United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), Global Millennium Development Foundation (GMDF) and SWW Creative Hosted a Special Performance of Lord of the Dance

NEW YORK, Dec. 21, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) in collaboration with United Nations Global Millennium Development Foundation (GMDF) and SWW Creative hosted a special performance of the Broadway engagement of iconic Irish dancer Michael Flatley's international sensation, Lord of the Dance: Dangerous Games, on Friday, December 18^th at 7:30PM at Broadway's Lyric Theatre (213 West 42nd Street).

Trailblazing Irish dancer Michael Flatley is the creator of the internationally recognizable brand Lord of the Dance which singlehandedly brought Irish Dance to a global audience with productions in countless countries around the world for over two decades.  The evening is dedicated to the theme—"Living Together in Inclusive Societies: Celebrating Peace and Humanity through the Power of Dance and Music."

In recognition of Mr. Flatley's unprecedented achievements in dance and his dedication to global humanitarian work, GMDF and its partner NGO, World Association of Former United Nations Internes and Fellows (WAFUNIF), are honored to recognize Mr. Flatley as their Goodwill Ambassador.

"The ideals of peace, prosperity and inclusiveness for all have a lot in common with great dancing. Because great dancing is not about satisfying the ego – it is 'an offering' of your gifts. Dance is a vehicle for promoting peace, as it disregards both geographical borders and social classes. Dance is indeed a powerful tool to strengthen social ties and networks, and to promote solidarity, non-violence, tolerance and justice." - said Mrs. Stephanie Winston Wolkoff.

"Both the Alliance and the Foundation have common goals and ideals: peace, harmony among nations and cultures, inclusiveness, tolerance and partnerships involving Governments, civil society and the private sector. Together we are raising public support towards the promotion of a culture of tolerance and respect." - underlined by Mr. Nassir Abdelaziz Al-Nasser, High Representative of UNAOC.

"Having this fascinating performance this evening is a reflection of the Alliance's engagement in the fields of sports, music, ART and entertainment, to explore ways in which the UNAOC and the entertainment industry can join forces and mobilize public support for Peace and Development, while promoting a culture of tolerance and respect," he added.

Mr. Michael Flatley said he is "so greatly honored to be hosting this evenings performance for the Permanent Missions of the United Nations, civil society and the private sector, in cooperation with all UNAOC and GMDF, as we all share the a common goal of peace through music, art and dance."

As Chairman of the Global Millennium Development Foundation, our mission is to complement efforts by the United Nations and the international community by supporting universal values of peace, sustainable development, human rights, gender equality and humanity, leaving no one behind.  The members are Slobodan Damiyano, Founder & President, his wife Ljiljana Damiyano, Executive Assistant, Andrei Abramov as CEO, Cain McKnight as Treasurer, Barbara Winston as Special Adviser, and Alina Garcia as Legal Council.

Civil society, the private sector, academia and creative intelligentsia are instrumental in creating this inclusive world.  It is important that the United Nations embraces and integrates these contributions into its work.  

"Together, we can rise to the call of the UN Charter to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, reaffirm human rights, and promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom," concluded Mrs. Winston Wolkoff.

Attendees of the evening included:

H.E. Ms. Samantha Power, Permanent Representative to the United States of America to the United Nations
H.E. Mr. Danny Danon, Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations
Dr. Lisa Airan and Dr. Trevor Born
Heba Abedin and Sohail Khalid
Reem Acra
Gaby Basora
Bonnie Fuller
Giancarlo Bruno (Senior Director, Head of Financial Services)
Nick Evans
Patricia Kluge and William Moses
Haideh Hirmand, MD
Lyn Paulsin
Barbara Winston
Muna Al-Nasser (wife of Mr. Nassir Abdelaziz Al-Nasser, High Representative of UNAOC)

ATTENDEES:

Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations (USG)
Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations (ASG)
Maged Abdelaziz - UN Special Adviser for Africa
Ernesto Baca– ASG for Enterprise Resource Planning Project
Sima Bahous – ASG, Regional Director for Arab States
Dalila Benmehidi- Office of the Under-Secretary-General Department
Mr. Botnaru + Ms. Botnaru- General Assembly and ECOSOC Affairs Division
Michael Brown- United Nations Safety & Security
Mr. and Mrs. F. Gwaradzimba– ASG for Safety and Security
Kyung-wha Kang - ASG for OCHA
Won-soo Kim – USG High Representative for Disarmament Affairs
Jenca Miroslav – ASG Political Affairs
Ms. Karen Adaba Mosoti – Head of the Liaison Office of the International Criminal Court to the United Nations
Lakshmi Puri– ASG- UN Women
Yukio Takasu – USG for Management
Carole Wamuyu Wainaina– ASG Human Resources Management
Pei Bo - Universal Peace Federation 

Special Guests:

Tageldin Hamad – Secretary General Universal Peace Federation
Thomas Walsh – President, Universal Peace Federation
Ambassador Anwarul Chowdhury – Former USG and High Representative of the United Nations

SOURCE SWW Creative