We are the Johnson County affiliate of the United Nations Association - USA, a national, non-partisan, non-governmental movement advocating for the life-changing and life-saving work of the United Nations.

Board of Directors: Jerry Anthony, President; Britta Loftus, Vice President; Amy Brewster, Secretary; Meredith Gall, Treasurer; Mercedes Bern-Klug, Stefanie Bowers, Jenna Eastman, Barbara Eckstein,

Farnaz Fatahi, John W. Fuller, Wangui Gathua, Sara Haroun, Donna Hirst, Bijou Maliabo, Lucie Mordecai,

Jean Paul Mugemuzi, Stefanie Munsterman, Blake Rupe, Sanaa Sebaaly, Claudia Suazo, and Sarah Terlouw

E-Newsletter Editor, Jim Olson

Human Rights Day, December 10

Join us on Wednesday, December 10, the anniversary of the UN General Assembly's adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.



Reading of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

City High School Model United Nations Students

Wednesday, December 10, 3:00 p.m.

Fountain Stage in the Iowa City Ped Mall

Lulu Rongerude, Barbara Eckstein and Jerry Anthony at the opening reception at the St..Louis City Hall.

JCUNA President Jerry Anthony, Immediate Past President Barbara Eckstein, Treasurer Meredith Gall, UI student intern Lulu Rongerude, and Jim Throgmorton were among 190 chapter leaders who attended the UNA-USA Leadership Summit in St. Louis November 14-16. Here are some take-aways:

• Lulu Rongerude: While our chapter can feel small, seeing everyone together felt very impactful.

• Lulu: There are more ways to promote the work of the United Nations than I previously thought. It was inspiring seeing so many people from different fields and backgrounds, whether from volunteers, to authors, to NGOs, all working toward the same thing.

• Jerry Anthony: One session focused on the need for good leadership to ensure a healthy chapter. There were two key takeaways from this session – a) that JCUNA has had a great leadership team for a long time, and b) a quote attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt: “A good leader inspires confidence in the leader; a great leader inspires confidence among themselves.”

• Jerry: A key takeaway from a session on climate change was the work being done by the Orange County (CA) chapter. This chapter is developing a dashboard to document greenhouse gas emissions in Orange County to help local decision-makers and the public track the emission impacts of different development decisions – something that perhaps JCUNA could adopt in the near future.

• Meredith Gall: It was inspiring to see so many younger, capable leaders--eager to learn more and advocate for the UN. 

• Meredith: Helpful information when advocating for the UN: For all the benefits of the UN (saving lives, feeding the hungry, providing shelter for those displaced by conflict to name a few), it costs each person in the US less than $2. "In total, U.S. payments to the UN account for just 0.2% of the overall annual federal budget. Fun fact: a large latte costs twice as much than the U.S. per capita cost of UN regular budget dues!"