Students flock to hear Ban Ki Moon speak in London

And his selfie game is on point


The United Nations recently celebrated the 70th anniversary of its foundation. The occasion was marked last week when Chatham House and UNA-UK invited UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon, for a conversation at Central Hall, Westminster, where the first Secretary General was inaugurated.

As Ban Ki-Moon’s term slowly draws to an end, his last official visit to London was this week. It was a spectacular opportunity for UCL students to attend the event, so countless students seized the opportunity to hear about the world’s most difficult job first hand.

He made a point of encouraging all young people to raise their voices. He talked about his difficult childhood during the Korean war, and how the UN aids helped them to get over the hard times. He went on to explain how this led to his commitment to help others as well.

Matthew, who was at the event, told The Tab: “There were two things that stood out the most for me as a part of Ban’s speech. Firstly, to reiterate how much of a big step in the right direction the COP-21 agreement was last year, but also, that we must not stop the fight to tackle climate change, and to ignore it would have severe consequences for achieving all other goals laid forth by the UN.

“Secondly, but by no means less important, was that inequality continues to grow and has become one of the biggest problems facing humanity in the future. Ban highlighted that over 99 per cent of the world’s wealth is held by approximately just one per cent of the global population.

“To continue to tackle suffering and poverty these issues must be addressed head on as part of the UN’s future goals.”

David, who even managed to grab a selfie with the 71 year-old, added: “You could say he is a true human being and he has his feet on the ground. He is really approachable, kind and humble.”

The general consensus was it was an incredible event, with many students describing his speech as the most inspiring thing they’ve ever seen.