HDI Brings Delegation of U.N. Ambassadors to Houston, Texas
January 2007Executive Summary
The Humpty Dumpty Institute (HDI) sponsored the visit of two United Nations Ambassadors to Houston, Texas on January 24-26, 200, as part of its U.N. Across America Program. The delegation was composed of H.E. Mr. Adamantios Vassilakis, Permanent Representative of Greece to the United Nations and H.E. Mr. Andreas Mavroyiannis, Permanent Representative of Cyprus to the United Nations. Mrs. Vassilakis also participated, but at her own personal expense. The visit fostered discussion on U.N. reform, U.N. development assistance, and U.N. peacekeeping activities.
The formal program began on the morning of Thursday, January 25, with a behind-the-scenes, V.I.P. tour of NASA's Johnson Space Center. After an hour discussion with NASA Center Director, Michael Coats, the Ambassadors had the opportunity to meet astronauts in training for the next mission, to visit the control rooms for the space shuttle and the space station, and to crawl into full scale training models of the crafts. After the morning tour we gave the Ambassadors a taste of Texas culture with lunch at an authentic Texas BBQ restaurant. The Ambassadors gave an exclusive interview with the Houston Chronicle following lunch.
Later that evening the Ambassadors were invited to speak at a private event hosted by the Houston Committee on Foreign Relations (HCFR), an organization dedicated to increasing understanding of world affairs and U.S. foreign policy. The event, held at the River Oaks Country Club, gave the Ambassadors an opportunity to share their experiences at the United Nations and discuss issues relevant to their countries. The event included a formal question and answer session with the audience. Over one hundred leaders of the Houston medical, legal, energy, and academic community were in attendance. Many expressed a desire that HDI consider doing additional programs with more ambassadors in Texas.
On Friday, January 26, the Ambassadors were welcomed at Houston's City Hall, where they visited the largest Official City Visitors exhibition in the United States. This was followed by a meeting with Houston Council Member M.J. Khan, Chair of the International Liaison and Protocol Committee of the 14-person City Council. HDI was able to use this opportunity to thank him for the transportation and security which the city of Houston provided for this program at no cost to HDI.
This was the first visit by either Ambassador to Houston; both were extremely appreciative to HDI for organizing the program. Ambassador Vassilakis asked if it would be possible for HDI assist his Mission in developing further contacts on the Hill. Ambassador Mavroyiannis asked if we could work with him in bringing a delegation of business and political leaders to view U.N. operations in Cyprus.
