Guiglo welcomes the 30th edition of United Nations Days

In a festive ambiance on Thursday, 5 December 2013 in Guiglo, in the west of Côte d'Ivoire, the 30th edition of United Nations Days, an information and sensitisation campaign organised by the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) and UN agencies, was celebrated with a massive turnout of local people. The celebration, which coincided with the commemoration of International Volunteer Day in the same town, was presided over by the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Côte d'Ivoire, Aïchatou Mindaoudou.

Thousands of people of all ages, men, women, school children etc braved the hot sun to express their gratitude to the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI).

The 30th edition of UN Days started early in the morning with a blood donation session, which attracted a huge crowd of donors, and an HIV/AIDS sensitisation meeting. Some 50 packs of blood were collected, while UNOCI's Moroccan Battalion distributed 55,000 litres of water and provided two ambulances and a medical team on standby during the activities.

Preparatory workshops were organised with specific targets such as women, traditional chiefs, the media, the police and gendarmerie on the central theme of the event which was "The United Nations and the people of Guiglo, hand in hand for the consolidation of peace, the promotion of national reconciliation and Volunteerism for Development".

The Special Representative, who paid a courtesy call on the Prefect of the Region, Messamba Koné, and held discussions with traditional chiefs, reiterated UNOCI's support to Ivorians and welcomed the cooperation between the UN Mission and its national partners for the consolidation of peace and the achievement of common objectives for development.

Two Quick Impact Projects (QIPs) carried out by the UN Mission were inaugurated as part of the Day's activities. They were the rehabilitation of the Institute of Educational Training for Women in Guiglo and three classrooms built for the primary school of Excellence. Both ceremonies were presided over by Mrs Mindaoudou, and took place in the presence of the UNOCI's UNV Manager, Jacques Mouaya, who highlighted the contribution made by his staff. "This year, the theme being, "youth, world, active", we would like to see young people who make up the majority of the population, take on the spirit of volunteerism and act together, not in isolation, because one volunteer cannot really change a lot,"he said.

A forum took place on Friday, 6 December in the public square of the town during which local people and UN staff discussed the role and activities of the UN Mission and UN agencies. A round-up of the results of the workshops with the target groups and further discussions with local people will mark the end of the event.