The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers, Digital Edition > My Day
My Day by Eleanor Roosevelt

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WASHINGTON—A broad and worthwhile program for the celebration of United Nations Week was outlined by York Langton in a report to the board of directors of the American Association for the United Nations which has just concluded its annual conference here.

While the United States Committee for the United Nations has the chief responsibility for the celebration of United Nations Day on October 24, the AAUN always has emphasized setting aside the entire week for education of our people in the aims and achievements of this international organization.

Speakers cannot always be obtained for a community on United Nations Day itself. So if we spread our opportunity for mass meetings throughout the week, we are apt to meet the needs of more communities.

And if we organize our cooperation with as many non-governmental organizations as possible for the whole week, there can be a greater variety of worthwhile programs across the country which will appeal to the greatest number of people.

The studious ones can attend United Nations workshops. Young people especially are interested in United Nations tree plantings which, if carried on from year to year by a sufficient number of organizations, can mean a substantial beautification of some areas.

Hospitality can be organized for international students, with festivals by nationality groups that can be made very colorful and entertaining. I am sure that many persons appreciated the radio and television programs in past years, particularly those in which children, whose birthdays fall on the same date as the United Nations', take part and enjoy a United Nations birthday cake.

I happen to be interested in foreign foods. And so, last year when I went around to celebrations of United Nations Week, I was delighted to find nationality groups in several places putting on United Nations suppers which ran all the way from a smorgasbord to the finest in French foods.

I wish that every community planning a United Nations Week program this year would make a point of having an information center, exhibiting all the free methods of obtaining and spreading information about the United Nations. There are flag sets, globes, an international cookbook and the book that Mr. Spicker wrote, and which I helped edit, on the United Nations. Then there are Clark Eichelberger's book, "U.N.; the First Ten Years," and pamphlets and leaflets galore.

For a really successful celebration of United Nations Week, an organization should get together not later than this month to coordinate plans and to allot each group the work it will be responsible for.

I am glad that Mr. Langton's outstanding report on United Nations Week proved so interesting to all members of our board of directors and I hope it will mean the appointment in every group of a United Nations Week chairman who can be at work all the year around.

As a result of the lengthy meeting of the AAUN board of governors, there will be a great number of recommendations to the board of directors at its next meeting. Two things of importance were possible to consider by the directors at this meeting, however. As a result, in the future we will have a nominating committee made up of both boards, and the names of those chosen by the board of governors to serve were accepted. I hope other recommendations will be acted upon promptly.

E.R.

(Copyright, 1956, by United Freature Syndicate, Inc.)


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About this document

My Day by Eleanor Roosevelt, March 1, 1956

Roosevelt, Eleanor, 1884-1962
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Digital edition created by The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project The George Washington University 312 Academic Building 2100 Foxhall Road, NW Washington, DC 20007

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Transcription created from a photocopy of a UFS wire copy of a My Day column instance archived at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library.
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