NGO Activities

Being a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) with the U.N. Department of Public Information gives the WCA the opportunity to meet and establish relationships with numerous other group leaders working together for a better world.

During the time the WCA has been recognized as an NGO, it has attended numerous United Nation’s meetings, made a ground-breaking presentation to an assembly of NGOs, and worked diligently to share and promote the principles of subluxation-based chiropractic.

Shortly after receiving the WCA status as an NGO, Terry A. Rondberg, D.C., WCA president, attended a briefing co-sponsored by the United Nations Development Programme on The Global Meeting of Generations. The presentation focused on the young and the elderly. Demographic information was presented. Since chiropractic emphasizes the importance of remaining vertebral subluxation free from birth until death, intergenerational issues are of great interest to the profession.

Since then, the WCA attended a a number of important United Nation’s NGO events, including:
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• a briefing on UNICEF’s Annual Report– The State of the World’s Children, 1999. Emphasis was on education, including health issues which may affect the ability of a child to learn effectively. One of the participants was H.E. Mr. Fred Byendeza, Deputy Permanent Representative of Uganda to the United Nations. Ambassador Byendeza and the other presenters accepted questions from the NGO representatives in attendance.
• a meeting of the NGO/DPI Health Committee. The topic was “Perspectives on Complimentary Medicine.” Among the presenters was Mehmet Oz, M.D., faculty member of Columbia University and Director of the Complimentary Medicine Program at New York Presbyterian Medical Center.
• a briefing presented by H.E. Mr. Jorgen Bojer, Permanent Representative of Denmark to the United Nations; Ms. Catherine Dumait-Harper, Main Representative of Medicins san Frontieres; Ms. Sylvie Junod, Head of Delegation, International Committee of the Red Cross; and Mr. Andreas Ramirez, Senior Liaison Officer, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, New York.
• a briefing entitled “Challenges for 1999 and Beyond.” Presenters included Ms. Sudha Acharya, vice- president of the Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations in Consultive Relationship with the United Nations; Mr. Iqbal Haji, of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs; and H.E. Samuel Insanally, Permanent Representative of Guyana to the United Nations. A spirited question-and-answer session with Mr. Haji and Ambassador Insanally followed the presentation.
• a briefing concerning continuing and adult education. Presenters included H.E. Mr. Shamim Ahmed, Deputy Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations; Mr. Emanuel C. Goued Njayick, of the Division of Economic and Social Affairs; and Dr. David Waugh, Secretary-General of the International Federation of Training and Development Organizations.
• a special International Women’s Day event. Presenters included Secretary General of the United Nations Kofi Annan, and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. A WCA represenative met personally with an official from the World Health Organization (WHO) to discuss strategies for chiropractic collaboration.
• a briefing with representatives of World Information Transfer, the American Medical Women’s Association, the International Health Awareness Network, and the Women’s Federation for World Peace.
• a briefing concerning the International Narcotics Control Board. Speakers included Ambassador Herbert Okun, vice-president of the UN International Narcotics Control Board, Ambassador Lamuel Stanislaus of Grenada, Zach Messitte, Chief Speech Writer for the UNDCP, and Rosalind Harris, former chair of the NGO Committee on Narcotics and Substance Abuse.
• a briefing on population information.
• a briefing addressing sustainable development.
• a briefing with Richard Butler, Executive Chairman, UN Special Commission; Jonathan Dean, of the Union of Concerned Scientists; and Randall Forsberg, of the Institute for Defense and Disarmament Studies.

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