Wow!! Yes, that is me, 5 feet from the Secretary General of the United Nations!!! That happened!
Needless to say, I was ecstatic to have been given this incredible opportunity. In preparing for the talk, one thing was immediately evident. While I had spent four years learning about the United Nations, I had little familiarity with its commander and chief. Mr. Ban is deemed by a few a "nowhere man" and certainly does not bring the same level of charisma to the office as his predecessor Kofi Annan. Others claim that this absence from the international stage represents Mr. Ban's stated commitment to action not talk. Rumors of corruption, hardly unusual, swirl around his head. Mr. Ban's political philosophy seems to run fairly parallel to the UN's, though it is unclear to me whether this harmony is natural or necessitated.
Mr. Ban has been attacked for lack of eloquence and reliance on platitudes. I found neither claim to hold substantial weight. His eloquence is above question or rebuke. Perhaps he differs from other political players in favoring comprehensive detail over empty rhetoric, but I am not upset by that decision. His platitudes were quippy and rhetorically strong. My personal favorite was his comment on the need for nuclear disarmament: "There are no right hands for the wrong weapons." Pretty good.
His speech covered everything from the refugee crisis to climate change to the status of women globally. He opted to give a broad overview of the issues facing the world from his perspective. While I must say that the ideas he expressed were not novel, his statistics were compelling and his presentation effectively simple. It was reassuring, if nothing else, to know that the leader of the international community had the right issues in mind.
Before his general speech, there was a more intimate exchange between Mr. Ban and the students present. While there was one wasted question ("What makes you get out of bed in the morning"), the majority of the questions asked were insightful and clearly reflected levels of familiarity with the subject matter in question. It was gratifying to see so many young people like myself taking an interest in international affairs.
Beyond being an excellent opportunity, the dinner reaffirmed the tacit optimism with which I view the international system. It is evident that today's leaders (Mr. Ban) have a grip on the issues at hand and tomorrow's leaders (students like me) have the passion needed to continue the struggle and keep the UN's mission alive.
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