Celebrating the UN staffers who ‘carry hope around the globe’

To people UN Day this year, UN News is taking a snapshot of conscionable 1 portion of satellite - featuring the divers contributions made by erstwhile unit members successful Brazil.

The UN Country Team successful Brazil is celebrating the juncture by highlighting the contributions of 4 erstwhile staffers who’ve each played a relation successful the Organisation's history: a veterinarian, an environmentalist, a sociologist, and a demographer.

All of them person dedicated a ample portion of their lives to the UN, and judge that unity and dialog are the champion mode to bring astir a fairer and much sympathetic world.

UN Brazil/Isadora Ferreira

Milton Thiago de Mello astatine location successful Brasilia.

Milton Thiago de Mello, Veterinarian

“The satellite aft the pandemic volition beryllium antithetic – the satellite was forced to instrumentality a break, and a caller satellite volition travel retired of that”.

This philosophical instrumentality connected COVID-19 comes from a erstwhile UN staffer who has earned the close to supply a semipermanent view. After all, this is the 2nd pandemic helium has lived through: present 105-year-old, Milton Thiago de Mello was a tiny kid erstwhile Spanish flu was spreading astir the world, sidesplitting tens of millions of people.

As good arsenic surviving that planetary wellness crisis, Mr. Thiago de Mello lived done 2 satellite wars, and travelled to galore cities and countries, moving tirelessly successful the work of technological progress.

His probe connected brucellosis, an infectious illness that affects livestock and quality health, brought him to the attraction of the Pan American Health Organization and the World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), for whom began moving successful Argentina, during the twelvemonth the wellness bureau was created, successful 1948.

UN Brazil

Cristina Montenegro worked astatine the UN, successful Brazil and abroad, for 30 years.

Cristina Montenegro, environmentalist

“I paved the mode for galore women successful the UN System”

Cristina Montenegro’s planetary UN vocation spanned 3 decades, and by the clip she retired she was the caput of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) successful Brazil, 1 of the archetypal women successful the Organisation to tally an bureau state office.

After moving astatine the United Nations Conference connected Environment and Development (better known arsenic the 1992 Earth Summit, successful Rio), the environmentalist went connected to service successful Mexico, earlier returning to Brazil to unfastened the archetypal UNEP state office.

“We started successful a play erstwhile small was said astir the environment”, she reminisced. “Then we had a boost successful 1992 with the Rio Conference, which strengthened the taxable and institutions.”

UN Brazil

João Carlos Alexim astatine the ILO bureau successful Brazil.

João Carlos Alexim, veterinarian

João Carlos Alexim ran the Brazil state bureau for different UN agency, the International Labour Organization (ILO).

During his career, helium was progressive successful immoderate pioneering projects, including initiatives that precocious the combat against kid labour, and improving adjacent opportunities and salaries for Black and women workers.

“For me, the United Nations remains the cardinal organisation centre for quality thought and civilization”, helium says, emphasizing the values that founded the UN, which stay applicable today.

UN Brazil

Mena and British histrion Vanessa Redgrave, who was invited to Bósnia by UNESCO to enactment with section artists.

Mena Mueller, demographer

Mena Mueller’s afloat sanction is Maria Helena Fernandes da Trindade Henriques Mueller, but the penchant for the shorter nickname came astir whilst she was moving for renowned UN official, Sérgio Vieira de Mello, during his clip arsenic the caput of the exigency bureau of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) successful Bosnia, erstwhile helium participated successful negotiations to extremity the warfare successful the state that killed much than 97,000 people.

Ms. Mueller was tasked with the analyzable ngo of uniting the 3 conflicting groups (Bosnians, Croats, Serbs), with a shared taste identity.

This progressive mobilising artists, journalists, activists and educators, to beryllium to the radical of the erstwhile Yugoslavia, and the extracurricular world, that the countries and historical cultures needed to beryllium supported.

“When we arrived successful the state it was hard to person radical that they weren't dead. Especially young people”, she says. “It was a immense occupation to promote them to spell on, and to find capable anticipation to physique meaningful lives”.