UN Special

UN Special was a magazine associated with the United Nations staff community in Geneva. Its first issue appeared on 24 October 1949, United Nations Day, as a handwritten, 22-page publication prepared by an editorial committee. The inaugural issue included organizational announcements, essays, greetings from senior figures connected with the United Nations presence in Geneva, and material marking the adoption and significance of the UN Charter. R. J. Spencer served as chief editor of that first issue, although the available reference material does not establish a single founder or a permanent corporate owner. The publication continued for approximately seven decades and circulated without interruption until December 2019. It was jointly associated with the staff associations of two United Nations organizations. In 2020, those associations pursued separate publishing activities, bringing the shared UN Special arrangement to an end. The later publications included UN Today and NewSpecial, but these are successor or related publishing initiatives rather than the same continuing magazine. The United Nations name, logo, and emblems were retained exclusively by UN Today according to the reference material, while NewSpecial drew contributions from UN staff members, diplomats, and other writers. Over time, UN Special developed from a modest internal periodical into a professionally produced magazine of roughly 50 pages, commonly containing about 32 articles. English and French were its principal working languages. Its editorial scope expanded beyond personnel matters and workplace concerns to cover international governance, peacekeeping, poverty reduction, human rights, climate policy, environmental protection, disaster management, sustainable development, and progress toward the Millennium Development Goals. It also published cultural and environmental features, including coverage of UNESCO World Heritage sites. This combination of staff journalism, institutional reporting, interviews, and public-interest subjects gave the magazine a position between an employee publication and a broader international-affairs periodical. The magazine also acted as a platform for practical initiatives. It helped inspire UN Green Day in Geneva in 2010, an event linked to World Environment Day and the International Year of Biodiversity. The event brought thousands of members of the public to Ariana Park and the Place des Nations, involved multiple UN bodies and public authorities, and relied on volunteer participation. UN Special was also involved in promoting a memorial in Ariana Park for United Nations staff and other international civil servants who died in the service of peace. In connection with the International Year of Rice in 2004, its editorial team helped assemble the multilingual and international cookbook Rice Around the World, with proceeds directed to UNICEF's hunger-relief work. UN Special marked its sixtieth anniversary with an exhibition at the Palais des Nations in October 2009. The exhibition presented the magazine's development alongside major moments in United Nations institutional life and was visited by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. In 2015, the magazine submitted a nomination for the United Nations Secretary-General's Awards and was shortlisted in the Staff Volunteerism category for collective work promoting organizational values through voluntary service. Its interviews included figures such as Kofi Annan, Navi Pillay, Sergei Ordzhonikidze, Jimmy Wales, Jacques Rogge, Sashi Tharoor, Margaret Chan, Abdou Diouf, and Anders B. Johnsson. The magazine is now defunct as a jointly published title, but its archive and legacy document the perspectives of international civil servants in Geneva across a long period of UN history.

UN Special began as a Geneva publication for the United Nations staff community. Its first issue was published on 24 October 1949, the fourth anniversary of the United Nations, and was prepared in a notably informal format: the issue was handwritten, its cover was signed by members of the editorial committee, and it contained 22 black-and-white pages without established columns or photographs. The opening issue combined staff and institutional material, including a message from Wladimir Moderow, representing the Secretary-General, a contribution from Gunnar Myrdal of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, United Nations announcements, and a text connected with the public reading of the UN Charter's preamble. R. J. Spencer was identified as chief editor. The publication survived and developed over the following decades. It became a professionally produced magazine of approximately 50 pages, with an average of about 32 articles per issue. English and French were its principal languages, reflecting the Geneva setting and the working environment of international organizations. Although its early content concentrated on staff concerns, the magazine gradually widened its editorial remit. It covered the institutional work of the United Nations and related bodies, international governance, peacekeeping, poverty reduction, human rights, climate-change mitigation, environmental protection, natural-disaster management, and progress toward the Millennium Development Goals. Features on sustainable development, the greening of the economy, and UNESCO World Heritage sites further connected the publication to global public-policy and cultural debates. UN Special's role was not limited to publishing. It helped generate or support activities that connected the Geneva international community with the public. In 2004, during the International Year of Rice, the magazine worked with the United Nations family, the World Health Organization, and the Food and Agriculture Organization on Rice Around the World, a cookbook assembled from approximately 300 recipes submitted from more than 100 countries. The associated proceeds were intended to support UNICEF's work against hunger. In 2003, an initiative associated with the magazine contributed to the creation of a memorial in Ariana Park at the Palais des Nations honoring people who had lost their lives while serving the cause of peace. The memorial subsequently became a site for commemorations connected with United Nations peacekeeping and the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers. The magazine's environmental outreach was especially visible in 2010. An idea attributed to UN Special and its editor-in-chief helped lead to UN Green Day, staged in Geneva on 5 June for World Environment Day and the International Year of Biodiversity. The event involved United Nations offices, UNEP, WIPO, Swiss and Geneva authorities, diplomatic missions, and more than 90 volunteers. Around 6,500 members of the public visited Ariana Park and related venues, where activities focused on biodiversity and environmental awareness. In October 2009, the Palais des Nations hosted the exhibition UN Special magazine: History over 60 years. It traced the publication's evolution and its relationship with the experience of United Nations staff. Ban Ki-moon visited the exhibition, while Sergei Ordzhonikidze, Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, spoke about the magazine's capacity to encourage cooperation and adapt to changing circumstances. In 2015, UN Special was shortlisted for the United Nations Secretary-General's Awards in the Staff Volunteerism category, recognizing collective efforts by colleagues who contributed time and expertise to causes outside their formal duties. The title continued to circulate without interruption through December 2019. Its production had been associated with the staff associations of two United Nations organizations. In 2020, those associations separated their publishing activities. The shared UN Special magazine therefore ceased as an active publication, while distinct successor or related publications emerged. According to the reference material, UN Today retained exclusive use of United Nations names, logos, and emblems, while NewSpecial continued to draw writers from the UN staff, diplomatic, and wider international communities. UN Special is consequently best understood as a defunct magazine brand with a substantial historical archive rather than as a current commercial enterprise.

1. 2020Publishing partnership ends

   The staff associations connected with the two co-owning organizations separated their publishing activities.

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2. 2019Final reported circulation

   The magazine circulated through its December 2019 issue.

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3. 2015Shortlisted for Staff Volunteerism award

   UN Special was shortlisted for a United Nations Secretary-General's Award recognizing collective staff volunteerism.

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4. 2010UN Green Day

   An initiative linked to the magazine helped organize a large public environmental event in Geneva for World Environment Day and the International Year of Biodiversity.

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5. 2009Sixtieth-anniversary exhibition

   The Palais des Nations hosted an exhibition documenting UN Special's six decades of publication.

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6. 2004Rice Around the World cookbook project

   The magazine's editorial team helped compile an international cookbook of roughly 300 rice recipes from more than 100 countries, with benefits designated for UNICEF hunger-relief work.

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7. 2003Memorial initiative in Ariana Park

   A memorial honoring people who lost their lives in service to peace was inaugurated on the grounds of the Palais des Nations at the initiative of UN Special and with institutional support.

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8. 1949First issue published

   UN Special released its first issue on 24 October 1949. The handwritten issue contained 22 black-and-white pages and was signed by the editorial committee.

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A staff-oriented but outward-looking international-affairs magazine rooted in the United Nations community in Geneva, combining employee journalism with reporting and commentary on global governance, humanitarian issues, environmental policy, culture, and international cooperation.

• UN Special magazineInstitutional and special-interest magazine1949

  The core publication was a Geneva-based magazine for international civil servants and readers interested in the United Nations. It evolved from a handwritten internal periodical into a professionally produced publication of approximately 50 pages and around 32 articles per issue. Its reporting and features addressed staff life, international organizations, peacekeeping, human rights, environmental policy, sustainable development, culture, and global governance, principally in English and French.

• Rice Around the WorldCharitable cookbook2004

  An international cookbook created during the 2004 International Year of Rice with participation from the UN family, WHO, FAO, and contributors from around the world. The project gathered approximately 300 recipes from more than 100 countries and linked publication proceeds to UNICEF's efforts to combat hunger.

• 2010UN Green Day

  Geneva, Switzerland

  An initiative originating with UN Special and its editor-in-chief helped coordinate a public World Environment Day and biodiversity celebration involving UN entities, authorities, diplomatic missions, partners, and volunteers.

  Outcome. Approximately 6,500 people attended activities in Ariana Park, at the Place des Nations, and at WIPO venues.

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• 2004Rice is Life

  International · United Nations community

  UN Special supported the International Year of Rice through the Rice Around the World cookbook, emphasizing rice's nutritional, economic, cultural, and environmental importance.

  Outcome. The team compiled about 300 recipes from more than 100 countries, with benefits directed to UNICEF hunger-relief work.

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• 2003Memorial to honour those who lost their lives for peace

  Geneva, Switzerland · United Nations peacekeeping community

  UN Special initiated and supported a memorial in Ariana Park honoring UN staff and international civil servants who died while serving peace and international cooperation.

  Outcome. The memorial became a location for annual tributes to personnel who served or died in United Nations peace missions.

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• 2020Co-owning staff associations separate their publishing activitiesStrategy

  The magazine had been jointly associated with the staff associations of two United Nations organizations, but those associations no longer maintained a shared publishing arrangement after 2019.

  What changed. The joint UN Special publication ended, and the associations pursued separate publications, including UN Today and NewSpecial as distinct outlets.

  Aftermath. UN Special became a defunct historical title. The United Nations name, logo, and emblems were retained exclusively by UN Today, while NewSpecial continued with contributions from UN staff, diplomats, and other writers.

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• 2020The co-owning staff associations pursue separate publications

  The staff associations connected with the two organizations that had jointly supported UN Special went separate ways and developed distinct publishing successors or related outlets.

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• 2019UN Special circulation ends after December 2019

  The magazine circulated continuously until December 2019, after which the jointly maintained publication arrangement came to an end.

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• 2015UN Special is shortlisted for the United Nations Secretary-General's Awards

  The magazine was shortlisted in the Staff Volunteerism category for collective voluntary work supporting organizational values and causes beyond normal job duties.

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• 2010UN Green Day is held in Geneva

  An initiative associated with UN Special helped bring together United Nations bodies, public authorities, volunteers, and the Geneva public for a World Environment Day and biodiversity event.

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• 2009UN Special marks its sixtieth anniversary with a Palais des Nations exhibition

  An exhibition in Geneva presented the magazine's history from 1949 onward and was visited by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

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• 1949UN Special publishes its first issue

  The inaugural issue was released on 24 October 1949, United Nations Day, as a handwritten 22-page publication produced by an editorial committee in Geneva.

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1. UN Special
2. UN Special official website