At 8 AM, on September 9, 2022, Dr Ash Pachauri and Dr Saroj Pachauri met with His Excellency H.E.Ban Ki-moon and Madam Yoo in New York. His Excellency spoke about the Ban Ki-moon  Foundation For a Better Future and the Ban Ki-moon Center for Global Citizens.  The latter is located in Vienna, Austria and the plan is to locate it in New York as well. His Excellency Ban Ki-moon gifted the Pachauris two personally signed and autographed copies of his book “Resolved: Uniting Nations in a Divided World“, in which His Excellency Ban Ki-moon provides an excellent personal account of his decade at the helm of the United Nations during a period of historic turmoil and promise. Meeting challenges and resistance with a belief in the UN’s mission of peace, development, and human rights, he steered the United Nations through a volatile period that included the Arab Spring, nuclear pursuits in Iran and North Korea, the Ebola epidemic, and brutal new conflicts in Central Africa. As Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon also forged global agreements to fight extreme poverty and address the climate crisis. At breakfast, we discussed the historic milestones attained under his unparalleled leadership as Secretary General of the UN, including the establishment of UN Women and signing of the Paris Climate Accord. The Pachauri family humbly gifted His Excellency a book of tributes to Late Dr. R.K. Pachauri “Dr. R.K. Pachauri: The Crusader Against Climate Change” to which His Excellency has made an invaluable contribution.

At 6:30 pm, Dr Ash Pachauri, Dr  Saroj Pachauri, and Dr Norma Patricia Munoz attended the Gala Event at the Consulate General of India in New York. At this event, three persons were honored with the Ban Ki-moon Awards for Women’s Empowerment and Sustainable Development. This program was organized by Professor Dr. Geeta Mehta, President and Co-founder of Asia Initiatives. The awardees were Pat Michell, CEO and  President at PBS and the Paley Center, Zuriel Oduwole, a 20 year-old filmmaker and visionary who founded DUSUSU (Dream Up, Speak  Up, and Stand Up), an organization to support girl’s education in Africa and the Caribbean, and Ricky Kej, the Goodwill Ambassador to Asia Initiatives, a world-renowned music composer and environmentalist, and a two-time Grammy Award winner. He and his band entertained us with an excellent performance.

There were presentations by Mr Randhir Jaiswal, Consul General of India, Dr Geeta Mehta, Lisa Handwerker and A. Ranakrishna, Gala Co-chairs, and His Excellency,  Ban Ki-moon. During his presentation, His Excellency honored Dr R. K. Pachauri. He introduced Dr Saroj Pachauri  and Dr Ash Pachauri who were applauded by the audience.

The event took place over dinner and was conducted magnificently.