A signing of the hymn, Love Will Guide Us, marked the beginning of the 2017 John Gibbard Award Ceremony, held on United Nations Day at the Unitarian Church in Vancouver. The United Nations Association of Canada, Vancouver branch (UNAC-V) awarded this year’s prize to Ms. Akanksha Thakur, an exeplary case of a young person living the values of the United Nations and making a positive contribution in the their community.
The John Gibbard Memorial Award is presented annually by the UNAC-V Canada in recognition and memory of John Gibbard who was a supporter of the League of Nations from its creation in 1919, in the wake of the First World War. When the league ceased to exist, John Gibbard continued to support the ideals upon which the league had been founded. After the formation of United Nations post war, John Gibbard became an active member of the UNAC and was dedicated to involving youth in the creation of a better world for all.
United Nations Day occurs each year on October 24th, and is the ideal time to take a moment to reflect on the principles and documents that are central to the ideals United Nations, including the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, as well as the other core treaties, conventions, protocols and covenants that together work to protect and promote the life, dignity, safety and freedom for all human beings.
This year’s award recipient, Ms Thakur is a recent graduate from Simon Fraser University (SFU). Ms Thakur has been instrumental in helping to build an inclusive curriculum and increased intercultural competence in SFU’s English as an additional language and career support programs. Thakur has also taught in public schools in Indonesia and was recently chosen to be Youth Ambassador for the Canadian Race Relations Foundation. She is on Board of Directors of Pratham Education Foundation, an NGO dedicated to educating underprivileged children in India. On receiving the award, Akanksha shared with the audience her story of moving to Vancouver from Mumbai, India 10 years earlier and how after expereriencing a racically motivated incident, ultimately motivated her to take action to stop racial injustices from occuring. Ms Thakur believes in being an agent of change (as her achievements suggests), and in the importance of living a passionate and non-judgemental life. She thanked UNAC for recognising her accomplishments.
It is with these principles in mind that the UN Association in Canada, Vancouver branch operates; much of what we see in the efforts of Akanksha Thakur reflect the UNAC-V and John Gibbard’s ideals. Congratulations to Ms.Thakur on all of her accomplishments to date!
The event concluded with the hymn, We, the Peoples of The United Nations:
We, The Peoples of The United Nations,
Determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war,
To reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, the the equal rights of men and women, and of nations large and small,
To promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,
And for these ends to practice tolerance and to live together in peace as good neighbours,
To unite our strength to maintain international peace and security,
To insure that armed force shall not be used, save in the common interest,
To employ international machinery in the promotion of the economic and social advancement of all people,
Have resolved to combine our efforts to accomplish these aims.
Thank you to the Unitarian Church and all those present at the event, and to Miss Thakur for her work in the Metro Vancouver area.
Post written by UNAC-V blog writer, Tania Arora.
Tania holds a B.com (Honours), from the University of Delhi, India and is currently pursuing a PGD in Financial Analysis at Douglas College. She has international experience in Russia & Singapore and national experience working with private firms including the Hindustan Times, The Indian Economist, The National Book Trust of India, Ministry of HRD & Make A Difference NGO. She was also associated with AIESEC in Delhi IIT & The Placement Cell of her college. A leader in creativity & innovation with strong leadership, corporate & organizational and communication skills, she is ready to set her feet firmly in Canada and to work with United Nations Association of Canada, Vancouver Branch.
Vancouver Branch of the United Nations Association in Canada 