United Nations: The northeast Indiana connection

If you are looking for a northeast Indiana connection to the United Nations on United Nations Day, celebrated annually on Oct. 24, look no farther than Manchester University – with campuses in North Manchester and Fort Wayne.

Fast facts:

• Manchester is the first university in the United States to hold permanent observer status with the United Nations, as a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO). This status gives Manchester representatives access to U.N. proceedings and, with permission, opportunity to actively debate issues on the floor of the U.N. General Assembly.
  
• Andrew Cordier, who graduated from Manchester in 1922, was a key player in drafting the founding charter of the United Nations.
  
• Manchester also is home to a Model United Nations, with a goal of preparing a new generation of leaders who could make this world a better place.
  
• Established in 1948, the Peace Studies Institute and Program for Conflict Resolution at Manchester University pioneered as the first undergraduate Peace Studies program in the world.
  
  For more information about Manchester’s connection to the United Nations, contact the peace studies coordinator at 260-982-5108.