Area: Coventry, West Midlands
Researcher: Rod Fielding
Rod, who is part of the UNA Trust, is also part of his local council's peace committee.
Here are some Coventry's links to the global work of the UN:
- UN High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations - His Excellency Mr Nassir Abdulaziz Al - Nasser made a special trip to Coventry. According to the Coventry Telegraph “Coventry was chosen for the visit in celebration of its role as a city of peace and reconciliation”. This heritage of promoting peace goes back to the Cathedral's post war reconciliation program and the councils ongoing programme of promoting peace in the world.
- Coventry troops were deployed as blue beret peacekeepers in Cyprus. BBC News reported that the troops were challenged with keeping the peace between Greek and Turkish forces, separated, in Nicosia, by no more than a cobbled street.
- In 1979, the International Year of the Child was celebrated in Coventry through a programme described by UNESCO as the most comprehensive in the UK . A part of that programme involved the Cathedral and local schools raising £8,000 to buy a medically equipped Landover for use in Calcutta. The vehicle, given by Landrover, was seen in Calcutta with the UN IYC logo and the words “To children of Calcutta from children of Coventry”.
As a part of acknowledging Coventry's links to the UN and celebrating the UN's 70th aniversary, Rob Fielding presented the city's mayor with a commemorative charter