UN Briefings and Luncheons Banner

UN briefings and luncheons are held regularly in New York and Washington, DC to highlight the UN's progress, challenges, and opportunities. Conferences and programs include briefings from top UN officials and ambassadors and provide a forum for in-depth discussion on pressing issues facing the UN. Issues addressed have included: climate change, protecting women and children in conflict zones, and peacekeeping. Programs in Washington, DC have included annual International Women's Day Luncheons co-sponsored by UNF and UNIC, as well as several Celebrating Women Leaders Luncheons.

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February 13, 2020 | New York, NY
Escalation, Deterrence, and Brinkmanship: A Conversation on Iran
Anne Gueguen, UN Mission to France
Laura Hickey, Consul General of the UK to New York
Samantha Vinograd, CNN
Kim Kahnhauser Freeman,
WFPG Executive Director (Moderator)
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September 12, 2019 | New York, NY
Equity and Empowerment: A Feminist Approach to Aid
Marcy Hersh, Women Deliver
Randi Davis, United Nations Development Programme
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June 25, 2018 | New York, NY
From Rhetoric to Reality: Sustaining Peace in a Complex World
Barrie Freeman, UN Peacebuilding Support
Co-sponsored by the Institute of International Education
Moderated by WFPG Executive Director Kim Kahnhauser Freeman
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June 12, 2017 | Washington, DC
Senior Job Opportunities in United Nations Peace Operations
Kristina Koch, The UN Department of Field Support
Co-sponsored by Women In International Security and UN Peace Operations
Moderated by WFPG President Patricia Ellis
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June 29, 2016 | New York, NY
Emerging Challenges and Opportunities in Combating Human Trafficking:
A View From the UN

Simone Monasebian, Director of the New York Office, UNODC
Co-sponsored with the Institute of International Education
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June 8, 2016 | Washington, DC
The World Humanitarian Summit: Changing How We Respond to Global Crises
Izumi Nakamitsu, UN Assistant Secretary-General and
UNDP Assistant Administrator, Crisis Response Unit
Moderated by WFPG President Patricia Ellis
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April 15, 2016 | New York, NY
Advancing Gender Equality through Communications
Cristina Gallach, UN Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information
Co-sponsored with the Institute of International Education
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February 11, 2016 | Washington, DC
Transforming Lives: TEDx PlaceDesNations Live from the UN in Geneva
Sarah Craven, Chief of the Office of the UN Population Fund
Sam Worthington, InterAction’s Chief Executive Officer
Moderated by Elizabeth Cousens, the UN Foundation's Deputy
Chief Executive Officer
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November 18, 2015 | Washington, DC
The Central African Republic:
The Situation on the Ground, Women and Peacekeeping

Barrie Freeman, United Nations, MINUSCA
Moderated by Sandra Pepera, National Democratic Institute
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March 31, 2015 | New York, NY
Voices of Women from the UN Security Council on Peace and Security
Co-hosted by Ambassador Alya Bint Ahmed Bin Saif Al Thani,
Permanent Representative of Qatar to the United Nations
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March 4, 2015 | Washington, DC
International Women's Day Luncheon
Heather Higginbottom, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources 
Chernor Bah, UN Secretary General’s Global Initiative on Education
Moderated by Gillian Tett, The Financial Times
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September 26, 2014 | New York, NY
US Priorities at the UN General Assembly
Bathsheba Crocker, Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations
Co-sponsored with the Institute of International Education
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March 12, 2014 | Washington, DC
UN Talent Pipeline: Recruiting Qualified Women for Director-Level Positions
Kristina Koch, Chief of Recruitment, UN Department of Field Support
Catherine Sung, Project Manager of the UN Talent Pipeline Initiative
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March 5, 2014 | Washington, DC
International Women's Day Luncheon
Dr. Jill Biden and Ambassador Cathy Russell
Moderated by Judy Woodruff, PBS NewsHour
Co-sponsored by the UN Foundation and UN Information Center
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September 27, 2013 | New York, NY
US Priorities and the UN General Assembly
Dean Pittman, Acting Assistant Secretary for International Organizations
Co-sponsored with the Institute of International Education
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June 7, 2013 | New York, NY
An Update on Syria
Ambassador Rosemary DiCarlo, US Permanent Mission to the UN
Co-sponsored with the Institute of International Education
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March 7, 2013 | Washington, DC
International Women's Day Luncheon
Anne Richard, Assistant Secretary, Population, Refugees and Migration
Sarah Craven, UN Population Fund (UNFPA)
Mayra Buvinic, UN Foundation
Co-sponsored by the UN Foundation and UN Information Center
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October 1, 2012 | New York, NY
September 19, 2012 | Washington, DC

US Priorities at the UN General Assembly
Esther Brimmer, Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations
Co-sponsored with the Institute of International Education
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June 1, 2012 | New York, NY
The UN's Role in Syria: What Options Remain?
Colum Lynch, The Washington Post
Co-sponsored with the Institute of International Education
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April 20, 2012 | Washington, DC
Women's Empowerment in the Middle East and Worldwide
Michelle Bachelet, Executive Director of UN Women
Moderated by Judy Woodruff, PBS NewsHour
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March 14, 2012 | Washington, DC
International Women's Day Luncheon
Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO
Lakshmi Puri, Assistant Secretary-General of UN Women
Co-sponsored by the UN Foundation and UN Information Center
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June 16, 2011 | New York, NY
Addressing World Crises at the UN: The Role of the US
Ambassador Rosemary DiCarlo, US Permanent Mission to the UN
Co-sponsored with the Institute of International Education
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April 28, 2011 | New York, NY
The Role of UN Women in Empowering Women Worldwide
Hon. Michelle Bachelet, Executive Director of UN Women and
Under-Secretary-General for Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women
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July 19, 2010 | New York, NY
The UN's Humanitarian Response to Haiti
Sir John Holmes, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs
and Emergency Relief Coordinator
Co-sponsored with the Institute of International Education
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March 8, 2010 | Washington, DC
International Women's Day Luncheon
Hilda L. Solis, United States Secretary of Labor
Moderated by Timothy E. Wirth, UN Foundation President
Co-sponsored by the UN Foundation and UN Information Center
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July 23, 2009 | Washington, DC
The Development Challenge in the Middle of the Global Recession
Helen Clark, UN Development Programme Administrator
Moderated by Kimberly Dozier, CBS News Correspondent
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May 1, 2009 | New York, NY
World Crises and the UN: From Sudan to DRC to Afghanistan
Rosemary DiCarlo, US Ambassador and Alternate
Representative for Special Political Affairs to the UN
Eva Busza, Principal Officer, Strategic Planning Unit, Executive
Office of the Secretary-General
B. Lynn Pascoe, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs
Joanne Sandler, Deputy Executive Director of UNIFEM
Radhika Coomaraswamy, Under-Secretary-General, Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict
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March 6, 2009 | Washington, DC
From Crisis to Opportunity
Thoraya Obaid, Executive Director, UNFPA
Co-sponsored by the UN Foundation and UN Information Center
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September 29, 2008 | Washington, DC
Hunger as a National Security and Global Stability Issue
Josette Sheeran, UN World Food Programme Executive Director
Moderated by Lara Logan, Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent, CBS News
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July 17, 2008 | Washington, DC
Violence Against Women in Crisis
Kathleen Cravero, Assistant Secretary-General, UNDP Director of
the Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery, Chair of UN Action
against Sexual Violence in Conflict
Co-sponsored by UNDP
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May 1, 2008 | New York, NY
The UN in the Second Year of Ban-Ki Moon's Leadership
Dr. Asha-Rose Migiro, Deputy Secretary General
Alejandro Wolff, US Ambassador and Alternate Representative to the UN
Kathleen Cravero, Assistant Secretary-General, UNDP Director of
the Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery, Chair of UN Action
against Sexual Violence in Conflict
Robert Orr, Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and
Strategic Planning
Jane Holl Lute, Assistant Secretary-General and Officer-in-Charge of
the Department of Field Support
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March 6, 2008 | Washington, DC
Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA 9th)
Kiyo Akasaka, Under-Secretary-General
Co-sponsored by the UN Foundation and UN Information Center
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May 2, 2007 | New York, NY
The UN under New Leadership
Zalmay Khalilzad, US Ambassador to the UN
John Holmes, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs
and Emergency Relief Coordinator
Robert Orr, Assistant-Secretary-General for Policy Coordination
and Strategic Planning
Alicia Barcena Ibarra, Under-Secretary-General for Management
David Nabarro, Coordinator for Avian and Human Flu
Karen Pierce, Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative
of the UK Mission to the UN
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March 8, 2007 | Washington, DC
Women and UN Peacekeeping
Jane Holl Lute, Assistant-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations
Co-sponsored by the UN Foundation and UN Information Center
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May 3, 2006 | New York, NY
The UN in the 21st Century: Challenges and Opportunities
Shashi Tharoor, Under-Secretary-General for Communications
and Public Information
Amat al Alim Ali Alsoswa, Assistant Administrator and Director
of the Regional Bureau for Arab States, UNDP
Anne-Marie Goetz, Chief Advisor for Governance, Peace
and Security, UNIFEM
Ellen Margrethe Løj, Director of Communications, Office of
the Secretary-General
Gillian Sorensen, Senior Advisor, UN Foundation
Oliver Ulich, Desk Officer for Sudan, Office for the Coordination
of Humanitarian Affairs
Ann Veneman, Executive Director, UNICEF
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March 9, 2005 | Washington, DC
Women's Work: Democracy Building and Elections
Carina Perelli, UN Electoral Unit
Charlotte Ponticelli, Senior Coordinator of International
Women's Issues, Department of State
Massouda Jalal, Minister of Women's Affairs, Afghanistan
Narmin Othman Minister of Women's Affairs, Iraq
Ndioro Ndiaye, Deputy Director, IOM
Julia Taft, Assistant Administrator, UNDP
Co-sponsored by the UN Foundation and UN Information Center
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July 21, 2004 | New York, NY
The UN's Future Role in Iraq
Shashi Tharoor, Under-Secretary-General for Communications
and Public Information