UN Bonn Launches New Website

20 June 2016

Announcement

PRESS RELEASE OF THE UNITED NATIONS ORGANIZATIONS IN BONN

Bonn, 20 June 2016 – Precisely 20 years ago today, the foundation was laid for the United Nations in Bonn to become a UN center for sustainable development. To mark the occasion, the UN in Bonn has launched a new website which captures the full spectrum of the work of the 18 agencies represented in the city and represents its first dynamic ‘shop window’ to the work and achievements of this flourishing centre for global sustainability. The anniversary and the new online presence comes some six months after nations agreed two significant milestones which underpins much of UN Bonn’s work, now and into the future—a set of 17 forward-looking Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate Change Agreement.

Christiana Figueres, the Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and current Chair of the Heads of the UN Agencies in Germany said:

“UN Bonn is a true success story. Over the past 20 years, UN Bonn became one of only a handful of central hubs of UN activity around the world and a shining beacon of sustainability. As the world’s population continues to grow, and environmental challenges become ever more pressing, sustainable development is becoming increasingly the defining impulse for successful international politics, economics, social factors and the overall work of the UN. The UN agencies in Bonn have achieved a lot within just 20 years, with excellent support from the state of North Rhine-Westfalia, the Federal City of Bonn and the German government.”

Today the UN’s presence in Bonn spans a vast area of work of the United Nations. The agencies located here deal with issues such as climate change, land degradation, biodiversity and ecosystem services, wildlife conservation, volunteerism, health, human security, disaster preparedness, risk reduction, tourism, education and training.

Even though the United Nations has had offices in Bonn since 1951, the crucial milestone was laid in 1996. In this year, “Haus Carstanjen” – the first office building to be used by the UN in Bonn - was handed over to UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali by Angela Merkel, who was then Federal Minister for the Environment, Germany. The presence of the United Nations Volunteers Programme (UNV), the Climate Change Secretariat (UNFCCC) and other UN agencies in Bonn marked the starting point for further development of Bonn as a UN hub. In summer 2006, the UN presence in Bonn grew and a new UN Campus was officially inaugurated by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The buildings “Langer Eugen” and “Haus Carstanjen at that time hosted 14 UN agencies. In 2013, completely renovated building “Altes Abgeordnetenhochhaus” was incorporated into the UN Campus. From a handful of UN staff, the UN presence in Bonn has grown steadily since 1996 and has become a UN family with approximately 1,000 employees.

To celebrate its 20th anniversary, UN Bonn has been given a new look: alongside a new corporate design, which UN Online Volunteer Lars Heller produced for this many-faceted location, UN Bonn now also has a new website. At unbonn.org, you can find information about topics and content that are brought together by the 18 UN Organizations currently based in Bonn under the slogan “shaping a sustainable future”.

The Executive Coordinator of the UN Volunteers programm, Richard Dictus said: “I am very pleased to see the new look and feel of the United Nations Organizations in Bonn especially as it was developed with the support of UN Online Volunteers. The wonderful result of the new UN Bonn brand is a great example what UN Volunteers - be it online or on the spot – can achieve and what ‘inspiration in action’ can create. I would like to express my deep appreciation to Mr. Heller, who has volunteered time and expertise to realize what has been a long sought for ‘front window’ for our work and Bonn’s role in international sustainability.”

UNV Online Volunteer Lars Heller, who is Managing Director of Heller & C, an agency specialized in branding based in Cologne, expressed his gratitude at this occasion: “Sharing my skills and experience as a UN Online Volunteer was extremely rewarding to me, since it allowed me to contribute to positive changes in the world the UN Bonn is working for. It was a great honor for me that the UN Bonn has entrusted me with creating the new look and feel that will certainly stay with the institution for the years to come. I am delighted having been part of this wonderful cooperation with the 18 UN agencies based in Bonn.”

Further Background

Rational of the UN Bonn Corporate Design:

All UN Bonn is here to work on solutions to resolve some of the greatest problems faced by human kind. These problems are global and interdependent. No one is capable of solving them in isolation. There are no simple solutions or quick fixes. All potential need to be exploited to secure a decent survival on planet earth in the long term. Therefore the approach must be holistic, integrated and multi-layered as well as multilateral. UN Bonn is unique since it provides excellent conditions for this approach. All entities working from diverse perspectives towards the same goal, namely, for a future that sustains people’ lives without compromising our planet. Coming to the visual identity, the dots in the logo symbolize the different points of departure towards the same goal –SHAPING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE (“Nachhaltigkeit gestalten”). The dots further down stand for conventions, meetings, and are reminiscent of antique amphitheaters. Since UN Bonn as well as the wider community aims to become a widely known meeting hub, the logic is well placed. Last but not least the dots symbolize dynamic movement as well as a modern outlook of UN Bonn. Such an appearance is highly appropriate given the dynamic development this UN duty station has seen in the past years. More on the corporate design under this link.

Development of the corporate design of UN Bonn

The UN Bonn corporate identity was developed in collaboration with the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme’s Online Volunteering service. UN Online Volunteer Lars Heller was mobilized through www.onlinevolunteering.org. This service connects non-profit development organizations with highly capable and motivated individuals who provide their support over the Internet. It’s easy to use and it’s fast. Most of all, it’s effective. Many non-governmental organizations (NGOs), governments and United Nations agencies already recognize the value of online volunteering. Every year, more than 11,000 online volunteers complete about 17,000 assignments. Satisfaction with those assignments runs at more than 94 percent, according to surveys. The UN Online Volunteering service is an integral part of the United Nations Volunteer programm, which promotes volunteerism to support peace and development worldwide. Volunteerism can transform the pace and nature of development, and it benefits both society at large and the individual volunteer. UNV contributes to peace and development by advocating for volunteerism globally, encouraging partners to integrate volunteerism into development programming, and mobilizing volunteers.

Read More:

What is UN Bonn all about? unbonn.org/about;

Who are the agencies currently present in Bonn? unbonn.org/organizations;

The development of UN Bonn in a Nutshell: unbonn.org/facts-and-figures;

Press contact:

Alice Fišer
Common Information Unit of the United Nations Organizations in Bonn
Tel: +49-228-815-2776
Unbonn-information@one.un.org

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