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Historic first, as Tolstoy’s War and Peace lands in Geneva, to mark international centenary

Source: UN News, 2019

The precious cargo, which is widely regarded as one of the finest novels ever written on humankind’s conflicting desires to fight and live together, arrived late last week at the city’s international airport from Moscow.

Masked and heavily armed Swiss army soldiers clad in black, met the Swiss flight, as Tolstoy Museum Vice-Director Nadezhda Petrova emerged from the jet, clutching a metal briefcase containing six pages of the opus.

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UN General Assembly President upholds value of multilateralism in speech closing annual debate

Source: United Nations, 2019

Tijjani Muhammad-Bande underscored the value of multilateral cooperation in addition to what he described as “the give-and-take spirit” that defines it.

International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace

Source: United Nations, 2019

Member States flags outside UN HQ New York

On April 24 2019, the first official International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace was celebrated. The General Assembly convened a one-day high-level plenary meeting to commemorate and promote the day.

Almost 100 Years Old: digitizing documents from the League of Nations archives

Source: UNOPS, 2019

The League of Nations, Committee on the Trafficking of Women

The United Nations Library at Geneva is in the process of digitizing the entire League of Nations archives collection. This ambitious project is intended to span 5 years (2017-2022) and hopes to successfully preserve, and make accessible, roughly 15,000,000 pages of unique material.

When League of Nations reporters put Geneva on the map

Source: Swissinfo, 2019; Author: Akiko Uehara

LoN first council meeting in January 1920

An interesting, short Swissinfo article about how the presence of the League of Nations in Geneva attracted and inspired international journalism, securing Switzerland's global standing as a centre of multilateralism.

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From Other Organizations

IFRC turns 100

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has been saving lives and contributing to international development for 100 years. To learn more about the Federation's history and goals for the future, watch their official video below. "Happy birthday to the world's largest humanitarian organization."

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ILO turns 100

2019 marks the 100^th anniversary of the International Labour Organization.

The ILO Library created a new digital collection about the documents of the Labour Commission (which drafted the ILO Constitution in 1919); giving "a unique insight into the work and discussions that led to the creation of the first international organization for the advancement of social justice through improved working conditions." (ILO Library representative, 2019)

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IPU celebrates 130 years

The Inter-Parliamentary Union also celebrated a landmark anniversary this year. To promote this, the organization released a fun and informative video.

Click below to watch: