News: Unitarian Universalism in the News

UUA, UU-UNO Consider Closer Ties

UUA and UU-UUNO Logos.

Over the past several months, leaders of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) and the UU United Nations Office (UU-UNO) have been investigating the possibility of working more closely together. Though the UU-UNO has been an independent organization since 1971, it was originally a department of the UUA, and its mission aligns very closely with the UUA’s International Vision Statement.

Collaborative work between the two organizations has been increasing steadily during recent years, and the mutual benefits of re-integrating the UU-UNO into the UUA have become apparent. These benefits include a simplified UU international engagement infrastructure for UU congregations, increased coordination of UUA and UU-UNO programs, and numerous administrative cost-savings.

Discussions between the organizations are ongoing, and there is optimism that an agreement will be reached during the current fiscal year. The UU-UNO Board of Directors has unanimously agreed to pursue this direction and hopes to invite its membership to approve a merger agreement at its annual meeting in April, 2011.

UUA President Peter Morales expressed his hope for the ongoing negotiations. “We have an historic opportunity to bring our various capacities together in order to more effectively pursue a peaceful, just and sustainable world community on behalf of Unitarian Universalism,” said Morales.

For more information, please contact the Rev. Eric Cherry, UUA International Resources Director, at international@uua.org.