On the occasion of the opening of a UN Poster Exhibition, "For a Better World"

Let me start by telling you how happy Nane and I are to be here in Vienna, one of the UN major headquarters, and in a city where, over the years, we've got to know reasonably well and have many friends here in the city, friends on a personal level and friends of the United Nations. So to be visiting Vienna at a time when this exhibition has arrived, and, as the Foreign Minister said, it is an exhibition that has traveled around the world. And I don't know who is following whom, whether I'm following the exhibition or the exhibition is following me.

I first opened the exhibit in New York and then visited it again in Oslo. And here I am, in Vienna, doing the same thing, and I don't know where next. But as the Minister said, the poster covers a whole range of issues and it really gives an idea of what the UN has been doing since its creation. Dealing with issues of real concern to people, dealing with the needs of the people and, name it, whatever the topic, the UN has dealt with it. We've advocated, and these posters in a way, tell us graphically, the kinds of issues the United Nations has been dealing with. So to have a situation where the human aspiration and art comes together -- and we use the art and the artist to get the message across -- is a wonderful way to communicate.

But I was also intrigued by what the Director-General said about bringing the UN and the private sector together. Right from the beginning, when I took over as Secretary-General, I made it clear that the United Nations cannot do everything by itself, and that we need to work in partnership, partnerships with the private sector, civil society foundations and universities. And that as an organization we need to know what we can do, what we cannot do, what we need to do with others and what we have to leave for others to do. And in that spirit I've been reaching out, working with a large group of stakeholders.

I know at the beginning in New York when I suggested that we should open up the organization and I wanted to bring it closer to the people and work with the private sector, some of the permanent representatives were a bit worried. Why is the Secretary-General doing this? Where is his mandate? Who gave him the mandate? And my answer was simple: let's start with our own Charter. The Charter begins with the phrase, "We the peoples". The peoples were not in the glass house in New York. They were outside that building and around the world and we had to reach out to them.

Some were concerned that if the private sector got involved in the UN, they will interfere with the decision-making. I was certain it will not happen, but that the governments can take their decisions, but of course they have to bear in mind the views of all sectors -- private sector, civil society and all that. And I think the argument was settled when Ted Turner agreed to give us a billion dollars, but did not insist he wanted to take over the General Assembly or the Security Council. [laughter]

And that was the end of the debate. And today we are working very effectively with the private sector and NGOs and trade unions and I think the documents out there, I suspect, deals with the Global Compact, where I have urged corporations, regardless of where their operations are, to respect certain core principles in the areas of human rights, environment and core labor standards. And I hope with this spirit and attempt to change the norms and encourage corporations to be good social citizens, corporate citizens, it will be helpful for all of us. And I want to say thank you to you, Madame Foreign Minister and Director-General, for hosting this exhibition at the center of Vienna, where the people can get to much easier than at the UN headquarters.

So thank you very much for this event and thank you also for coming in your numbers, which I see a sign of support for the UN and also an indication that this is really an artistic center and you love anything artistic, whether it's paintings, posters or music or what it may be. And I think my wife is very happy, being an artist herself, to be here with me, to see a city that is alive and enjoys art. Thank you very much. *****