Heart!
– Everybody’s dancing, dancing Peace in the Heart!
– Everybody’s making, making Peace in the Heart!
E N D – Questions & Answers if desired –