The United Nations in the 21st Century- Speech by Kofi Annan

"The United Nations in the 21st Century" was a Nobel Prize speech given by former Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan. This speech was given in 2001 during Kofi's service as Secretary General. Kofi Annan was not the only winner that year of the Nobel Peace Prize, the UN as a whole also one and he gave the speech for both.
The central theme of the essay was "peace must be sought, above all." Kofi began his speech by discussing the tragedy and turmoil of the previous century, calling it "perhaps the deadliest in human history," but followed this up by saying he was proud of the states to come together in the 1940s to create a peacekeeping organization, the UN. He reiterated throughout the speech that he believed that everyone must set aside their differences to bring peace to the world and to achieve the UN's top 3 goals for the new century: eradicate poverty, prevent conflict, and promote democracy; not to mention their MDGs (millennium development goals).
What I took from this speech and from the goals of the United Nations in general is that we do need to come together as one world, not separate states, races or communities to better the lives the of all global citizens. When Mr. Annan said that "peace must be sought above all," he continued to say "because it is the condition for every member of the human family to live a life of dignity and security." This is something I believe to be very true, when times of poverty or conflict arise people are forced into situations that are undignified and dangerous, he wants everyone to live a safe and happy life and everyone can only experience this in times of peace and with the assistance of all member nations to provide aid and support for those who are struggling. I learned that peace is something that needs to be achieved when I spent time at the UN and when I had the chance to speak on the General Assembly floor in 2011.
I think Kofi Annan and the United Nations won the Nobel Peace Prize because they are aiming towards peace everyday. They work/are a peacekeeping organization that work on a global level to better the lives of global citizens and improve the overall quality of life. They want the world to come together as one to achieve the overall goal, peace. He said that "we gain strength by combining the foreign with the familiar." By combing what we not know with what we do know we can accept different cultures, races and peoples to come together and work with one another to gain peace.  Kofi Annan said, "we can love what we are, without hating what-- and who -- we are not," this means that when we love others for their differences we can accept them for who they are and how they can help the common cause. He was truly someone who aimed for peace and did a spectacular job as Secretary General.

A Planetary Emergency (2007)

      Al Gore was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 for his speech titled "A Planetary Emergency". The major theme of this essay was to bring to our attention the affects of global warming pollution. He starts off his essay telling the reader they have two future visions and we have to decide which one we want to happen. We have the ability to solve the crisis if we act quickly. He continues on to tell us how each day more and more global warming pollution is dumped on our Earth. This is causing the Earth to have a 'fever' and us the humans of the world are the ones causing the problem. Our carelessness is causing massive droughts, melting arctic areas, wildfires, and home evacuations all around the world. Gore throws in statistics to his essay stating "Last September 21, as the Northern Hemisphere tilted away from the sun, scientists reported with unprecedented distress that  the North Polar ice cap is "falling off a cliff."  One Study estimated that it could be completely gone during summer in less than 22 years." These world issues are only going to increase if we do not do anything about it.

       Gore adds in a quote from Robert Frost that states "Some say the world will end in fire, others in ice, either one would suffice". He talks about how he does not want this to be our future and it does not have to be if we act quickly to reduce the global warming. Gore brings up a good point stating that the United States and China and soon India are the main factors for the excessive amount of CO2 emissions. It is these countries that needed to make the biggest changes. When talking about China and the United states Gore states "Both countries should stop using the other's behavior as an excuse for stalemate and instead develop an agenda for mutual survival in shared global environment.." He ends his essay explaining that we have to expand whatever boundaries we have left and create our own new path to follow.

        I felt like this essay impacted me greatly after reading it. I never really believed in global warming but mainly because I have never been well informed of it. It is true that a lot of catastrophes have been occurring I believe that if they are truly being caused by global warming we need to make as many changes possible to stop them from happening. None of us want to see anyone hurt physically or emotionally from it. We also don't want to have our world end in extreme cold or hot conditions.
        I believe that Al Gore was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize because of the power of his speech. He brought up a lot of points and he was one of the first people to be concerned and want to change our climate. Also since he had a government position this gave him credibility. Gore is a huge advocate for global warming and overall deserved to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

Nobel Peace Prize Response:Inner Peace and Human Rights

Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th and current Dalai Lama, gave his Inner Peace and Human Rights speech in 1989, in response to the travesties happening in Tibet. I believe that Gyatso determined that there is a need for global human rights and peace within oneself. He expressed that people need to take responsibility for each other and the environment around us, stating that "What is important is that we make a sincere effort to take responsibility for each other and for the natural environment we live in seriously." By doing so, global peace can be obtained, and countries in need will soon prosper again.

 I now understand that without inner peace, external problems will affect your life in negative ways. Within the speech he states, "Inner peace is the key: if you have inner peace, the external problems do not affect your deep sense of peace and tranquility." By obtaining inner peace and material progress, happiness will be endless.There must be a reasonable amount of both to fully receive the benefit of peace in your life. I also learned that certain nations absolutely must be supported in their cause for retaining identity an cultural heritage. What China did to Tibet before and during the cultural revolution was horrible, and needs to be prevented from ever happening again. Still to this day, China's government disrespects the Dalia Lama, with none of the Dalia Lama's proposals coming to pass. There needs to be a call to action, in which this situation will be completely handled.

The award was won by Gyatso because he truly represents the meaning of peace. His avid advocacy of displaying his beliefs through diplomatic missions is unheard of. In 1987, Gyatso even created a five point peace plan to enhance democratic relations between China and Tibet. By having forward thinking proposals to construct peace where International conflicts and human rights issues were taking place, he ultimately sealed his victory of the Nobel Peace Prize.
      

Inner Peace and Human Rights (1989)

One of the main themes that circulated throughout this essay was the balance between material development and spiritual development. Tenzin Gyatso describes how different societies contain different combinations of the two lifestyles. For example, he uses the Tibetan culture as a poster child for spiritual development, with their dense populous of temples and happy, jovial people. The flip side of that coin could be seen with countries such as our own. In our culture, most people believe that happiness is in direct correlation with a materialistic lifestyle. Another thing he stresses is inner peace, "without this inner peace, no matter how comfortable your life is materially, you may still be worried, disturbed or unhappy because of circumstances." (600) He is trying to get across that a healthy society can be found in one that shares a happy medium between these two ways of thinking.

One thing I learned from this essay is that everyone has a part in revolution. The Dali Lama states that it must start with the people's want to make a change. Then it should pass to the leaders, not necessarily government.

“Peace, for example, starts with each one of us. When we have inner peace, we can be at peace with those around us. When our community is in a state of peace, it can share that peace with neighboring communities, and so on.” (600)

Another eye opener was how fortunate I really am. I look at my own life and see the stress and conflicts I am faced with and it doesn’t even come close to others. Will I am deciding how to get in shape and lose some weight others are trying to find out how to put grains of rice on the table. While I am worried about Christmas shopping, Tibetans are fighting to keep their culture and populous alive. It is troublesome and is something that I need to work on.

The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, won the Nobel peace prize because he didn’t give up. He was relentless in finding a way for his people’s way of life not to become extinct. “[The awarding of the Nobel Prize] fills us Tibetans with hope. It means, despite the fact that we have not drawn attention to our plight by means of violence, we have not been forgotten.” (601) Tenzin Gyatso supports the basic human rights for his people and fought for those he can’t be heard. One thing that should be noted that made him truly extraordinary is that his five point plan for peace involves a peaceful relationship with the Chinese. This is key because they are the ones currently occupying Tibet.

Novbel Peace Prize: A Planetary Emergency (2007)

The central theme of the speech was about Al Gore talking about how we need to help the planet and stop polluting so much. "So today, we dumped another 70 million tons of global-warming pollution into the thin shell of atmosphere surrounding our planet, as if it were an open sewer. And tomorrow, we will dump a slightly larger amount, with the cumulative concentrations now trapping more and more heat from the sun." This speech was written almost six year ago on December 10th, I can't imagine how much worse pollution we dump into the atmosphere today. It's almost scary to know we do this because we are making it worse for the future generation. I think a reason for this is because many companies just want to make money, especially the people at the top and it seems they don't care about what happens for the next generation because they will be dead so they don't have to worry about it.
Something that I took from this speech was that was surprising to me was how people people had to migrate to different places because of their homes being destroyed, I never knew how much of an effect global warming had. I had only thought global warming caused the seasons to be extreme than normal based on whether it was winter or summer and also that the water levels rose because the icebergs were melting. "Climate refugees have migrated into areas already inhabited by people with different cultures, religions, and traditions, increasing the potential for conflict. Stronger storms in the Pacific and Atlantic have threatened whole cities." I think companies should look at a different way rather than just making more money by polluting more, I think if there was conflict created by global warming, there will be people who fight in wars and resources from those countries would be hard to obtain so they either have to pay more or afford less and in the end, they get less profit.
I think that Al Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize was because Gore has always been an environmentalists. He pushes to help educate people about global warming and the struggle against climate change. He is a credible person writing a few books and even participating in the government that helped contribute to create a national information infrastructure. I also think he was given the Nobel Peace Prize was because this speech was a warning for people, basically if they don't lessen how much people pollute.

Nobel Prize

The Nobel Prize Dr. Hawa Abdi

Dr. Hawa Abdi helped change the world for the better. One example of how she changed the world for the better is that she became one of the only female doctors in Somalia, which gave hope to women everywhere. Another way Dr. Abdi helped the world for the better is that she treated poor, sick, and/or wounded patients in the conflict stricken country of Somalia.

 Dr. Hawa Abdi improved the world by creating a hospital that served 100,000 people and educated children. These are just a few ways how Dr. Hawa Abdi demonstrated changing the world for the better.

Dr. Hawa Abdi risked her life for others. One way she risked her life is when a horrible war broke out in her home country of Somalia, Dr. Hawa Abdi chose to stay to help care for the wounded and the sick even though she had the option to leave. Dr.

Hawa Abdi helped care for the sick even though she could have gotten herself sick. She risked her life for others again when armed gunmen ransacked her hospital. These are just some ways that Dr. Hawa Abdi exhibited risking her life for others.

One way she exhibited this trait was when 750 fighters from the Party of Islam surrounded her hospital, she would not move and she stood her ground and she was left unharmed. She let no one get in her way when she became one of the only female doctors in Somalia. Dr. Hawa Abdi still to this day heals people, even though she was almost killed while doing it. These are the ways that Dr. Hawa Abdi displayed the hero trait of determination.

The Green Belt Movement

This Nobel prize speech is for Wangari Maathai who won the Nobel Prize in 2004. The Theme of the speech was to help poor communities in need by starting a movement to give them what everybody needs to survive, food, water, and shelter. From this movement, i realized that this movement started out at something small, and was so successful that it has moved around the world to help other communities. The Green Belt movement inspires me as an individual of how successful this movement was. It made me want to contribute some way like this someday to give back and help others.

"Entire Communities also come to understand that while it is necessary to hold their government accountable, it is equally important that in their own relationships with each other, they exemplify the leadership they wish to see in their own leaders, namely justice, integrity, and trust."

This quote caught my attention because she is making a statement, but not only is she correct in her statement, she does not just speak, she shows action behind her statement which shows you the kind of character she has.

Wangari Maathia truly is an inspired individual who wants to do what she can to give back to the community. I think she won her Nobel Prize because of how inspired and driven she was to help, because we don't see a lot of people like her today. "In the course of history, there comes a time when humanity is called to shift a new level of consciousness, to reach a higher moral ground. A time time when we have to shed our fear and give hope to each other. That time is now". She found that planting trees would help give families shelter, fuel and the necessary needs to get by. It was a very simple method that wouldnt take too long and could be effective and also gave employment to help people. When she was in Kenya, Over 30 million trees were planted which led to her serving in more countries such as Ethiopia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, and others.

The Revolution of Spirit Response

The Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech for Aung San Suu Kyi initially grabbed my attention because she herself could not give the speech because she was under house arrest. Her sons accepted the prize on her behalf and gave the speech for her as well. Aung San Suu Kyi, from Burma, was placed under house arrest because of her actions in her nonviolent party.


I think the central theme of this essay is definitely the wish for the country Kyi and her sons reside in, Burma, to become a free and independent nation. As it is stated in the speech in regards to what Kyi would say if she was not under house arrest,

"She would say that this prize belongs not to her but to all those men, women and children who, even as I speak, continue to sacrifice their well being, their freedom and their lives in pursuit of a democratic Burma. Theirs is the prize and theirs will be the eventual victory in Burma's long struggle for peace, freedom and democracy".

The main reason Kyi has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize is because of her constant efforts to make Burma an independent country. Ultimately, it was her “heroic actions” made her an “important symbol in the struggle against oppression”. It is said that the Nobel Prize committee awarded her with the award to “honor her nonviolent struggle for democracy and human rights” and show “support for the many people throughout the world who are striving to attain democracy, human rights, and ethnic conciliation by peaceful means”. She wanted her country to join together and create a new nation founded on the spirit of peace and humanity.

I definitely agree with the committee in that Aung San Suu Kyi was well deserving of this award. Even though I had never heard of her actions prior to reading her acceptance speech, I believe that what she has done for her country to be most reverent.

When I finished reading this speech I was left with a sense of hope and my ideas for the future were positive. As the last line reads, “The lessons of the past will not be forgotten, but it is our hope for the future that we celebrate today”. The citizens of Burma who fought for their freedom have overcome tremendous struggle. The oppression they pushed through proved to be beneficial and with the help of Aung San Suu Kyi the country gained independence.