Greetings from Kathie Beckett
2010 Chapter President
Last year (2009) was UNESCO’s International Year of Astronomy. To celebrate Paul and I ordered a Galileoscope. (www.galileoscope.org) We decided to tackle the job of putting it together one afternoon – after all it’s aimed at teaching school-age children about the wonders of telescopes and lenses; how difficult could it be? Three nights later and with help from a PDF file, success! If it hadn’t been overcast that night we might have been able to see what Galileo saw so many hundreds of years ago instead of the outdoor lights of a house up the street. I’m glad we persevered.
This project, irritation, struggle, looking for solutions, and finally overcoming difficulties reminded me of the work our Dane County chapter accomplished this past year – and has ahead of us for 2010. Fortunately, we enter the year with a strong Executive Committee and an energetic Board.
We had an all day planning retreat on January 23rd and are enthusiastic about the possibilities of working with international student groups, reaching out to the twenty high schools and to the new members waiting for us right here in Dane County. Please join one of our four standing committees (or one of several possible ad hoc committees) and help us carry out our work plan for the year. Hear more at the February 9th Chapter Meeting.
2010 Chapter Officers and Board
Executive Committee:
- President: Kathie Beckett
- President-Elect: Todd Kummer
- Past President: John Quinlan
- Treasurer: Robert S. Chase
- Secretary: Leigh Roberts
Class of 2010 (term ending December 31, 2010)
- Ken Coffeen
- David Kuter
- Judy Rose
- Majid Sarmadi
Class of 2011 (term ending December 31, 2011)
- Paul Beckett
- Moria Kruger
- Mary Rathbun
- Board Vacancy (Any Volunteers? Contact Kathie at
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or 238-2580)
Class of 2012 (term ending December 31 2012)
- Elaine DeSmidt
- Joann Elder
- Sara Friar
- Sarah K. Ripp
Members at Large
- Bonnie Block—Newsletter Editor
- Peter Metzger—Web Manager
- Rita Reffner-- Assistant Secretary
2009 Global Citizen Award Goes to
Jennifer Loewenstein
The Dane County Chapter awarded the second Global Citizen Award at the UN Day Dinner in October 2009. Jennifer received the award for her work on behalf of the citizens of Palestine. She also presented the program at the January 2010 Chapter meeting and gave a graphic report of what is happening in Gaza.
Jennifer Loewenstein teaches Middle East Studies at the UW-Madison and spent three years as programming director for the Middle East Studies Center. She is also a freelance journalist, writer, activist and board member of the Israeli Coalition against House Demolitions-USA branch. In 2003, Jennifer founded the Madison-Rafah Sister City Project and in 2009 she founded the Carol Chomsky Memorial Fund for Gaza. Jennifer has lived and worked in Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip and Beirut, Lebanon and works on an ad hoc basis for the Mezan Center for Human Rights in Gaza City, Gaza.
Jennifer Loewenstein Accepting Global Citizen Award
She has written for the Journal of Palestine Studies, the Forced Migration Review, the Washington Report for Middle East Affairs and numerous other books, journals, print & electronic media publications. In 2005-2006 Jennifer was a Visiting Fellow at the Refugee Studies Centre at Oxford University in Oxford, England. In August 2007 she presented a paper on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at a special plenary session of the United Nations for the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium.
In June 2009 she took part in the 11th Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland where she testified as an expert witness on Gaza with the London-based Islamic Human Rights Council and in September Jennifer participated in the first Rachel Corrie Foundation delegation to the Gaza Strip. Jennifer lives in Madison with her husband, David, and her daughter Stella.
RPCV POSTERS PROJECT
The Dane County Chapter is working with the Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Wisconsin-Madison to raise money for the Chapter by selling 24”x36” color posters (see below) with five different themes. They make great gifts or will brighten up a corner of your home.
Prices are $10 for individual posters ($50 if you want it framed) or $30 for a set of all five posters in a mailing tube. For details see our website www.usadane.com or contact Bonnie Block at 256-5088 or
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This was the framed poster the Chapter presented to UN Dinner Speaker Richard Meeusen
UNA-USA RESOURCES
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Up-coming Chapter Programs
All meetings start at 7 pm in the Capitol Lakes Auditorium at 333 W. Main Street, Downtown Madison. Free Parking is available in the ramp across the street.
- February 9. Speaker is Jeremi Suri on "The Recent History and the Future of the Middle East, with Special Attention to Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan.” Suri is the E. Gordon Fox Professor of History, the Director of the European Union Center of Excellence, and the Director of the Grand Strategy Program at the University of Wisconsin. He is the author of three books.
- March 9. Speakers are from the EDGE (Empowerment through Development and Gender Equality) Project. EDGE is a student-led initiative that provides students at the UW with a platform to engage in issues of sustainable international develop-ment by connecting them with the resources necessary to create and implement community development projects abroad.
- April 13. Tentative Program on Haiti. Speaker/Panel to be announced.
- May 11. Speaker is Attorney Coleen Higgins on “Modern Piracy on the High Seas.” Higgins is a former Senior Official of the International Maritime Organization.
Year In Review by John Quinlan
2009 Chapter President
In 2009, our UNA-Dane chapter continued to be an important local voice for international justice and human rights, resonant with the globally important mission of the United Nations itself. Through an interesting and inspiring array of speakers at our monthly meetings and annual dinner, we learned how the UN and countless individuals based right here in Madison, are making a tangible difference worldwide.
This is a time when the US role vis-a-vis the UN is even more important. And while the new administration's renewed commitment to the collaborative work of the UN is encouraging, those of us who see the UN as a force for peace still have much work to do as conflict continues in so many corners of the world. Working collaboratively with the WI Network for Peace and Justice, our chapter did much to mobilize public support and to positively influence our elected representatives including productive meetings with Rep. Baldwin and the foreign policy staff of Sen. Feingold.
Much of our work at UNA-Dane is built upon a solid foundation of past accomplishment going back many decades. Side-by-side with that historic commitment exists our renewed commitment to involving the creative enthusiasm of new generations, through our illumination and support of local Model UN's, and other student-led groups working on behalf of international social justice.
John Quinlan and David Piovanetti (Middleton High School Model UN) at the October UN Day Dinner
Thank you for the privilege of being able to serve you as president. It's been a year in which I've met some amazing people, courageous players on the world stage. I've deepened in my understandings of the connections that bind us together as world citizens, as I've learned more of the UN's transformative work. But it's each one of you who have made this experience especially inspiring and encouraging. Rarely have I had the opportunity to work side-by-side with so many dedicated truth-speakers, with the courage and conviction to put their words into action.
RECAP OF CHAPTER EVENTS
October The UN Day Dinner was a great success. Almost 200 people attended and heard a keynote address by Rich Meeusen, co-chair of the Milwaukee 7 Water Council, and president/CEO of the Badger Meter Company on the topic of “Milwaukee’s Role as a UN Global Compact City for Water Technology: Benefits for Wisconsin and the World.”
Milwaukee is one of only 14 cities worldwide to receive this UN designation. According to a recent UN World Water Development Report, more than one billion people--nearly one-fifth of the world's population--lack access to safe drinking water so this is a very important topic of concern.
November The speaker was Majid Sarmadi Chapter Board member and Rothermel Bascom Professor in the School of Human Ecology. He spoke on Environmental Sustainability which is one of the Millennium Development Goals. He has a power point of the presentation and can be contacted at
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December Unfortunately our planned speakers, Tom and Lee Brown, were unable to be present for health reasons so Joe Elder UW Madison Professor of Sociology pinch hit with a timely presentation on "President Obama's Afghan/ Pakistan strategy and the United Nations." Links to a video of his presentation are at our new Chapter website.
Website www.unadane.com is now a dynamic site for information on the UN and UNA, with links to UN and UNICEF Haiti relief efforts, a story of Madisonian Ben Skinner’s ties to a Port-au-Prince Children’s Home, UN Day Dinner photos, future event previews, and other chapter highlights.
JOIN A CHAPTER COMMITTEE
Our Chapter By-laws set up four Standing Committees—Program, Communications, Membership and Finance and Budget. In order for our Chapter to function well we need to have active members on each of these committees.
- The Program Committee finds speakers for our regular monthly meetings and is responsible for planning the annual UN Day Dinner in October. Committee members are needed because the Dinner is our biggest event of the year. Chair is Todd Kummer at
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- The Communications Committee is responsible for the Newsletter, Website and all communications regarding the Chapter as well as advocacy on UNA issues. Chair is John Quinlan at
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- The Budget and Finance Committee is responsible for Chapter finances including fund raising. Chair is Chapter Treasurer Bob Chase at
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- The Membership Committee maintains the Chapter list, recruits new members, and oversees community outreach. By serving here, you support efforts to involve more young people, and to reach new audiences with our work. The position of Chair is not yet filled; please contact Kathie Beckett to sign up.
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