AFICS BULLETIN NEW YORK ASSOCIATION OF FORMER INTERNATIONAL CIVIL SERVANTS Vol. 52 ♦ No. 1 ♦ Winter 2019 — 2020 AFICS/NY Celebrates Staff Day (See page 4.) “The mission of AFICS/NY is to support and promote the purposes, principles and programmes of the UN System; to advise and assist former international civil servants and those about to separate from service; to represent the interests of its members within the System; to foster social and personal relationships among members, to promote their well-being and to encourage mutual support of individual members." ASSOCIATION OF FORMER INTERNATIONAL CIVIL SERVANTS/NEW YorK Honorary MemBers Other Board MemBers Martti Ahtisaari Paulette J. Austin Ban Ki-moon Steven Avedon Javier Pérez de Cuéllar Thomas Bieler Gail Bindley-Taylor Marianne Brzak-Metzler Lowell Flanders Governing Board Anthony J. Fouracre HONORARY MEMBERS Elaine Fultz Andrés Castellanos del Corral Nancy Hurtz-Soyka O. Richard Nottidge Joan McDonald Edward Omotoso Nancy Raphael George F. Saddler Warren Sach Linda Saputelli Jane Weidlund President of AFICS/NY Charities FOUndation Officers Anthony J. Fouracre President: John Dietz Vice-Presidents: Deborah Landey, Jayantilal Karia Office Staff Secretary: Demetrios Argyriades Velimir Kovacevic Deputy Secretary: Susan De Souza Librarian Treasurer: Angel Silva Dawne Gautier Assistant Treasurer: Mary Ann (Mac) Chiulli AFICS/NY OFFICE WORK DAYS ARE NOW TUESDAY TO FRIDAY, 10 A.M. TO 4 P.M. OFFICE IS CLOSED ON MONDAYS Unless otherwise noted, throughout the Bulletin the term “AFICS” is used to refer to AFICS/New York. The views and opinions expressed in the various reports, articles and illustrations in the Bulletin do not necessarily represent those of AFICS /NY, its Bureau or Governing Board, nor does the Association accept responsibility for the accuracy of information given. The mention of any product, service, organization or company does not necessarily imply its endorsement by the Association. 2 AFICS Bulletin Winter 2019 – 2020 ontents 4 THE UNITED NATIONS IN ACTION AFICS Participates in UN Day 6 AFICS/NY IN ACTION Change of Staff in AFICS/NY Office 8 WORLD WIDE REUNIONS Florida Chapter of AFICS/NY 10 NEWS YOU CAN USE Cafeteria Reopens in DC1 Building 10 BOOK REVIEWS 12 OBITUARIES 16 IN MEMORIAM 27 USEFUL INFORMATION Published periodically by the Association of Former International Civil Servants/NY Editor Design & Layout Photos Mary Lynn Hanley Laura Frischeisen Mary Ann (Mac) Chiulli Please submit news, views, photos and letters to the Editor by E-mail: [email protected] AFICS/NY webpage: www.un.org/other/afics Winter 2019 – 2020 AFICS Bulletin 3 UNITED NATIONS IN ACTION AFICS/NY Actively Participates in UN Staff Day On 6 September 2019, AFICS/NY Officials and Members were on hand to join in the celebrations STATEMENT BY PRESIDENT OF AFICS/NY AFICS/NY President, John Dietz delivered the following statement during the wreath-laying ceremony: taff Day is a special, well-established tradition for the staff of the United Nations and AFICS/NY is once again very pleased to be able to participate. SIt is very appropriate that on Staff Day we remember, and pay homage to those UN staff members, civilians, police and military personnel who had made the ultimate sacrifice and died while working to achieve the goals and aims of the Organization. As we all know, serving the United Nations is a vocation, committed to the vision of maintaining peace and security, addressing economic and social issues and responding to humanitarian crises that may occur anywhere in the world. The international civil service is unique in its diversity and vital for performing successfully the key international role that the United Nations plays in so many areas. It is there- fore highly deserved to have a day during which the dedication, commitment and professionalism of all international civil servants are duly recognized and celebrated. 4 AFICS Bulletin Winter 2019 – 2020 As President of the Association of Former members include both UN staff members and retirees. International Civil Servants in New York (AFICS/NY), I Led by its founder and Conductor, Predrag Vasic, the assure you that, although retirement has changed our orchestra played several movements from Georges official status in the UN, we retirees remain an inte- Bizet’s Carmen No. 1 and No.2 Suites, eliciting rous- gral part of the United Nations community in every ing cheers and applause from the audience that had sense – fully committed to its principles and goals, assembled for the performance in the lobby of the and available to assist whenever possible. UN’s north visitors’ entrance. So let us celebrate this day, both serving and for- mer UN staff members, as each of us has fulfilled, Informational Table for Prospective and continues to fulfill, an essential role in delivering AFICS/NY Members on the promise of the United Nations to the peoples As was the case last year, AFICS/NY maintained of the world. an informational table on Staff Day from 11:00 a.m. to 3 p.m., with volunteers from the Association on hand Performance by UNRC to distribute literature and answer questions from Symphony Orchestra those considering joining AFICS/NY in the future. Among the activities that followed was a perfor- mance by the UNRC Symphony Orchestra, whose he International Day of Older Persons (UNDOP) was observed Tat the UN on 10 October 2019. The event was marked by a Meeting from 10AM to 1PM in the ECOSOC Chamber attended by a Vice-President United Nations of AFICS/NY and its Secretary on behalf of retirees. The event was organized by the NGO Committee on ageing in New International Day York. As in the past, it was sponsored by the Mission of Argentina but also co-sponsored by a Group of Friends of Older Persons at the United Nations. of Older Persons Mostly Latin America-based, the Group also includes a number of Asian and African countries. th 29 Anniversary As promised and requested, I rep- Thursday, 10 October 2019 resented AFICS/NY at the above-men- tioned meeting. Its title, “A Journey to Age Equality,” also served to bring to light distance that the Cause of Older by Persons globally has covered over close Demetrios Argyriades, Secretary of AFICS/NY to 40 years. What started as a plea, cou- pled with a plan of action in 1982 and GA Resolution 46/91 of 16 December 1991, has now morphed into a claim advanced in the name of Equality. As Winter 2019 – 2020 AFICS Bulletin 5 both the presentation and the ensuing debate have numbers will soon triple, from roughly 150 million shown, observance of IDOP, this time around espe- in 2019 to nearly 450 million in 2050. Concurrently, cially, clearly represented a paradigm shift in the ways delivery of vastly improved health services is also Old Age is viewed increasingly these days, as com- pushing boundaries of both employability and the pared with how it was viewed at the end of the last retirement age. In large swaths of the North, retire- century. Both speakers and discussants explored a ment at age 60 is becoming an anachronism for many range of causes that brought about this change. categories, of professionals especially. However, this development is not without challenges at both ends The Demographic Challenge of the spectrum age-wise. Demography comes foremost among the con- Brought to the fore – and the floor –both for exten- tributing factors. Although unevenly spread around sive research at this year’s IDOP Meeting a new con- the globe, aging is rapidly changing the profile and cept – malleability – calls both for extensive research composition of the world’s population. The process is and policy innovation, nationally and internationally. uneven; less pronounced in the Southern Hemisphere, As the 10 October meeting clearly demonstrated, an where numbers are still growing, though at a slower emerging new reality in North America, Europe and pace. In the Northern Hemisphere and developed East Asia in particular, calls for novel approaches to countries, by contrast, aging is fast creating a distinct policy, especially in the areas of health, education new category: the 80+. It has been estimated that their and housing but also employment practices. AFICS/NY IN ACTION Change of staff in AFICS/NY office Long-time AFICS/NY Staff Member, Jamna Israni has retired from her post-service UN job after some 19 years of helping to run the office. A special luncheon was held for Jamna by her AFICS/NY colleagues in honour of her devoted attention to the Association over the years. For the moment, service to the office will continue to be provided by Velimir Kovacevic who has worked diligently with Jamna over the past few years, in particular on functions demanding knowledge of computers. Jamna (front row center) celebrates with AFICS/NY colleagues. 6 AFICS Bulletin Winter 2019 – 2020 Notes from the President Dear AFICS/NY MEMBERS, I am pleased to report that our committees are humming along at an active pace now that the chairperson of each prepares an advance work- plan spelling out activities and timetables for the months ahead. Our present committees are as follows: Pension, Health Insurance, Social and Other Events, Membership, Ageing Smart (covering such topics as fitness, finances & avoiding clutter), Social, Information Technology and Communication, Nominating, and Outreach. All AFICS/NY MEMBERS ARE WELCOME TO APPLY FOR MEMBERSHIP IN A COMMITTEE that interests them. Just call the office, which will let you know how to proceed. Especially effective and much appreciated are our free periodic “Mix and Mingle” get togethers that enable members to catch up with former co- workers while enjoying wine, cheese and grapes in a festive atmosphere. Be sure to check the AFICS/NY website for details on dates.