Blog: Why our work in Geneva and New York is central to achieving World Vision's mission

Welcome to the inaugural blog of the World Vision International United Nations (UN) site. This blog, and these pages, will explore the work of our offices in Geneva and New York.

World Vision’s aspiration is “for every child, life in all its fullness”. And our offices in Geneva and New York are vital to achieving this. World Vision staff in Geneva and New York strive to ensure UN policies and practices positively impact vulnerable children in the poorest regions of the world. But more broadly than that, they collaborate with the many non-governmental, academic and private sector organisations based in these cities to achieve the fulfillment children’s rights.

Why are Geneva and New York – two cities on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean – of such strategic importance to World Vision? New York is the global headquarters of the UN and home to organisations such as the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and UN Development Programme (UNDP).

Geneva is the leading centre for the promotion of sustainable economic and social development, humanitarian policy and emergency relief, and hosts a number of UN agencies including the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), Word Health Organisation (WHO) and the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

The next question then becomes, what is the UN and why is it of such significance for World Vision? The United Nations – a term coined by Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill – was established on October 24, 1945, when the UN Charter was ratified. The preamble to the Charter outlines the objectives of the organisation:

We the peoples of the United Nations determined:

• To save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, and
• To reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small, and
• To establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained, and
• To promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom

Put simply, the UN is the world’s people, acting through their representatives, seeking to create a just and prosperous world through common action.   

In the future this blog will explore the issues staff in Geneva and New York focus on – from human rights and health to environmental issues and economic development.

Read about World Vision’s work with the European Union here.