Special Session: Mission (almost) impossible

NEW YORK, 5 May 2002 - Under any circumstances, it would be a logistical feat to plan a conference involving more than 60 heads of state and governments, 200 parliamentarians from 77 countries, 2,000 delegates from non-governmental organizations, over 350 child delegates from 132 different countries, hundreds of journalists, and dozens of business leaders and celebrities. But imagine having to do it all twice!

The first-ever UN General Assembly Special Session on Children was originally scheduled to be held 19-21 September 2001. Then because of the September 11 tragedy, the Special Session was postponed. In January 2002, the UN rescheduled it for May.

"The September date was fixed two years in advance. The new date was fixed less than five months ahead of time," says Nora Galer, Advisor to the Special Session. "We had to try to get all of the Heads of State and Government and eminent leaders and leaders from the private sector to re-schedule."

One of the biggest challenges UNICEF, as the secretariat for the Special Session, faced was convincing the UN General Assembly that children should be able to participate in the Special Session. A UN Special Session has never before included children.

"Children will actually be taking the floor and addressing the General Assembly," says Galer. "It's really amazing."

Once UNICEF got beyond those major hurdles, there were innumerable other logistical challenges. UNICEF staff needed to schedule 200 events, choose appropriate venues for them and get hundreds of delegates, journalists and UNICEF consultants accredited for the session. For the past week, those charged with planning the events have also been overwhelmed with phone calls, questions, and coordinating dozens of volunteers. Aaron Nmungwun, UNICEF's Project Officer for Sales and Distribution, is working with his team to ensure that some 900 boxes of pamphlets and publications all get to the events where they are supposed to be.