22 March 2021
Dear Reader,
Your editors at News & Views are pleased to present the March 2021 edition of the Quarterly. This edition is the first of four such editions we plan for 2021 in celebration of UNICEF’s 75th Anniversary. Each will cover a 25 year period of our history, with the final edition (December 2021) presenting the thoughts of our members on the years ahead for UNICEF.
The March 2021 edition looks at ‘our first 25’ - the years from December 1946 to December 1971. During this important period a small group of advocates pulled together the money, people, and legal structure needed to address the needs of children, assert their rights, and help governments develop the services and institutions critical for their welfare.
Only a few or our current members worked for UNICEF during those early years. Our editorial team is fortunate to include one of them - Fouad Kronfol. Fouad inspired and led us in pulling together the many facts, memoirs and articles we present here. Moreover, as one of our few who was actually ‘there’ in those years, Fouad was able to author several intimate articles about the personalities of the period.
This edition consists of four main parts:
Our feature article - ‘Then, they were there, for The Children and the Nations’ by Maggie Black. We are deeply grateful to Maggie for providing this wonderful overview of ‘our first 25’.
“Glimpses” - Several articles on various aspects of our history in those first years:
While all the articles are ones we hope you will read, please begin by reading Detlef Palm’s article, ‘Chim - UNICEF’s First Photographer’ and watching the linked video.. Do not miss the video, which was produced by the German National Committee from photographs by Chim. The photos present an extraordinary view of Europe’s children following World War II. We are sure that the images will stick with you as they did with us.
“Our Members Recall” - Articles contributed by our members. We thank everyone who took the time to record their memories of the people who helped to create UNICEF and set it on its path. We hope these articles will inspire more members to write about their memories.
“The Nobel” - we have several articles about the event, including one by a member who was there and played a key role - Jack Ling. In addition to Jack’s article, be sure to watch the video of the speech of Henry Labouisse as he accepted the Nobel Prize on UNICEF’s behalf.
The careful reader will quickly note that this edition has one glaring omission - the absence of a substantial article about our second Executive Director, Henry Labouisse. Labouisse assumed leadership of UNICEF in early 1965, immediately following the death of Maurice Pate. Thus he led the organization for the final six years of the period we cover here, as well as eight years of the next period. We decided that we should cover Mr. Labouisse in the next edition which we plan for June 2021.
Join us in celebrating - with this edition we are marking our third year of publishing the Quarterly. You can see our first quarterly edition from March 2018, by clicking here.
We look forward to hearing your thoughts on this edition. Our coverage of UNICEF’s 75 years is not limited to the Quarterlies. We hope to continue our coverage in the Weekly Updates as well. So please continue to contribute your articles and photos for inclusion there or in the coming editions of the Quarterly.
Many thanks to you, our readers for your ideas, articles, photos and comments.If you find any difficulty in opening or downloading the Quarterly, please let us know. Our email address is: xunicef.news.views@gmail.com.
Our very best wishes. Stay well, stay happy, stay in touch.
Your volunteer editors at News & Views
Sree Gururaja
Fouad Kronfol
Doreen Lobo
Gianni Murzi
Tom McDermott
Detlef Palm
Nuzhat Shahzadi
.
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