Recent Viewpoints : United Nations (UN), Racism and Globalization

I am reflecting on two interesting views on Globalization, both pertaining to the United Nations (UN).
The first is the much hyped boycott of the United Nations racism conference in Geneva by western governments lead by the US. Media also played up Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's triad in Geneva. All this, however, underscores the racism that most of us come across in our lives. Though the world around us continues to globalize, the prevalence of pockets of racism is sure to send out red-flags. While leaders, Presidents and Prime Ministers talk about this issue, you and I have to watch, and sometimes see it rear its ugly form in our daily lives. A few blogger responses:

• What to remember from Geneva
• The Geneva hatefest is all but over
• Summary from Wall Street Journal Europe

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon spoke at a colloquium at Princeton University, US, on “The Imperative for a New Multilateralism,” in which he proposed focusing on securing global public goods, including global financial and economic stability, a major push against poverty, restoring peace and stability, addressing climate change, advancing global health, countering terrorism, and ensuring disarmament and non-proliferation. climate-l.org.

The Daily Princetonian gives more details of the talk. It is interesting how the thought leaders are beginning to weave the big picture issues together in the context of globalization. “The worldwide economic crisis has vividly underscored how the world has indeed shrunk and its people are so interconnected” This quote in the article makes one reflect on the interconnected nature of our lives and globalization.

Bottomline is that while the thought leaders profess their viewpoints at invited conferences and sessions, you and I get some additional food for thought. All doing its bit to answer the question: what does this all mean to me? Bloggers views on this talk:

• UN chief: economic crisis threatens more racism
• UN chief call for “new multilateralism” to address global challenges