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What
You May See During the Tour
Please note that due to renovations of the complex, as of 1 August 2008, visitors will no longer be allowed to access the Conference building, which includes the Security Council Chamber.
The guided tour of the United Nations starts with a brief overview of the Organization. You will learn about:
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its history,
- its structure,
- its composition, and
- who designed the famous buildings located by the East River.
Members of the United Nations have donated gifts of art to the Organization over the years. On the next stop you might see: -
an ivory carving from China,
- drums from the Caribbean, or
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a replica of the Royal Thai barge.
In the next section, you will have the opportunity to view the 30 articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with a design by Brazilian artist Octavio Roth, followed by an exhibit on disarmament. Among the artifacts presented are:
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remnants (coins, bottles, a school uniform and the sculpture of St. Agnes) of the nuclear explosion in Nagasaki and Hiroshima,
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landmines of various types and shapes, and
- the Escopetarra, a guitar made from an AK47 by Cesar Lopez, a Colombian musician and social activist.
The General Assembly Hall, the largest meeting room at the United Nations, is next. This is where the 192 members of the Organization convene to discuss global issues. The final part of your visit will include a presentation of :
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the Security Council,
- the contributions of peacekeepers, and
- the work of the United Nations system to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
Enjoy your visit.
Online
Tour
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Animated,
Slide Show
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United
Nations Volunteers Service, Lake Success, NY, October 1950
American
Association for the United Nations, tour guide, 1952
United
Nations tour guides in front of flags, August 1989
United
Nations tour guides in the United Nations garden, April
1997
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History
of Guided Tours
Before
the United Nations opened its doors in New York City, guided
tours were conducted at Lake Success by volunteers. Since
November 1952, guided tours of the United Nations Headquarters
in New York City have been offered to the general public.
The first corps of 10 guides was hired by the American Association
for the United Nations, which ran the tour operation until
1955, when guided tours were incorporated into the United
Nations Office of Public Information. The United Nations buildings
were, at that time, a new addition to the New York City skyline,
and had quickly become one of the city's most popular attractions,
alongside the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty
and Rockefeller Center.
Since 1952, approximately 39 million visitors have taken the tour.
The traffic on the tour route reached its peak in 1964 with
over 1.2 million visitors. The attendance now fluctuates around
400,000 visitors a year, with May usually being the busiest
month due to the large number of school groups.
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United
Nations tour guides in the United Nations garden, March
2001
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About
the Guides
The United Nations tour guides are called "the
United Nations Ambassadors to the public", because of their
direct contact with the people who visit the Organization
every day. The guides play a pivotal role in shaping people's
perceptions of the work of the United Nations. They are young
people, from all over the world with different backgrounds,
who share a common interest in international issues.
Throughout
the year, the guides are briefed every morning on the latest
developments regarding the work of the Organization in order
to keep their presentation current to the very day of the
tour. Specialists on such topics as landmines, children and
armed conflict and global warming brief the guides on a regular
basis. Every day the United Nations guides enrich their own
experience by meeting groups of people as varied as 6th-graders
from the Bronx, Yanomani people from the Brazilian Amazon,
West Point Cadets, Girl Scouts and New Zealand cattle breeders.
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Tour
guides at their daily morning briefing
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Tour guide
with a group of children looking at landmines and small arms
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Tour
guides after a briefing with Olara Otunnu, Special Representative
of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict
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The 1950s
look
Evan Picone
design, 1969
Edith
Head design, 1977
Christian
Dior design, 1982
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About
the Uniforms
Most uniforms
worn by the United Nations tour guides have been provided
by internationally renowned designers.
The uniforms
worn by flight attendants in the 1950s inspired the first
uniform, a tailored suit. That was the only time when a hat
was part of the United Nations guides "outfit", as well as
epaulettes. The conservative style remained until 1969, when
Evan Picone created a two-colour scheme and a miniskirt.
In 1977,
Hollywood designer Edith Head donated a new design, consisting
of a skirt and a jacket in the recognizable blue colour of
the United Nations with navy trim, and a scarf adorned with
the Organization's emblem.
In 1982,
a conservative style with a sashed navy blue suit was introduced
by French designer Christian Dior. Three years later, American
designer Harvé Benard created a tailored navy uniform.
The Italian
fashion house Benetton, in 1988, designed and donated a new
uniform, a departure from past styles, with a lightweight
wool suit in black and white houndstooth check pattern combined
with a royal blue knit top.
In 1995,
the United Nations bought the navy blue Executive Model from
Jones New York. This classic suit was complemented with a
yellow short-sleeve top and a scarf with the United Nations
emblem.
The uniforms,
designed and provided by the Italian fashion house Mondrian,
combine classic elegance with versatility and comfort. The
tailored navy blue suits for women and men are matched with
light-blue blouses or shirts and a scarf or tie adorned with
the United Nations emblem. For the first time, a maternity
outfit is included in the line. Also for the first time, shoes,
provided by the Italian footwear company Valleverde, complement
the uniforms. The shoes come from the company’s classic
line and meet all the requirements for comfort and style.
The uniforms and shoes were introduced on 24th October 2001
at a special media launch.
As an
alternative to the uniform, the guides can also wear their
national dress, thus adding colour and diversity to the look
of the guided tour operation.
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Harvé
Benard design, 1985
Benetton
design, 1988 (guides with Secretary-General Javier Pérez
de Cuéllar)
Jones
New York design, 1995
Mondrian
and Valleverde designs, 2001
Tour
guides wearing their national dress
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"Guide Lines"
In the
Guides' Lounge, between the tours, we share with each other
our personal "working" experience. Interacting with visitors
from all over the world for many hours every day represents
an inexhaustible source of stories . We are happy to share
some of those anecdotes with you...
Working
as a United Nations guide means:
Opening
people's eyes...
"Being
the only human contact that many visitors ever will have with
the United Nations it is rewarding to know that you may have
some input into shaping a person's view of the Organization."
Hawa Taylor-Kamara (Sierra Leone)
"It means
a lot to me to know that as a tour guide we have an impact
on people's perception of the UN. When people come to tell
me how much they have learned or how much they have enjoyed
the tour, I feel that this is the most rewarding job."
Holly Tyson (China)
Expanding
your horizons...
"Since
starting the job as a UN guide I have learned to become more
objective in my thinking. I have also become aware of the
plight of many people around the world and have come to greatly
appreciate what I have." Anne Dewhurst-Bingham (United
States)
"When
I give a tour to people from many different countries at once,
I feel the impact of the UN as a gathering place for people
of all corners of the globe." Laura Silver (United States)
"At the
end of the route, the guide said the ritual sentence: "For
security reasons, please take your stickers off." Then she
kept on counting the people in her group to make sure that
everybody was with her. It only took a couple of minutes .
Enough to realize that two young visitors had taken off their
sneakers, instead of the stickers,
showing them proudly and yet wondering what for! What a difference
an accent can make!" Raffaella De Lia (Italy)
Meeting
children...
Giving
tours to children is one of the most rewarding experiences
as a tour guide . Sometimes their unusual questions put a
smile on your face. These are some questions asked by schoolchildren
in the General Assembly Hall:
"What
happens if a diplomat with very large ears cannot put on the
earphones?"
"How
many dinosaurs would fit in this room?"
Upon
seeing the country sign of JORDAN, a youngster exclaimed:
"Does Michael Jordan have a seat here?"
"Once
I gave a tour to a group of fourteen adults and two kids,
about eight and nine years old. At the disarmament exhibit
I asked the visitors if they knew what an anti-personnel landmine
was and if they knew how much money one could cost. I was
waiting for an answer looking at the adults when one of the
kids said to me "It costs you your life". Everyone was silent.
His answer gave me goose-pimples and I had tears in my eyes.
It was a kid who gave the real answer. It does not matter
how much money a landmine costs but it costs human lives."
M.Carolina Ramirez (Colombia)
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