THE UNITED NATIONS GETS CREATIVE

 

To mark the approaching end of U.N. Week, here's the introductory video by and about the U.N. Creative Community Outreach Initiative. CCOI works with producers of films and TV shows -- such as "The Interpreter," "Ugly Betty," "Battlestar Galactica," and, yes, "Tinker Bell" -- to arrange shoots at the U.N. and work the U.N. into the storylines. Think of it as product placement, only where the product is the U.N. -- or more to the point, the issues such as public health or genocide that the U.N. works on. If a few million (mostly young) people learn from an episode of "Ugly Betty" that inexpensive nets can help prevent malaria, well, that's not a bad day's work.

While we're on the topic of U.N. Week, here's the latest news on the United Nations from the New York Times.  And here's the media from the "Social Good Summit" and "Digital Media Lounge," sponsored by Mashable and the 92nd Street Y, in association with the U.N. Foundation. As I wrote about earlier this week, the Summit featured a slate of speakers on how social media can further the U.N.'s Millennium Development Goals.