Three weeks into Elyx’ journey

Elyx is three weeks into a 70 day journey around the world to learn about the UN’s work and help celebrate the 70th birthday of the Organisation. On Monday Elyx was welcomed by UNHCR teams and refugees from Burundi deep inside the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) (learn more about today’s visit here).

Flipping through a travel log packed with photos, Elyx reflects on how much ground has already been covered and the many things learned from UN staff and all the new friends it has made.

The journey began in Paris France on August 15th, where Elyx was shown around the Palais Chaillot, the location where the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted in 1948 (learn more about the visit here). The Palais is also where the UN General Assembly met twice before settling down in New York.

From the top of Mont Blanc, the digital UN ambassador travelled by cloud to Chile where the regional headquarters for the UN is located. The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean is also referred to as ECLAC or CEPAL in Spanish (learn more about the visit here).

Elyx took a break from his travels to mark World Humanity Day and honour all the people who commit their lives to helping humans in need, irrespective of their gender, sexual orientation, religion or nationality.

In Peru UNICEF brought Elyx to meet children from the Amazon Rainforest. There Elyx learned a great deal about the “MDG-F Programme: Improving Nutrition and Food Security for the Peruvian Child: a Capacity Building Approach” (learn more about the visit here).

Following in the UN Secretary General’s footsteps, Elyx arrived in Hungary and was given a grand tour of the historical quarter of Budapest; including UNESCO sites (learn more about the visit here).

A weekend in Brazil was Elyx’ next adventure as friends at the UN information Centre introduced Elyx to UN teams from several agencies. Brazil’s beautiful beaches, cities, vast countryside and vibrant culture definitely made an impression (learn more about the visit here).

In Honduras Elyx barely had time to catch a breath between spectacular dancing and fresh foods from the WFP’s School Meals Programme (learn more about the visit here).

West Africa was the next stop and in Togo Elyx learned what the UN and partners where doing to fight pollution (learn more about the visit here).

At the UN University in Tokyo Japan staff and students gave Elyx the grand tour, before catching a bullet train to Hiroshima where Elyx performed with local singers (learn more about the visit here).

Canberra came next and Elyx was welcomed by the UNIC team from Australia who showed Elyx how they support UN efforts in the whole Pacific area, such as New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga and Tuvalu (learn more about the visit here).

In Belgium, Elyx learned that 27 UN entities agencies have offices in the EU capital, and how the EU supports UN’s work in the field, notably through financial contributions. The EU’s contribution to the UN system was close to a billion dollars (learn more about the visit here)

UN development and humanitarian agencies are very active in Cameroon and introduced Elyx to their efforts in the field.  Elyx enjoyed a great lunch provided by the WFP and shared a laugh with children whose families have been displaced by conflict (learn more about the visit here).

Elyx was welcomed at UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark by friends at the WFP and nine other agencies hosted there. The star-shaped polygon building has been awarded prizes for its Eco-friendly (learn more about the visit here).

In Sierra Leone Elyx was saddened by the stories heard from people affected by the Ebola outbreak. Hard as the accounts were to listen to, Elyx was impressed by the prevention and assistance programs running strong today (learn more about the visit here).

Along Europe’s second largest river delta, shared by the Republic of Moldova, Romania and Ukraine Elyx was invited to observe international exercises with the UNECE to protect the UNESCO site and ecosystem from industrial accidents (learn more about the visit here).

Last Friday Elyx flew all the way to Indonesia and learned about the reconstruction efforts following the massive tsunami that hit in 2004. The WFP provided aid to 1.3 million people affected by the natural disaster (learn more about the visit here).

Over the weekend Elyx was in Portugal for the opening of the photo exhibition UNEARTH, where UNs work on human rights, peace and security throughout the years is presented (learn more about the visit here).

At the moment Elyx is in DR Congo, where he will stay for one more day to learn about the peacekeeping operations there before moving on to South Africa and Sri Lanka.

You can follow Elyx’s travels at www.elyx70days.org and with #Elyx70Days and #UN70