Secretary-General's remarks on the occasion of the UN 21 Awards

Dear UN 21 Awardees,

I am delighted to be with you for this year's UN 21 Awards -- one of the most uplifting annual items on the calendar of United Nations Headquarters.

It is so important to have ways like this to encourage and support the creativity of staff in finding more effective ways of doing the UN's work.

Since its inception 12 year ago, the UN 21 programme has expanded to reward initiatives in many areas -- from IT applications and administration to knowledge management, productivity and staff morale.

Today, we honour awardees on all these fronts. Your work has improved workflows, and helped save money organization-wide. You have helped staff share knowledge and become better connected in ways large and small. Your efforts in substantive programmes and field projects have directly helped people in the countries where you serve. Your endeavours have given the United Nations' work more impact and make us a more productive Organization.

What is more, you are triumphs of teamwork, driven by individuals coming together to develop new approaches, content, innovations and ideas. By sharing your results throughout the global Secretariat, you help others address similar problems in other UN duty stations.

Dear Friends,

The projects we honour today connect us all, and remind us every day that we are all part of the same noble and global mission.

This will be even more vital over the coming year, as we in New York will physically disperse to various locations to make way for the Capital Master Plan.

So I count on you to keep up the good work.

Dear UN 21 Awardees, here at Headquarters, in offices away from New York, and in field missions around the world –I offer my warm and grateful congratulations on your spirit and your success. You deserve a round of applause.

Thank you very much.