The 2010 General Assembly
United Nations Headquarters, 7 a.m.
The Secretary-General’s Residence, 7:15 a.m.
“Good Morning, how are you?”
Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General
“We will open this General Assembly
starting with the General Debate
by the world leaders”
“How are you, Sir?”
“Ready to go?” “Ready”
The Office
Bob Orr, Assistant-Secretary-General
for Policy Coordination and Strategic Planning
“This is the Super Bowl of Diplomacy.
This is the World Cup of Diplomacy.”
“You meet all the leaders of the people.
You discuss all the issues here.”
“It’s happening fast and furious,
and no one wants to get left out.”
Opening of the General Debate
“As we gather today in solidarity”
“Those are only two changes?”
“Those are the only two.” “Yeah”
“Every GA speech is a punctuation point.
The writing process usually takes three to four days.
In this case we probably worked
for two straight weeks.”
“So on Thursday morning at nine o’clock,
when the Secretary-General steps
before the cameras of the world,
it will be show time.”
“Today, we are being tested.
In all we do, let us send a clear message:
There can be no peace without justice.”
“I have had during the last ten days,
one hundred and ninety two events,
including one hundred and twenty bilateral meetings
with heads of state,
heads of governments and foreign ministers”
“If you took a normal event planner
from the outside world
and dropped them into the middle of GA week
they would go insane within ten minutes.”
“Just in time, Sir”
“It’s controlled chaos.”
“I chaired a High-Level Meeting on Pakistan,
a High-Level Meeting on Sudan and Somalia.”
Valerie Amos, Under-Secretary-General
for Humanitarian Affairs
“So a huge amount of work gets done.
But also the opportunity
for everyone to have a voice,
talking about the issues
that they care about.”
“Climate change and poverty issues,
global health issues.”
“So much business gets conducted
because it is in a hothouse,
it’s in a crucible.
So you can take what happened two meetings ago,
which was only twenty minutes ago,
and say “well, Prime Minister X told me this,
what do you think, mister President?’”
Dr. Asha-Rose Migiro,
Deputy Secretary-General
“So it’s a very exciting time.
But on the other hand it means
a lot of preparation.
People work almost around the clock.”
“Not just the things that you see
in terms of the speeches that get delivered,
but the stuff that goes on behind the scenes.
You know, those who are working
to translate documents,
those who work just to make sure
that people are in the right place,
the security and everything else.
And all of that leads to some
really concrete outcomes.”
“The Secretary-General launched his
Global Strategy on Women’s and Children’s Health”
“We were able to mobilize forty billion dollars
to reduce the mortality of women and children
who have been dying from preventable diseases.”
Kim Won-soo, Deputy Chef de Cabinet
“It’s amazing to watch.
One day, he may give like ten speeches
and have meetings with maybe
twenty-five, thirty different leaders,
all different topics, different priorities”
“I wake up at 4 a.m.
That gives me the best time to prepare
without any disruptions.
Once I’m in the office
I have almost no private time.
It’s like I am sitting on a conveyor belt.”
“We’ve got limited time”
“Sir, we are delighted to have you”
“I have very limited time
with my family members, unfortunately.
I’m here with my youngest granddaughter.
I’m immensely grateful to my wife and my children,
who have been very patient,
understanding my situation.”
Michael Meyer, Director of Communications
“He has one hundred and ninety two constituencies
that he needs to look after.
One hundred and ninety two nations
with interests that he must fairly reflect.”
“When I was a young child like you,
there was no classrooms for me.
I used to study outside in the dirt.”
“My background as a person
who was born in a very poor country,
whose country has risen
as one of the ten world economic powers,
means that I can play a bridge role
between developing and developed countries.
I start every day, every morning
as if this is the first day
in my office as Secretary-General."
“He keeps pushing for the small progress
that sooner or later, he knows,
will lead to big progress, even breakthroughs”
“Thank you very much, Excellencies”
“We have to show to the world that
the UN not only talks, but also delivers”
“Each time I have met those young people
who seemingly wouldn’t have any hope,
but who really wanted to have hope for me,
then you cannot but be humbled.
How can the United Nations do more for them?
“Thank you, good night. See you tomorrow."
9:40 p.m.
Directed by David Ohana
Produced by Vannina Maestracci and David Ohana
Special thanks to the Executive Office of the Secretary-General,
the United Nations Department of Safety and Security,
the Department of Public Information,
and the United Nations Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
‘Hey boys and Girls’ performed and courtesy by Evermore
www.evermoreband.com