| Ideas and concepts are a main driving
force in human progress, and they are arguably the most important
contribution of the United Nations. Yet, there has been little historical
study of the origins and evolution of the history of economic and
social ideas cultivated within the world organization and of their
impact on wider thinking and international action. The United Nations
Intellectual History Project is filling this knowledge gap about the
UN by tracing the origin and analyzing the evolution of key ideas
and concepts about international economic and social development born
or nurtured under UN auspices.
The Project started in 1999 with the aim of providing a history
of the UN’s contributions to ideas and thinking in the economic
and social arena. Based at the Ralph
Bunche Institute for International Studies of The
Graduate Center of The City University of New York, the Project
is independent of the United Nations as a result of generous
contributions from 8 governments and 5 foundations. To date,
the Project has produced fourteen
volumes focused on different themes of the UN’s work,
with a final three volumes in press, including a synthesis volume,
UN Ideas That Changed History. In addition, Project staff
has conducted in-depth interviews with seventy-nine
individuals who have held senior positions or made major contributions
to the world organization, including four Secretaries-General. Excerpts
from these interviews can be found in the volume, UN
Voices: The Struggle for Development and Social Justice
and are also available in full on a CD-ROM,
available from the Project. During 2009-2010, the Project’s
staff will organize a number of special lectures and seminars in
different regions of the world in order to present the overall lessons
and findings and to discuss their implications for the United Nations
and for international public policy and action in the coming decades.
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