The United Nations - has our global experiment worked - Natalie Samarasinghe, Executive Director of UNA-UK

In 1945, the UN raised hopes for a new era of peace and prosperity. 70 years on, this prospect looks endangered. Has the UN failed in its quest for progress? Have its efforts over the past seven decades amounted to no more than a sticking plaster on the world’s sores?
Natalie Samarasinghe is Executive Director of the United Nations Association – UK (UNA-UK), where she has worked since 2006. She is the first woman to hold this role. She speaks and writes regularly on UN issues, and has produced a number of publications, including the eight-volume SAGE Major Work on the United Nations, which she co-edited with Sam Daws. Natalie also serves as: a trustee of the Association for Citizenship Teaching; a member of the World Federation of UNAs Executive Committee; a member of the Steering Committee for the International Coalition for RtoP; and an advisor to the Sri Lanka Campaign. In 2013, she co-founded 1 for 7 Billion, a global campaign to improve the selection process for the UN Secretary-G