Since our last newsletter in October 2020, QUNO has continued to adjust to the large changes brought about by COVID-19, the killing of George Floyd, and the drama of a bitterly contested US election. Despite all these challenges, including a now more than year-long shift to virtual work, both for our office and our partners in the UN and other peacebuilding organizations, our work has moved forward. As our Director noted in his letter, “Virtual or not, building respectful relationships, listening, building bridges, paying attention to context and to the best selves of policymakers: these Quaker practices have always been at the hear of QUNO’s approach – and they still work, even in these challenging times.”

The May 2021 newsletter shares highlights from the work carried out by our New York office during these challenging months. Articles cover our work on the UN launch of the Community Engagement Guidelines, our Program Assistants’ presentation at the FWCC Section of the America’s meeting, a farewell from one of our Quaker UN Representatives, and exploring how to support our strategic plan by focusing on peace and crisis. We also have a new article series spotlighting a member of our Quaker United Nations Committee.