On Friday, 1 June, the annual student observance for World Environment Day, with the climate change-related theme of "Melting Ice: A Hot Topic", was held in at UNHQ. The interactive programme featured a statement by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to the UNHQ audience as well as to secondary school students in Karachi, Pakistan; Vancouver, British Columbia, and Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada, linked via video-conference. The guest speaker was Mr. Andrew C. Revkin, New York Times Environment Correspondent and author of The North Pole Was Here: Puzzles and Perils at the Top of the World. The event, organized by the Department of Public Information and UNEP, was webcast live.

UN Secretary General Mr. Ban Ki-moon ©UN Photo Eskinder Debebe

Mr. Andrew C. Revkin, NY Times ©UNEP Photo Gabor Szilagyi

On Tuesday, 5 June, on the Plaza at UNHQ's Visitor's Entrance, a series of events took place:

Elementary school children from PS 124 in New York City's Chinatown presented a multimedia performance entitled "Fishes Feed Us" -- a look at the state of the world's marine resources through the eyes and words of children around the world (organized by Art and Science Collaborations, Inc. (ASCI) and UNEP.

©UNEP Photo Gabor Szilagyi

This was followed by a visit by Terri and Bindi Irwin, the wife and daughter of the late Steve Irwin, of 'Crocodile Hunter' fame. The Irwins read to the children from the UNEP children's book, "Tore and the Town on Thin Ice" They were also greeted by UN Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro.

©UNEP Photo Gabor Szilagyi

©UNEP Photo Gabor Szilagyi

The World Federation of UN Associations (WFUNA) and the International Education and Resource Network ( iEARN) then launched "Our Footprints, Our Future: A world youth initiative on reducing greenhouse gases". The event included a display of hand-painted shoes to be exhibited along the public installation "Uniting Painting".

©UNEP PhotoGabor Szilagyi

©UNEP Photo Gabor Szilagyi

©UNEP Photo Gabor Szilagyi

On Thursday, 7 June, UNEP and the UN's NGO Section organized an NGO briefing in observance of World Environment Day. Speakers included Ms. Joan Eamer, Manager of the Polar Programme at UNEP/GRID-Arendal in Norway (via videoconference); Mr. Alistair Fernie, Counsellor, Permanent Mission of the United Kingdom to the United Nations; and Dr. Alan Robock, Professor, Department of Environmental Sciences, Rutgers University, and lead author of the 3rd IPCC Assessment Report. Panelists discussed the various aspects of climate change, including the recently released 4th IPCC Assessment Report. The discussion also addressed the new UNEP publication on the polar and glacier regions---"Global Outlook for Snow and Ice" as well as the recent, unprecedented Security Council session, on 17 April, on potential threats to international peace and security posed by climate change.
(webcast archive)

©UN Photo	©UN Photo
©UN Photo	©UN Photo

For information on the global observance of World Environment Day, including various information materials, please visit the UNEP website at www.unep.org/wed/2007