United States: Elyx explores Washington, D.C.

Elyx’s next stop is in the United States. One of the United Nations founding members, the US are a permanent member of the UN Security Council as well as the top contributor to the UN peacekeeping operations budget.

UNIC friends welcome Elyx with open arms in the capital, Washington D.C., where they give it a grand tour among some of the most emblematic places of the city and of the whole country.

The starting point is the National Mall, a two-mile green expanse, home to the country’s most famous monuments and memorials.

Elyx is thrilled to visit the Lincoln Memorial (Photo credit: UNIC/Liam Murphy)

It is here and precisely at the Lincoln Memorial that American civil rights activist Martin Luther King delivered his famous speech “I have a dream” on August 28, 1963, in which he called for the end of discrimination. In order to raise awareness, in October 1966, the UN General Assembly proclaimed 21 March as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

Elyx is inspired by Eleanor Roosevelt and her lifelong humanitarian achievements (Photo credit: UNIC/Liam Murphy)

While in National Mall, Elyx cannot miss the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, dedicated to the 32nd President of the United States. There Elyx admires the bronze statue depicting Eleanor Roosevelt, the First Lady, who was the first United States delegate to the UN. Moreover, she chaired the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) Draft Committee and was a key actor for the Declaration’s adoption in 1948. For her outstanding dedication to the cause, in 1968, she was posthumously awarded the UN Human Rights Prize.

The architectural beauty of the Capitol leaves Elyx speechless! (Photo credit: UNIC/Liam Murphy)

Elyx then visits the US Capitol. This magnificent neoclassical structure is the seat of Congress, the legislative branch of the US Federal Government. The digital ambassador also strolls by the Washington Monument, one of the most iconic obelisks in the world, built to commemorate the first US President, George Washington.

Elyx is tempted to plunge in the Tidal Basin while enjoying the sight of the Washington Monument (Photo credit: UNIC/Liam Murphy)

Not far from there, The Kennedy Center and the US Institute of Peace will join tomorrow the celebrations for the UN 70^th anniversary, by being lit up blue together with so many other symbolic sites around the world.

Elyx is anxious to meet USAIDS staff (Photo credit: UNIC/Liam Murphy)

Elyx also accepts a long overdue invitation from USAID, the U.S. government agency for International Development, which regularly works alongside the UN and its agencies, across the world, to deliver aid, including food, to vulnerable people.

Elyx really likes the Georgetown University building (Photo credit: UNIC/Liam Murphy)

 Finally, Elyx decides to drop by at Georgetown University, a wondrous historical structure! The digital ambassador learns that its undergraduate students operate the Georgetown International Relations Association, which hosts the North American Invitational Model United Nations. As Elyx knows, this programme provides a forum where students from around the world can discuss global issues dear to the UN in a real world context whilst also having the chance to listen to distinguished personalities.

 

Elyx chills out in a hammock at the Tidal Basin! (Photo credit: UNIC/Liam Murphy)

After such a hectic and exciting day, Elyx decides to relax, before getting ready for another trip! The UN digital ambassador is not that sad to leave the U.S., it knows that it will be back soon…

More Photos of Elyx in the United States (Full Flickr Gallery)