UNSpecial N° 692 • Fevrier 2010
THE UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN’S PARTY
CIRCUS OR FIASCO?
Every year, several hundred excited children attend the United Nations Children’s Party, eager to participate in “the party at Mommy/Daddy’s workplace”. Most years, the event, organized entirely by volunteer United Nations staff members, is fun, with happy, giggling children, and parents and their colleagues observing them with affection and sometimes even joining in on the silliness! This year, however, was different. Indeed, poor organization and inappropriate content put a damper on the fun for many of us who attended.
Arriving at the event, which was held in the Cirque de Noël in Chêne-Bougeries, was a bit confusing. There had been no “matching up” ahead of time of children with host(esse)s, so groups were formed ad hoc, based on who knew whom. Unfortunately, some children were not able to find a hostess and therefore could not stay and participate in the event!
Disappointment continued in the form of the promised crêpes. To feed several hundred hungry children, there was only one person making these crêpes! If you arrived early, you could try waiting in line for the crêpes, but chances are you would lose out, having to eventually abandon the line so as not to be late for the circus show (and having also missed your child’s only chance to have his or her face made up!). You could try again during the half-hour intermission, but even then, chances were slim – many parents spent the entire period waiting in line for the crêpes, for nothing! Thus many children did not get anything to eat for goûter (aside from the few small slices of bread and some small pieces of chocolate in the gift bag). The crêpe stand had closed by the time the circus show ended, so you could not even get one on your way out.
Beverages were equally problematic – the line for the infamous crêpes obscured the table where drinks were being served, so they were easily missed, but there weren’t enough to go around in any case. Some children ended up drinking the tap water from the sinks in the WCs, as absolutely nothing else was available!
The show itself began with a few mildly entertaining although amateurish circus performances (semi-trained goats, dancing and a human statue). The acts were punctuated by the host’s interventions, which were awkward at best. His “anonymous letter” from “the children of the world” to their parents was neither funny nor an accurate reflection of what children think, according to those in attendance. The question-and-answer sessions were patronizing and embarrassing, asking questions that were beyond the comprehension of the young audience.
Things went from bad to worse. The storyline of the “opera” was too complicated to follow, and there was an obvious lack of preparation by the actors. But the most shocking part of the opera was the content. It was depressing and downright creepy, and most definitely not written with 4- to 8-year-olds in mind. The vocabulary used was unsuitable: why not just say “sad” instead of “pessimistic”? Mention was made of (drug?) dealers and squatters. One of the characters had a toy pistol that she would point into the air and shoot, with machinegun-like sound effects!
Finally, the T-shirts given to the children were also very inappropriate. The quotes on the T-shirts were obtuse, to say the least, and some were downright offensive! An example, from Jules Renard: “Mon papa a deux vies: la sienne et la mienne”. Another T-shirt stated, “Il n’y a pas de plus belle loi que celle d’obéir à son père.”
One would have hoped for T-shirts that were somewhat more inclusive, as many children’s families do not follow the “typical” father+mother+two children model. Why not have T-shirts with a reference to family in general? Or something more joyful or childlike, such as pictures, or a quote about the Earth, nature, peace or harmony?
The basic premise of this event is that it is a children’s party. Let’s hope that next year’s event is not only child-appropriate, but also a happy and fun occasion for these wonderful little people. Many of us would welcome a return to past years’ tradition of having the party in the Palais. Our children are always excited to visit us in our workplace, enjoy a goûter in our cafeteria and a simple show in one of the meeting rooms, not to mention a surprise visit from Père Noël...