The United Nations as a global classroom.

WHAT BETTER GLOBAL CLASSROOM could exist than the United Nations, where the "world" is part of its daily activities? And what more effective medium is there than film to transpose young people to worlds far beyond their imagination?

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Now entering its fourth year, the International Film Festival has created in the United Nations a classroom where high school students can travel to places they have never known before. Their professors are ambassadors and members of the Permanent Missions to the United Nations and their instructors are the UN tour guides. The subject matter is international events and universal understanding, and foreign film is the medium.

With the support of the UN Department of Public Information (DPI) and a "good neighbour grant" from the Ford Foundation (2003-2006), the Film Festival has been able to invite more than 4,000 students from New York City's 80 public high schools to attend a tailor-made tour of the United Nations Headquarters, followed by a screening of a foreign film and a question-and-answer session moderated by the host country's Permanent Mission.

Since the creation of the programme, we have been privileged to share with students the following films: Osama (Afghanistan), Battle of Algiers (Algeria), March of the Penguins (Antarctica/France), Central Station.(Brazil), Beijing Bicycle (China), The Chorus (France), Beyond Silence (Germany), Water (India), The Circle (Iran), Marooned in Iraq (Iran/Iraq), Return to the Land of Wonders (Iraq), Cinema Paradiso (Italy), Dreams (Japan), Before the Rain (Macedonia), Himalaya (Nepal), Hotel Rwanda (Rwanda), Child Soldiers in Sierra Leone (Sierra Leone), The Way Home (South Korea), Tsotsi (South Africa), My Life As A Dog (Sweden), Journey of Hope (Switzerland), Journey to the Sun (Turkey), The New World (United States), Bend It Like Beckham (United Kingdom), Amelie (France), The Little Chinese Seamstress (China/France) and Sophie Scholl (Germany).

Now that the United Nations has begun holding premieres and screening of films, we have had opening previews with actors, directors and producers. Watching the students mesmerized when an actor magically disappears from the screen to suddenly reappear in person on the podium to greet them and laugh with them has been a rewarding experience for me. To hear the students, scintillating and uninhibited, ask questions that were so much on target has marked a success for DPI and the contributing Missions of UN Member States. It is with little doubt that their letters have also encouraged all of us to give more.

"Viewing the film Hotel Rwanda was an unforgetable experience. I don't think I'll ever be able to forget it. To me, it showed several faces of humanity--from violence to peace, from hate to love." Another wrote: "I loved the film Tsotsi; it was spectacular. After viewing the film, I am starting to see that we as people have a lot in common, even if we live in another hemisphere. I really feel that I can help other people in my community, to lift them up, because everybody at some time in his life needs a helping hand." Child Soldiers of Sierra Leone was a great documentary. "What made the film powerful was the transition that it showed in the child, who first had a front of strength and then when reunited with his mother the facade was gone. He was still distant, but no longer had an empty look in his eyes."

Each film is linked to a theme dealing with United Nations issues, such as genocide, non-violence, human rights, children's issues, peacekeeping, the environment, family and respect for all peoples of the world. The screen reflects the goals of the United Nations and gives students the opportunity to study these subjects and be transposed to a higher plane of involvement through films. At the end of the screening of Tsotsi, a student came over to me and said: "Thanks, that was really good. It made me think life's not so bad." He reconfirmed to me that the best gift of all is to inspire a young mind.

The United Nations has helped children all over the world and is opening the minds of New York City's high school students to cultures of other countries. The "global classroom" has been an enlightenment for everyone involved. For if we don't give students the opportunity to learn beyond their limits, how can we have hope for their future?

Roberta Seret is Executive Director of the International Film Festival at the United Nations for students and President of International Cinema Education. A Director of Professional English for the Hospitality Committee, she holds a doctorate in comparative literature and a masters in French from New York University.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]