The UN has solved a wide variety of problems between nations, it has promoted international economy and social cooperation and development and has also played an important role in protecting the environment which is a major problem of our time.

This summer, I visited the United Nations Headquarters to Nairobi, Kenya and worked volunteerly for a few weeks to the environmental program of the UN (UNEP). The UN Headquarters is a really beautiful place in the suburbs of Nairobi, and between the buildings there was a large green space with trees, grass and even baboons! There was a big sign on the entrance which wrote 'karibUN' from the word welcome in Swahili (karibu) and the UN.

When I entered in the UN space for the first time, I saw the flags of all the UN members, and I understood that I was not anymore to a specific country, but to a multinational place, where every country played a role. It was really interesting to see people of all races, working together so harmonically.

In the UN headquarters , were established many different programs, such as the WFP (World Food Program), the program for the equality of both sexes, and of course, UNEP.

My work in the UN Ozone Secretariat was really interesting, and it made me understand that the UN has to make everyone work to the same direction, while every country has its own demands that have to be satisfied as much as possible. This is a really difficult task because many of the demands are conflicting. The Ozone Secretariat achieved to make all UN countries to sign the Montreal Protocol which greatly benefited the protection of the ozone layer. In addition, I understood that even though critical measures have been already taken against the depletion of the ozone layer and there has been a significant reduction of the emission of ozone depletion substances , the mission continues  (The World Ozone Day's slogan is ''Ozone Layer Protection: The Mission Goes On.'').

 In 14-18 of July 2014 there was a meeting on the Montreal protocol in Paris. Another meeting will take place in Paris in November, and important decisions will be taken, if the countries come once more to an agreement. I believe that the important thing is that other protocols shall also achieve universal ratification, so that the environment may be properly protected.

In my opinion, each country has its own responsibility to implement the necessary measures, and even if not all its demands are satisfied, it should help and contribute to a new protocol.

TODAY IS THE WORLD OZONE DAY (16 September).

LET'S ALL HELP FOR THE OZONE RECOVERY

The OZONE Secretariat has asked for Videos of young people saying what they think about the ozone layer.

MAKE YOUR SHORT VIDEOS , AS IN THE LINKS BELOW AND SEND THEM TO:  ozoneinfo@unep.org

VIDEO LINKS:
http://youtu.be/l2lAZJVl2N4
http://youtu.be/QOtFPXLQWHA
http://youtu.be/3QbJU8SX_LM
http://youtu.be/oELYrTXuyEI

THANKS!