Shedding light on the UN's 75th anniversary

The MSU chapter of the United Nations (UN) Association celebrated the 75th anniversary of the UN on Wednesday, Oct. 21, by hosting a first-of-its-kind virtual event. Attendees from across the globe joined in to listen to guest speakers Ali Hoffman and Tayo Rockson. Ali Hoffman is a Senior Campaign Associate for the United Nations foundation, the Shot@Life Campaign, which strives to provide life-saving vaccines to children around the world. Tayo Rockson is a diversity, equity and inclusion expert and the author of the book, “Use Your Difference to Make a Difference.”

The international organization was founded in 1945 after World War II, when 51 countries committed to preserving international peace and security. However, in recent years, America has stepped back from the Paris Climate Accord, the United Nations Scientific Cultural Organization, the UN Human Rights Council, the World Health Organization and many more global organizations.

“Combining feedback from over 80 virtual consultations with citizens from every state, UN USA learned that 77% of Americans expect a worse world based on our current trends,” said Hoffman. “At first glance, this figure is discouraging, but all we have to do is look to the past and recognize the familiar pattern. Collective concern for our future is exactly what propelled the creation of the UN back in 1945.”

Tayo Rockson shared his thoughts on developing adaptability and resilience in uncertain times. By the age of 17, Tayo had experienced several various ways of living as he had lived in five different countries across four continents, none of which aligned with his identity and values. He began his speech with a story of the journey that led him to find himself.

Rockson experienced a life-changing event at the age of 22, when he was involved in a near-fatal car accident. Trapped in the car, Rockson was certain that he would take his last breath, but he asked himself, “have you done everything you said you were going to do?” Rockson kicked his way out of his totaled car and miraculously exited the vehicle unharmed. “It became this wake-up call for me, because I am all of a sudden realizing how fleeting life can be. If you don’t commit to now, in a snap of a finger it can go away. It was that day I decided that I was not going to let people of the world define me, I was going to start defining myself to the world.”

After the accident, Rockson quit his job and has since come up with various insights for pushing onwards in the face of adversity. He shared that finding one’s driving passion and unmasking oneself is fundamental. As one starts identifying one’s strengths and weaknesses, it then becomes necessary to attach those strengths to a pertinent world problem.

Rockson went on to say, “If your mindset is fixed and you don’t see the world for what it is, you end up creating policies for people based on your ideas of what’s good, and not the idea of what other people are. Right and wrong is only suited to your way.”

More information regarding Rockson’s story can be found at https://tayorockson.com/.

Hoffman’s campaign was launched by the United Nations Foundation, and more information on both the campaign and mission can be found at https://shotatlife.org/.