United Nations Society of Writers

The United Nations Society of Writers is a club for United Nations staff registered with the United Nations Socio Cultural Commission in Geneva, and is known under the acronyms UNSW and SENU, corresponding to "Societé des écrivains des Nations Unies". It was founded in Geneva on 14 August 1989 by Sergio Chaves (Argentina), Leonor Sampaio (Brazil) and Alfred de Zayas (USA).

Overview

The UNSW organizes literary events, poetry readings, round tables and publishes a yearly literary journal, "Ex Tempore", of which 18 issues have appeared (http://www.unspecial.org/UNS672/t32.html). The name Ex Tempore was chosen since staff contributions should be crisp, impromptu, and as far away as possible from the stale UN jargon of resolutions and reports.

UNSW has proven that UN staffers can also write literature. The journal "Ex Tempore" has been widely acclaimed in the Swiss press and received media attention from the Tribune de Geneve (9 April 1997, "Les internationaux lancent un Salon littéraire", p. 12, 4 March 1998, p. 11 "l'Onu en poésie", 12 February 2000, 28 February 2001 "Ex Tempore a tenu sa soirée littéraire", 12 February 2004 "Le Cerce de poètes qui libère les onusiens", , Le Courrier 18 June 1998, "Une revue cherche à tisser des liens entre l'ONU et la cité", 10 February 2000 "littérature" p. 11, Le Journal de Geneve, Le Temps, and DIVA International (2006 Nr. 2, p. 36) [ [http://www.divainternational.ch/spip.php?article256 Diva International.Chez Alfred de Zayas - fête de la " Genève internationale " ] ] . UN Special April 2008, p. 33: "Ex Tempore- Nouveau Numéro et Soirée Littéraire". Its members have been interviewed by local television stations such as Leman Bleu, and by local radio stations, including Radio Cité. The journal has its own issn number: ISSN 1020-6604 and is kept by some 20 libraries worldwide, including the Library of Congress, the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek in Leipzig and the Schweizerisches Landesbilbiothek in Bern.

Board

After 15 years as president of the UN Society of Writers, Alfred de Zayas retired in December 2005, but remains as editor of the literary journal. Following the General Assembly of UNSW held on 17 June 2008 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, the composition of the new UNSW Board is:

* President: Karin Kaminker
* Vice-President: Carla Edelenbos
* Secretary: Rose Buisson-Sauvage
* Treasurer: Janet Weiler
* Editor-in-chief: Alfred de Zayas

Honorary President: Sergei Ordzhonikidze, Director General UN Geneva

An internet domain has been reserved for the UNSW journal. www.extempore.ch, currently under construction. Inquiries can be addressed to [e-mail].

References