Darshak Shah, President of AFICS New York, elected as President of FAFICS at the 56th Annual Council. The FAFICS 56th Council Session has elected a new President... Darshak Shah, current President of AFICS NY. Darshak will be taking over the responsibility from Jerry Barton (current Pres of ARICSA Vienna). Three new VPs were also elected, Nancy Hurtz-Soyka (AFICS NY) Maria Machicado (AFICS Bolivia) and Aye Win (AFICS Myanmar). The meeting also elected a new Treasurer, Peter

Author: Aysel Toprakli Aysel Toprakli served in the Information Communication Technology Division of UNICEF as Senior Production Associate. For me a sustainable life starts with the environment I inhabit. This is my home, my city, and my country. We can extend this to our planet Earth which is home for all humanity, nature, and other creatures. How can we sustain our environment? It starts with being mindful of using our resources such as water, electricity, transportation, a

Author: Stephen Schlesinger Author of Act of Creation about the UN’s founding, American historian, political commentator, and international affairs specialist. In the mid-1990s, Mr. Schlesinger worked with UN Habitat. The American presidency has played a central role in the operations of the United Nations for all 80 years of the Organization’s existence. There are obvious reasons for this: the United States was the original architect and mastermind behind the founding of the

Delia Barcelona is the Secretary of the Federation of Associations of Former International Civil Servants (FAFICS) Author: Delia Barcelona Many Member Associations of the Federation of the Association for Former International Civil Servants (FAFICS) engage in outreach initiatives usually aimed at helping marginalized and disadvantaged groups and often mobilizing not just their members but other volunteers from the community. Sometimes, these activities are also intended to as

Author: Mac Chiulli Fundraising on Red-Nose Day/Mac Chiulli For decades, my identity was defined by my career. From the age of 16 until my mandatory retirement from the UN, I was a dedicated "workaholic." I loved the hum of the international atmosphere and the challenges of the private and public sectors. Honestly, the prospect of retirement was frightening; had it not been mandatory, I might still be at my desk today. However, I’ve discovered a beautiful secret: there is abs

Author: Olivier Adam Olivier Adam is a retired UNDP staff member and former Executive Coordinator of UN Volunteers. Many of us who spent our careers in the United Nations system were drawn to it by a sense of purpose—a belief that our work could contribute to something larger than ourselves. We moved across duty stations, adapted to new countries and cultures, and gave decades to the pursuit of development, peace, and human dignity. When that chapter closes, the transition in

Author: Gail Bindley-Taylor Toily Kurbanov with Darshak Shah/Toily Kurbanov An Interview with Toily Kurbanov The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme, now in its fifty-sixth year, may be less widely known than some other UN programmes and agencies, yet it has become an increasingly important part of the Organization’s development, humanitarian and peacebuilding work. Established by the General Assembly on 7 December 1970 at the initiative of then Secretary-General U Than

Formerly UN Under-Secretary-General for Communications, candidate for UN Secretary General and currently an Indian Member of Parliament, author and diplomat. Author: Shashi Tharoor When the United Nations marked its 80th anniversary last October, reports described the mood at the General Assembly in New York as anything but celebratory. The hall that once echoed with the optimism of postwar reconstruction, decolonisation and peacekeeping, instead reverberated with uncertainty

A debate entitled “UN Town Hall: The Next Secretary-General” will take place on Thursday, 23 July 2026 from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the General Assembly Hall, with candidates for the position of Secretary-General. UN staff members are invited to participate in this town hall, which marks an important milestone in the selection and appointment process of the next Secretary-General. This town hall will provide a unique opportunity to hear directly from the candidates as t

Lawrence Harding, former Chief of Section with the Demographic and Social Statistics Division, passed away on May 28th at the age of 96. Lawrence joined the Division in 1975, retiring in 1990. He continued to consult for the UN in several countries, the most notable being Namibia, where he was responsible for establishing the first-ever Statistics Office and conducting a national census. Lawrence was born and raised in Freetown, Sierra Leone. He was awarded a bachelor’s deg

The AFICS/NY editorial team is delighted to annouce the publication of the latest bulletin, volume 55 number 2. The theme of this edition is volunteerism. You can view and download the full bulletin here.

Message sent on behalf of FAFICS President Jerry Barton Dear Member Associations, Our annual FAFICS Council is approaching rapidly. I hope to see you, either in Vienna or remotely during the Council. Please remember that our Council starts on Monday, 20 July 2026, at the Vienna International Centre. I am pleased to provide further details below on the planning and schedule for our upcoming 56th Session of the FAFICS Council, which is going well, building on the invitation

The United Nations Health and Life Insurance Section, (HLIS) just announced three important updates. Follow the links below for more information. Anthem have issued new insurance ID cards effective July 1st: Updated Anthem Insurance ID Cards; Important information for Anthem PPO members | Health & Life Insurance Section HLIS published the new ASHI rates in the Retiree toolkit: ashi_summary_26_06_2026_08_31_55.pdf A new ST/IC/2026/2 was published. This ST/IC needed a reissuan

Join us on Thursday, June 25, from 2-4 PM for a leisurely stroll along the recently completed East River Greenway, with long-time Big Apple Greeter, Bob Ross, who will share a lot of history and folklore about the sights on both shores, in Manhattan, Roosevelt Island, and in Queens. You will learn a lot, enjoy the good weather (we hope!), take some great pictures and enjoy each others' company. The walk will start at 60th Street (meeting place will be shared with registran

Dr. Sudershan Narula, Co-Chair of the nominating committee announced the results of the 2026 AFICS/NY Governing Board elections at the Annual Assembly on 29 May 2026. The eleven candidates who were voted onto the Governing Board, in alphabetical order were: 1. ALIPUI, Nicholas (incumbent) 2. BHATIA, Renu 3. DELLA ROCCA, Robin (incumbent) 4. FUENTES CONTE, Pilar (incumbent) 5. KASPER, Ingrid 6. LEGASPI, Maria Aurita (Marita) 7. PAWLIK, Regina 8. POZENEL, Jay (incumbent) 9. ROT

Click here to play a video recording of the assembly. Play Video On Friday 29 May 2026 the Association of Former International Civil Servants, New York, (AFICS/NY) held its annual assembly from 3pm to 6pm in conference room 1 at UN Headquarters. Follow the link below to find copies of the presentations. Presentations and statements. Gallery of photos Please send us any feedback or comments you may have.

On 21 May 2026, AFICS New York and the United Nations Health and Life Insurance Section held a webinar about the United Nations Headquarters administered health insurance plans for the year starting on 1 July 2026. Here is a link to the recording of the whole webinar. And here is a link to a pdf of the presentation.

AFICS New York is looking for members to participate in a focus group looking at the new website. Let us know whether the new website meets your needs, is easy to use and helps you find the information you are looking for. We will organize the session at your convenience, participation can be in-person or online and we expect the session to take between 60 and 90 minutes. To sign up for the focus group please use this form. Date and timing, to be determined.

The Ageing Smart Committee is pleased to share two free online programs offered this May by the New York Public Library on estate planning and planning for your legacy. These timely sessions focus on key aspects of end-of-life planning—an important but often overlooked area—and may be of particular interest to members of our community. We encourage you to take advantage of these informative offerings and to share them with family and friends. The Library also hosts a wide

The United Nations – particularly the UN Volunteers (UNV) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has lost one of its pioneer women leaders, Dr. Brenda Gael McSweeney, former Executive Coordinator of UNV and former UN Resident Coordinator & UNDP Resident Representative, who died in her hometown of Needham, Massachusetts, on 11 March 2026 at the age of 82. Dr. McSweeney’s career with the United Nations spanned more than thirty years. She served in senior roles acro