Activities of Secretary-General in Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2 December

United Nations Secretary‑General Ban Ki‑moon, accompanied by Madam Ban Soon‑taek, travelled to Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Tuesday, 2 December, to receive the 2014 Humanitarian of the Year award.  The Harvard Foundation had honoured the Secretary‑General with the award for his leadership and efforts to address critical global issues, including the Ebola outbreak, climate change, threats to human rights and human trafficking.

During his one-day visit, he met with members of the Harvard faculty and discussed academic institutions’ role in finding effective ways to address climate change.  He noted that many of the ideas that had emerged at the Climate Summit 2014 came from academia and that scholars from many disciplines have shown that climate action is not only possible, but also the prudent and cost-effective way forward.

Following that, the Secretary‑General met with student leaders from the Harvard Foundation, University Council, Harvard Korean Association, Asian American Association, Black Men Forum and the Black Student Association.  He urged them to become global citizens and advance the common good.

He also met with the President of Harvard University, Drew Gilpin Faust.

Later that day, the Secretary‑General received the Humanitarian of the Year award at the Harvard Memorial Church.  He told faculty and students gathered at the ceremony that our world today faces threats to peaceful coexistence, and to our physical existence on our one and only planet.  He stressed that the time is now to listen to reason and lift our eyes to the benefits of cleaner and more resilient economies.

He encouraged Harvard University to be an even bigger part of the transition to a safer, healthier, low-carbon future.  He also spoke about his Human Rights up Front initiative, which was launched in December 2013.  He said that the United Nations must act with all its strength in real time, and not be reduced to lamenting much later what it could not or would not do, which is at the heart of the initiative.  (See Press Release SG/SM/16386.)

Prior to leaving Cambridge, the Secretary‑General and Madam Ban visited the house where Mr. Ban stayed while studying at the Kennedy School of Government nearly 30 years ago.

The Secretary‑General returned to New York on Wednesday, 3 December.