Report by Hilary Evans
Waltzing through Vienna sounds an enjoyable way of spending a Saturday lunchtime – and it was! Informative, too, for those like me who have a lot to learn about the UN system. Rodney Mantle’s illustrated talk at TRUNA’s pub lunch on 18 June 2016 described the 5-day intensive study tour of Vienna organised by David Wardrop of Westminster UNA.
The Vienna International Centre, also known as UNO City or UNOV, is the third of the four major UN sites, after New York and Geneva - with Nairobi fourth. Vienna was chosen for its status as a neutral city during the Cold War, and its six Y-shaped towers opened for business in 1980. The creation of thousands of jobs soon overcame initial local hostility to the Austrian Government’s contribution of €32,000,000 towards the cost.
Rodney led us through a bewildering array of acronyms – the UN agencies based at UNOV. Probably the single biggest is UNIDO – the UN Industrial Development Organisation, concerned with poverty reduction, creating wealth and jobs, and sustainable development. UNICITRAL, the Commission on International Trade Law and the only UN legal organisation outside New York, works to harmonise laws on international trade. Other agencies visited included the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs, the UN Organisation on Drugs and Crime, and the International Atomic Energy Authority.
Apart from the UN and some general sightseeing, visits were also made to the Peace Museum, the Academic Council on the UN System (ACUNS) – a critical friend to the UN, and the Hofburg, former imperial residence and now home to the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) - in itself an interesting topic for a future talk.
All those present at the Teddington pub greatly appreciated their virtual tour and the account of what was clearly a most worthwhile and well-organised trip.
UNA-UK
subtitle: UK action. Stronger UN. Better world.