international public affairs and communication needs, and to discuss our services.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

White House Photo

Hope S. Miller and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton discussing United Nations efforts on human rights, women's rights, children, and poverty.

Hope S. Miller Presented with the Eleanore Schnurr Award by the United Nations Association of the United States of America

It gives me great pleasure to introduce my dear friend, Hope S. Miller, who has devoted a lifetime to the United Nations and its efforts on human rights, women’s rights, children, and poverty.

The United Nations Association of the United States of America and the UNA Council of Organizations recently presented Hope with the Eleanore Schnurr Award in a ceremony at the United Nations Dag HammarskjÕld Auditorium.

The award was presented for her exceptional commitment to the goals of the United Nations, for her long-term dedication and service in pursuit of these goals, for her ability to communicate enthusiasm and inspire others, and for her effectiveness in making a significant difference.

I have had the distinct honor and privilege of working directly with Hope on these issues for more than a decade.

n Max

Remarks by Hope S. Miller

“My very warmest thanks to the United Nations Association of the United States of America and the UNA Council of Organizations for this wonderful Eleanore Schnurr Award.

I am deeply touched and very honored.

Yes, I have been working for and with the United Nations for a long time.

A young woman once asked me how long I had actually been involved with the United Nations.

When I told her that I had started in 1946 and that I had even known Eleanor Roosevelt, she exclaimed,

“You must be like the grandmother of the United Nations!”

I first met Mrs. FDR in the spring of 1945 when I introduced her to a Tuesday, 1 p.m., weekly assembly at my alma mater, Barnard College.

My knees were shaking under my academic gown when I introduced Mrs. Roosevelt to about one thousand people.

At that time, the war was still on and she was writing her nationally syndicated newspaper column, My Day.

Mrs. Roosevelt, dressed in a suit and hat, was warm and disarmingly approachable.

Afterwards, I took her to the sidewalk on 117^th Street and tried to hail her a taxi, but she insisted on walking to the nearest subway station.

She traveled through New York City unaccompanied by aides or security people.

Later I learned that sometimes she did carry a pistol in her pocketbook.

In 1946, I began working as a UN staff member on what was to become the U. N. Human Rights Commission and I am proud that my name is listed in the first United Nations Yearbook on Human Rights.

From 1946 to 1948, I had the privilege of working as the Executive Director of the Institute of Comparative Government and Education, Human Rights Division, United Nations, which was then located at Teachers College, Columbia University.

During and after raising three sons, I worked with UNICEF, the United Nations Association of America, Barnard College, the International Alliance for Women, the Virginia Gildersleeve International Fund, and other great causes.

One day, Ethel Grant, the wife of UNICEF Executive Director Jim Grant, asked me to run the 10^th Anniversary of UNIFEM – The United Nations Development Fund for Women. She emphasized, “You cannot help the world’s children without helping their mothers.”

I later served as the president of the United States Committee for UNIFEM for some nine years.

In addition, I have been working with the Trickle Up Program, founded by Millie and Glenn Leet almost 25 years ago, doing development work for the poorest of the poor.

I have had the honor of serving with many remarkable people.

In 1999 at the United Nations, I presented the Award of Excellence to First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton on behalf of the U.S. Committee for UNIFEM.

Mrs. Clinton was also warm and disarmingly approachable.

It was my role to meet her at the Delegates’ Entrance. I escorted her everywhere she went in the UN, up the escalators, through the Secretariat, into the Delegates’ Dining Room, and to the West Terrace. She was received with a standing ovation.

Working with the United Nations for fifty-seven years has given me a profound sense of humanity and compassion.

Yet in the final analysis, our efforts are NOT about us…

They are about the cause of peace…

about the world’s children…

about the women who hold up half the sky…

about the 1.3 billion people who live on less than a dollar a day.

Our efforts are about giving a voice to the voiceless.

Women and children make up 70 percent of the world's poor.

Women comprise over two-thirds of the world’s illiterate population.

Women are victims of violence in 1/3 of all families.

Women and children account for 80 percent of the world's refugees.

Women produce, process and market 3/5 of all the world's food.

Women perform 2/3 of the world's work.

Yet -- women receive only 1/10^th of the world's income.

Yet -- women own less than 1/100^th of the world's property.

There is much yet for us to do.

Thank you for the honor of serving with you!”

Hope S. Miller and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton discussing United Nations efforts on human rights, women's rights, children, and poverty.

Remarks by Hope S. Miller

Hope S. Miller

New York, New York

hsm@nyc.rr.com