Nations R Us Exhibition

It is always a pleasure to host art at the Palais des Nations. We put constant effort in finding ways to communicate with everyone the challenges that we all face and share the work we do at the United Nations to help overcome them.

Today I am particularly pleased because the artist we have invited is an old friend and a long-time colleague. Simone di Bagno is well known as an artist, an internationalist, story teller, and a man of the United Nations. He has produced videos, documentaries, illustrations and more. This week we host his work “Nations R Us”.

The ideals behind the UN aren’t difficult to explain. They resonate with any sensible individual. They are part of our being human.
The mission of the Organization can be told in a few words and it isn’t hard to remember: peace, rights, well-being concern all of us individually.

But when it comes explaining the mechanisms and functioning of the UN “organization”, the going gets harder.

There are myriads of essays about the UN, written by experts for experts. Our Library has the largest existing collection of these, right next to this building.

Fewer are the books written in simple language to divulge the work we do. And only a handful among these manage to explain the UN in clear and down to earth terms. Simone di Bagno’s storybook is one of these. That is why we are sharing his illustrations with you.

His book uses more images than words to convey the importance of the UN. He does not shy away from the political aspects of the Organization that are harder to explain. These are the points the non-experts don’t understand; some of these fuel the criticism and negativity about the UN we all have read and heard.
One thing I like about Simone’s work is that it makes it plain for everyone to see that the UN is on the people’s side, it’s work goes to protect everyone against injustice and war.

For that I am thankful that he created these images and he agreed to showcase them here at the Palais des Nations.

Thank you.