undptimorleste
BS-Speech Competition
This year’s Day is the third to be celebrated. The General Assembly declared the Day to commemorate the 1997 adoption by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) of the Universal Declaration on Democracy.
The occasion was marked in the fledgling nation of Timor-Leste with a speech contest for high school students.
More than 145 students from all 13 districts of the South-East Asian nation took part in this year’s competition, whose theme was “As a citizen of Timor-Leste, what does democracy mean to you?”
The final round of the contest – opened by Mr. Ban’s Special Representative Ameerah Haq and Timorese Education Minister João Câncio Freitas – kicked off today in the capital, Dili.
The celebration of the International Day of Democracy “symbolizes Timor’s achievements from post-conflict to democratic nation building,” Ms. Haq said. “Democracy is as much a process as a goal, and only with the full participation of and support by the national governing bodies, civil society, international community, and individuals, can the ideal of democracy be made into a reality to be enjoyed by everyone, everywhere.” Dili 15 September 2010. Photo by UNMIT/Bernardino Soares
BS-Speech Competition
This year’s Day is the third to be celebrated. The General Assembly declared the Day to commemorate the 1997 adoption by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) of the Universal Declaration on Democracy.
The occasion was marked in the fledgling nation of Timor-Leste with a speech contest for high school students.
More than 145 students from all 13 districts of the South-East Asian nation took part in this year’s competition, whose theme was “As a citizen of Timor-Leste, what does democracy mean to you?”
The final round of the contest – opened by Mr. Ban’s Special Representative Ameerah Haq and Timorese Education Minister João Câncio Freitas – kicked off today in the capital, Dili.
The celebration of the International Day of Democracy “symbolizes Timor’s achievements from post-conflict to democratic nation building,” Ms. Haq said. “Democracy is as much a process as a goal, and only with the full participation of and support by the national governing bodies, civil society, international community, and individuals, can the ideal of democracy be made into a reality to be enjoyed by everyone, everywhere.” Dili 15 September 2010. Photo by UNMIT/Bernardino Soares