BAN KI-MOON TRAVELS TO SAN FRANCISCO FOR VISIT TO HISTORIC UN SITES

BAN KI-MOON TRAVELS TO SAN FRANCISCO FOR VISIT TO HISTORIC UN SITES
New York, Jul 26 2007 11:00AM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is headed to San Francisco, California, today on a professional and personal visit to sites connected with the founding of the United Nations as well as the first home he stayed in outside of his native South Korea in what would eventually become a lifelong diplomatic career.

During his two-day stay in the city, the Secretary-General will hold official meetings focused on the issue of climate change -- a key priority of his administration -- but his first stop after landing is a town called Novato, where he will be reunited with 90-year old Lib Patterson, the woman who, in 1962, hosted the young Ban Ki-moon on his first trip overseas, as a visiting student.

Over the 45 years they have known each other, Mr. Ban and Mrs. Patterson have met on both sides of the Pacific. Their last encounter was in San Francisco in 2006, before Mr. Ban was elected Secretary-General.

From Novato, he is scheduled to return to San Francisco for a tour of the Ferry Building, a marketplace specializing in local, organic produce, before proceeding to the War Memorial's Opera House and Herbst Theater where the UN Charter was signed in 1945.

Gregory Ridenour, the site's Assistant Managing Director, said its roots in conflict and connection to peace hold special significance. "The War Memorial and Opera House were built to honour the San Franciscans who served in World War I, and then to have the UN delegates come here with the idea of forming an organization that would lessen the likelihood of repeating that war I think is a nice balance to the two purposes of the building," he told the UN News Service.

The Secretary-General will later attend a Town Hall Meeting and Reception organized by the World Affairs Council, where officials say his keynote address will focus on the importance of the United Nations in addressing today's global challenges.

Evan Morrisey, Program Coordinator of Global Policy Programmes of
Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA), said Mr. Ban's visit comes at a critical juncture. "It's a really important time for the UN and the Secretary-General himself and this new administration to come out and meet with the American people and spread knowledge not only of the UN but also of the Secretary-General's priorities here in San Francisco," he said.

Mr. Ban's Town Hall meeting speech, officials say, will address the issue of climate change, also the subject of his programme tomorrow with California Governor Arnold Schwarzeneggar.

2007-07-26 00:00:00.000

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