Over 1000 pupils and students from schools and colleges around Yaoundé have been sensitized on the role of the United Nations in relation to present day challenges. Over 1000 pupils and students from schools and colleges around Yaoundé have been sensitized on the role of the United Nations in relation to present day challenges. On Tuesday October 20th 2009, a caravan of some UN agencies represented in Cameroon under the UN4U campaign led by the United Nations Information Centre carried out information and sensitization activities at the New Century Bilingual School Mfandena, Lycée General LeClerc, and the English High School Obili.
UNIC and the United Nations Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Central Africa (UNCHRD) informed pupils at the new century Bilingual School and students at Lycée General LeClerc of the UN’s role in promoting peace amongst countries of the world, its commitment to the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) especially the two focus goals of this year’s campaign – Eradicating extreme poverty and Hunger, and ensuring Environmental sustainability. While UNIC’s Anne Nsang stressed on the Millennium Development Goals with particular emphasis on environmental sustainability (climate change), the Centre’s communication and advocacy officer Franklin Kiven examined the cross cutting role of human rights in the attainment of the MDGs. He dwelled on fundamental human rights, the role of the Centre in the promotion of human rights in Central Africa as well as the composition of the human rights component of the United Nations.
Joining the caravan at the Lycée General LeClerc and the English High School, other UN agencies like UNESCO and WFP presented their activities in Cameroon and also answered questions from students. UNESCO emphasized on the need to join the clubs existing in schools as a forum for information sharing and discussion on the role of the United Nations while WFP dwelt on MDG 2 on the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger while also presenting some of its activities in Cameroon.
Tuesday’s activities came after Sunday’s sports march in Yaoundé in honor of the ‘STAND UP and TAKE ACTION against Poverty’ campaign which recorded unprecedented turn-out the world over.
The unprecedented turn-out saw the Guinness World Record shattered as 173,045,325 citizens gathered at over 3,000 events in more than 120 countries, demanding that their governments eradicate extreme poverty and achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Reports say the turn out has been certified by Guinness World Records as the largest mobilization of human beings in recorded history, an increase of about 57 million people over last year.