HDI’s Global Creative Forum Hosts U.N. Field Workers in Hollywood, CA

October 28, 2010

 

The Global Creative Forum (GCF), an independent program of the Humpty Dumpty Institute, brought three United Nations field staff to Hollywood, California on October 28, 2010. Working with the United Nations Creative Community Initiative, HDI arranged for U.N. staffers working in Haiti, Thailand, and Sudan to tell their stories to an audience of senior television and movie writers and producers brought together by GCF and the Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW). The audience included writers for top U.S. TV shows like, “Law and Order: SVU”, “Private Practice”, “Mad Men”, “Burn Notice”, and “The Good Guys”. Bill Rouhana, Chairman of HDI and GCF, discussed the goal of the GCF which is to inform the film and arts community about the work and issues of the United Nations and to build bridges between the creative community and the U.N. He was followed by U.N. Assistant Secretary General Robert Orr and Juan Carlos Brandt of the U.N. Department for Public Information. Both U.N. officials stressed the importance for the creative community to learn more about the global humanitarian work of the United Nations. They explained that if these “stories from the front lines” were better understood and conveyed, the audiences these writers and producers reach will have a much better appreciation for the work of the United Nations.

Elizabeth Jennings who works for the World Food Program (WFP) in Haiti was the first speaker. She spoke about the resilience of the Haitian people in the face of the massive catastrophes of earthquake, hunger, and cholera. Ms. Jennings described how WFP works with the Haitian people providing the necessary sustenance for them to move forward and to try to create better conditions. Olivier Mukarji who flew to Los Angeles from Darfur, Sudan where he is stationed with the United Nations Department of Peace Keeping next briefed the writers on how the United Nations strives to save the lives of the Dafurian refugees and to negotiate an end to the hostilities between the different political factions which continue to cause death and destruction. The final speaker was Gary Lewis, the Director of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime in Bangkok, Thailand. Mr. Lewis discussed the U.N.’s work at combating the scourge of human trafficking and child sex tourism and the U.N’s important role of rescuing and rehabilitating the victims.

For more information on HDI’s Global Creative Forum, please contact Joseph Merante at joe.merante@thehdi.org.