UN-day in 24 October The FAO’ s Nordic office co-organized the UN-day celebration 24 October with the UN ‘family’ in Stockholm. The event focused on the progress and the future of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDG). It took place at Stockholm’s Central station which is located at the heart of the city and receives over 250,000 visitors every day. The station is a place where a wide range of people can be reached including students, families, senior citizens and professionals.

MDG exhibition: MDG 1 with a quote by José Graziano da Silva at the UN-day exhibition at Stockholm Central Station

The event included an exhibition on the MDGs where eight different pillars represented the goals with information on the aim of each goal, its progress so

far, a relevant quote and an individual success story related to the goal and the work of the UN. The pillar for MDG 1 incorporated a quote from the Director- General José Graziano da Silva: "As we renew and increase our commitment to reach the Millennium Development Goal for hunger reduction, let's look beyond it, towards the total eradication of hunger because, when it comes to hunger, the only acceptable number is ‘zero'"(see above picture). The pillar also included the latest poverty figures as well the most recent hunger figures. from SOFI. During the day there were several speakers addressing the progress and the importance of future work concerning the MDGs. Among the speakers was

Gunilla Carlsson, Swedish Minister for Gunilla Carlsson, Swedish Minister for International Development Cooperation, International Development Cooperation Margareta Winberg, chair of UNWOMEN , former Minister for Agriculture and Annika Söder, Executive Director of the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation and former ADG at FAO. Annika raised the importance of food security several times in her speech.

Further, there were various stations with activities for visitors including the very popular MDG ‘voting’ station. The idea was to use this as a way to engage people in the issues and to get them to interact with the UN staff and volunteers. Here visitors could ‘vote’ for what goal they thought the most important. Many said that they could not possibly choose just one goal but that efforts must be made in all eight areas, which of course corresponds to the standpoint of the UN. MDG 1 – eradicate extreme poverty and hunger- received the most ‘votes’ with 28%. Many argued that eradicating hunger is the most urgent matter and that poverty must be combated in order to obtain resources to work on the other goals. This was then followed by goal 2 ’Voting’ station for the MDGs (Achieve universal primary education, 20%) and 7 (Ensure environmental sustainability, 18%).

The UN-day in Stockholm 24 October was arranged by FAO, UNDP, UNHCR, UNICEF, UN WOMEN, the Swedish National Commission for UNESCO and UNA

Students discussing with a UN-voluntary intern UN-day exhibition

Voluntary interns at the FAO Nordic office, Amanda Johnson Children voting for MDGs and Jonatan Olofsson

Young girl with MDG ’tattoo’ and balloon School class visits the exhibition

The UN-day in Stockholm 24 October was arranged by FAO, UNDP, UNHCR, UNICEF, UN WOMEN, the Swedish National Commission for UNESCO and UNA