The Board of Directors of the United Nations Association of New York invite you to celebrate
The 2017 United Nations Day
Humanitarian Awards Gala Dinner
Celebrating the 72rd Anniversary of the United Nations
Tuesday, October 2, 2018
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United Nations Headquarters
45th Street and First Avenue
Visitors Entrance
New York City
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Check-in at Visitors Entrance Gate | 6:00 p.m.
Cocktail Hour | 6:30 p.m.
Dinner Program | 7:30 p.m.
Black Tie or National Dress
2 0 1 7 H O N O R E E S
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MR. JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.
47th Vice President of the United States
Honored for Extraordinary Commitment and
Tireless Dedication to Leading Global Health Initiatives
to Improve Cancer Outcomes
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MR. YOUNGSUK CHI
Chairman, Elsevier
Director of Corporate Affairs, RELX Group
Honored for Extraordinary Commitment and
Tireless Dedication to Improving Global Health and
Information Analytics
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M A S T E R O F C E R E M O N I E S
Richard Lui
Anchor, MSNBC
N. B. - Since the Gala Dinner will take place at United Nations Headquarters this year, please note — there can be NO last minute additions or changes to the dinner list after October 25, in compliance with United Nations Security protocol. There will be NO exceptions.
Additionally, please bring a government-issued ID, such as a driver's license, to the Visitor's Entrance at First Avenue and 45th Street. Be prepared to come earlier in order to facilitate your entry through security, where a special pass will be issued per person. Thank you for your understanding and your cooperation.
2017 HUMANITARIAN AWARD HONOREE
JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.
47th Vice President of the United States
Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr. was born November 20, 1942, in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the first of four siblings. In 1953, the Biden family moved from Pennsylvania to Claymont, Delaware. He graduated from the University of Delaware and Syracuse Law School and served on the New Castle County Council. Then, at age 29, he became one of the youngest people ever elected to the United States Senate.
As a Senator from Delaware for 36 years, Vice President Joe Biden established himself as a leader in facing some of our nation's most important domestic and international challenges. As Chairman or Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee for 17 years, then-Senator Biden was widely recognized for his work on criminal justice issues, including the landmark 1994 Crime Act and the Violence Against Women Act. As Chairman or Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for 12 years, then-Senator Biden played a pivotal role in shaping U.S. foreign policy. He has been at the forefront of issues and legislation related to terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, post-Cold War Europe, the Middle East, and Southwest Asia.
As the 47th Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden continued his leadership on important issues facing the nation and has represented our country abroad. Vice President Joe Biden oversaw the implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and chaired the Middle-Class Task Force and worked with Congress in his fight to raise the living standards of middle class Americans, reduce gun violence, and address violence against women. In the final year of the Administration, Biden led the White House Cancer Moonshot, which resulted in more than 80 new actions and collaborations from the public and private sectors to speed progress in cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and care, and worked with Congress to authorize an additional $1.8 Billion for investment in cancer research.
In January, President Obama awarded Biden the Presidential Medal of Freedom, with Distinction — the highest civilian honor in the U.S.
Since leaving the White House in January, Vice President Biden has continued his legacy of expanding opportunity for all, both in the United States and abroad, with the creation of the Biden Foundation, the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement at the University of Pennsylvania, the Biden Cancer Initiative, and the Biden Institute at the University of Delaware. Through these non-profit organizations, Vice President Biden and Dr. Biden will develop programs designed to advance smart policies, convene experts and world leaders on the issues they care most about, and impact the national debate about how America can continue to lead in the 21st century.
As Co-Chair of the Biden Cancer Initiative, Vice President Biden will join a highly skilled and well-regarded Board of Directors in bringing a sense of urgency to the cancer fight to develop and drive implementation of solutions to accelerate progress in cancer prevention, detection, diagnosis, research, and care, and to reduce disparities in cancer outcomes.
2017 HUMANITARIAN AWARD HONOREE
YOUNGSUK CHI
Chairman, Elsevier
Director of Corporate Affairs, RELX Group
Youngsuk Chi is an international businessman and a leader in the media and technology industry, and currently serves Elsevier and RELX Group in several different capacities. In his primary role as Director of Corporate Affairs and Asia Strategy for RELX Group, he is responsible for government affairs, corporate communications, and corporate responsibility for Elsevier's parent company. As non-executive Chairman of Elsevier, he works directly with governments, Elsevier customers and in industry associations worldwide. Additionally, Chi is the Immediate Past Chair of the Association of American Publishers, a US trade association that serves as a voice for over 400 consumers, educational, professional and scholarly publishers. Chi also completed 4 years of service as the President of the International Publishers Association, a global organization that represents the interests of more than 50 publishing industry association members from countries around the world. Since 2016, Chi serves as Chaired Visiting Professor of Sungkyunkwan University.
Early in his career as Chief Operating Officer of Ingram Book Group, Chi co-founded Lightning Source, the first ever print-on-demand distributor and e-book services provider. After holding several senior executive positions at Ingram Book Group's parent company, he became President and Chief Operating Officer of Random House. As founding Chairman of Random House Asia, he led efforts to make Random House the first foreign trade book publisher with local language publishing in Japan and Korea. Prior to joining the publishing industry, Chi spent 13 years in IT and international banking.
MASTER OF CEREMONIES
RICHARD LUI
Anchor
MSNBC News
Richard Lui is an American journalist and news anchor for MSNBC and NBC News. Previously, he anchored at CNN Worldwide. Lui focuses on stories related to humanitarian issues, and his enterprise reporting has included topics of gender/racial equality, affordable housing, and human trafficking.
Because of his work in these areas, NGOs have invited Lui to help their organizations. Along with Freida Pinto and Marcia Cross, Lui is ambassador for Plan International USA, part of a 70-country federation working for child gender equality. He also is an ambassador for the Epilepsy Foundation, and the anti-slavery organization Not For Sale. Lui is a UN Foundation Fellow, and sits on the President's council for America's largest food source to the poor, Food Bank for New York City. His community work spans 30 years and six continents. He has received civil rights awards from several national organizations, including AAAJ (the equivalent of the NAACP for AAPIs), AAJA, WWAAC, and OCA.
Lui is an active columnist, contributing to publications. Most of his writing, speaking, and social media activity involve issues related to his charitable and humanitarian work. In the last several years, Lui spoke at over 200 events, and twittercounter.com has him in the top 1%.
He anchors the Western edition of Early Today on NBC and various programs on MSNBC from 30 Rockefeller Plaza. At CNN Worldwide, he became the first Asian American male to solo-anchor a daily, national cable news show in the U.S.
Before journalism, Lui spent 15 years in business with Fortune 500 and tech companies. He patented a global payment system and co-founded a Citibank carve-out. Business Insider recognized Lui as one of 21 dynamic careers to watch alongside Mark Cuban and Warren Buffett.
Read about and see photos from
The 2016 Humanitarian Awards Dinner
2017 DINNER INVITATIONS
Download the Dinner Invitation here
Download the Dinner Reply Card here
2017 DINNER SPONSORSHIP
Download sponsor information kit here