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The UN is a vast centre of information about politics and technology, human rights and peace-keeping, hunger and plenty. The words "United Nations, NY” appear almost daily in thousands of newspapers around the world. This progmmme takes the viewer into a vital, but rarely--seen part of the UN -- the realm of the "newsmakers". It is a backstage tour with the men and women who get the news, write it, film it speak it, and televise it.

The highlight of this memorable musical program is a rehearsal and performance by these two famous musicians of a new "raga" specially composed by Shankar.

"The most beautiful place on earth"... that's Laurence Gould's description of Antarctica, a continent, he first saw in 1934 when he was second-in-command to Admiral Byrd in the flight across the South Pole.

Man Builds, Man Destroys: A major UN series of 30 films dealing with our global environment and what man is doing to it.

A lesson in international economics with a sense of humour. Sitting around a gaming table, members of the Richard Morse Pantomime Theater act out the moves of international trade using toys, modles and specially designed playing cards. As they play, economic concepts suddenly become easier to understand and the injustices of the present system become apparent. An entirely new game is proposed. The original moves re-played but in a new spirit and with a new set of rules based on the ideas behind the New International Economic Order. At the end, the narrator stresses "that this just a game” but perhaps some lessons can be drawn from it.

United Nations Films is encouraging the participation of filmmakers from the developing world in the production of UN films. The benefit of such an arrangement is an interpretation of the role of the United Nations in light of the filmmakers' own cultural heritage.

A performance of Beethoven's Egmont Overture by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, illustrated by appropriate scenes showing the effects of war and United Nations efforts to aid recovery and reconstruction.

Urban centers throughout Latin America overflow with new migrants, many of whom are undernourished and homeless, while, in other areas, vast stretches of empty land await settlers. Each country faces different questions and must find its own answers. This film shows how Colombia, Argentina, Peru and Mexico are implementing their own population policies -- redistributing people, producing more food, developing rural areas, providing family planning services and improved child care -- all aimed at improving the quality of people’s lives.

“Into the Vault: 75 Years of UN Audiovisual Heritage” is a quarterly video series exploring important aspects of the United Nations’ history through selected use of newly digitized materials from the audiovisual archive.

A documentary film about the birth of the United Nations and the fascinating behind-the-scenes story of the building of its Headquarters.