Mr. Richard Jordan, representing Airline Ambassadors International, Inc., offered the following intervention at the meeting on May 21, 2024 at the UN, “Promoting Inclusive Ageing Through Technology: Collaborative Perspectives and Use Cases.”Ms. Silvia Candamil Neira, the vice-Chair of the Global initiative on Ageing foundation, called upon Mr. Richard Jordan to deliver his remarks on behalf of Airline Ambassadors International..
Richard began by thanking Ambassador Luis Gallegos as one of three Ambassadorial Champions who opened up space for the participation of NGOs, not just in UN work, but in contributing to negotiating processes as well.
Ambassador Gallegos of Ecuador, now Chair of the UN Inst. on Training and Research (UNITAR) Board of Trustees, was the Chairperson of the negotiations that led to the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). When Ambassador Gallegos left that role, his place was taken by Ambassador Don MacKay of New Zealand, who brought the negotiations on the CRPD to a successful conclusion.
The two other champions that were identified by Richard in his remarks were Ambassador Satya Nandan of Fiji, in the negotiations in the Highly Migratory Fish Stock and Straddling Fish Stock Conference, and the late Amb. Adama Samasekou of Mali, who served as president of the first preparatory phase of the World Summit on the Information Society.
Ambassador Gallegos gave life to the phrase during the CRPD negotiations, “Nothing About Us Without Us.”
As 21 May was also the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Development and Dialogue, and that the panel exhibited the best of gender balance and regional perspectives, along with inclusion of speakers with disabilities.
Richard pointed out quite literally that across the hall in Conference Room 1, the annual meeting of the Assn. of former International Civil Servants would be taking place later in the afternoon and that there were hundreds of potential champions who could support the work of the individuals on the panel.
Additionally, Richard pointed out that he has taken over 1,700 MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses), and that his own brain health, which was another topic discussed by panelists, has improved greatly, with thanks to the UN System and UNITAR, the food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Intl. Telecommunications Union (ITU).
There was a strategic roadmap that Richard pointed out, negotiations for the Summit of the Future and in 2025, the 30th Anniversary of the Social Summit.
The opportunity for panelists to introduce ideas into the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Roadmap that the Secretary-General’s Advisory Group on Artificial Intelligence has prepared also is available.
In reply to Richard, Ambassador Gallegos agreed that for over 25 years, it has been the dedication of civil society representatives that has brought conventions such as the CRPD into being.
Ambassador Gallegos would be sharing view with Mr. Guy Rider, the person in the UN System charged with Secretariat preparations for the Summit of the Future. On May 22, Ambassador Gallegos was honored with an appointment with the UN Secretary General where he would share ideas about the Summits and Compact on the Future.
In a time when the multilateral system was under threat, Ambassador Gallegos concluded that the issues of the rights of older persons and of persons with disabilities were the issues that could unite the communities of the world.
