XUNICEF News and Views

Dr Jeutner invited me to meet his Faculty colleagues and students to tell my story of: The White Busses. A rescue mission by the Swedish Red Cross, early 1945

Dear XUNICEF team, March 2026 rapidly is coming to an end. End of tenure. With my latest effort in painting flowers in oil on canvas I wish to thank you for msny years of your immensely appreciated devotion to keep us XUNICEF readers abreast of those events that are locked closest in our hearts.

I took this photo in Bethlehem on 9 January 2020 during the Orthodox Christmas. We see here Coptic worshipers in the Holy Church of the Nativity.

  WMU Graduation 2024 Address by Professor Maximo Q. Mejia, Jr Introduction  More than 70 percent of the earth is covered by ocean, an immense source of life. The ocean provides both food and many of the natural resources that sustain us. The ocean serves as the primary conveyor of the transport of goods around the world. It is a natural and essential way tied to the sustainability of the survival of both human beings and other species.

 Oil, a medium that I had not used before, was the next challenge. When I learnt to paint with oil, it was in the midst of a long dark Nordic winter. It struck me that only bold colours would do as they might brighten the gloom of that season.  They did. I set out painting floral motifs, well knowing that there are as many ways to paint a flower as there are painting artists. Georgia O’Keefe came to mind as a master who might flood me with inspiration. However, there was a problem in that Georgia painted on huge canvases and I was not ready for that. I wanted to paint on smaller canvases. When Georgia O’Keefe once was asked why her flowers are so big, she said that if she painted the flowers small nobody would notice them. I thought, my flowers at 25 x 25 cm will be small but most of them will captivate with the brilliance of their colour tones. What is shown below are six eclectic floral paintings. Some of them are inspired by masters, including Helene Schjerfbeck and Em...

The Big Square, Stortorget

The UNGA declared 1979 as the International Year of the Child (IYC) to mark the twentieth anniversary of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child of 1959. The history of the rights of children dates back to 1924 and the League of Nations.Over the years, the concept of ‘the best interest of the child’ became a beacon. The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) was adopted in 1989. Since 1991, experts from UNICEF and child-friendly NGOs have met to analyze the data from the CRC reporting process. As a result, in 1995 the Child Rights International Network (CRIN) was established. UNICEF staff carried a copy of the CRC in their pocket for ready reference, and they were all guided by the CRC principles. My personal memories UNICEF prepared for the IYC by opening two offices: one in New York HQ, the other in Geneva. The latter was to be nearer the national committees for UNICEF (natcoms) which were mostly located in Europe. My duties with the IYC Geneva Office included liaising wi...

  By Franziska von Vietinghoff Introduction A haboub, as opaque as a sand storm can be, welcomed me in Khartoum to my four+ years in Sudan. The air pilot tried three landings before success. With excitement I was looking forward to my first field assignment with UNICEF. I was the first international woman staff member in the UN System in Sudan. The story is an abridged and translated version of what I wrote in Swedish, after leaving Sudan. The text reflects my infinite respect for Sudan and her people. It is based on Sudanese legends, for legends are excellent cultural markers. Unlike proverbs that are tricky to translate, legends have an easily understood flow of their own. The Baobab Tree One day in the Almighty’s process of creation in the desert, it was the turn for the baobab tree to be properly placed. The ma...

Theotokos Orante "This icon shows the Virgin Mary praying.  This is a type of Maria icon style where Maria turns her body and gaze to the onlooker. She raises her arms, opening her palms in prayer. The Christ Child is seen in a medallion on her chest. Maria and the Child are protected by three seraphim, six-winged angels who are highest in the hierarchy of angels." Franziska We are delighted to present a collection of orthodox icon paintings by Franziska Von Vietinghoff-Riesch.  Below is a slideshow.  The first two slides may take time to load, so please be patient.  Note that if you click on a slide, the show will stop and you will need to refresh your page to start over.  If possible, view the show in full screen.  

Each week we present the works of one of the XUNICEF photographers or artists represented in our galleries. This week we feature the works of Franziska Von Vietinghoff.  Franziska presented some of her fascinating icons in our September 2019 special edition on the Arts and Artists of XUNICEF.  In our March 2020 special edition on travel she took us with her to Bethlehem during her period of study in the city at Christmas.  To watch the slideshow of all the paintings - click on the first image in the slideshow below. Be patient - each slide takes about 10 seconds to load, but the first slide often takes a little longer to load. Note that if you stop the slideshow, it will not start again on its own. You need to reload the page. It may be easier to simply visit our galleries at the addresses shown below. Also be sure to visit our Instagram p...

False claim: This is a 1920 letter from Scott Fitzgerald in quarantine during the Spanish Influenza By Reuters Editorial View Original A letter purportedly written by F. Scott Fitzgerald during the Spanish Influenza quarantine in 1920 went viral on social media. The letter, which mentions other famous figures like Ernest Hemingway and Zelda Fitzgerald, allegedly describes the quarantine and how “at this time, it seems very poignant to avoid all public spaces.” The text has been shared at least 2,800 times on Facebook ( here , here , here ) and at least 1,355 times on Twitter ( here , here ) as of March 19,2020. Most of the posts with this claim read: “A LETTER FROM F. SCOTT FITZGERALD, QUARANTINED IN 1920 IN THE SOUTH OF FRANCE DURING THE SPANISH INFLUENZA OUTBREAK. Dearest Rosemary, It was a limpid dreary day, hung as in a basket from a single dull star. I thank you for your letter. Outside, I perceive what may be a collection of fallen leaves tussling against a trash can. It rin...