4 May 2001

UN LAUNCHES GUIDED TOURS WEB SITE IN SIX LANGUAGES

In connection with the annual session of the Committee on Information, the Department of Public Information (DPI) launched, on 1 May, a Web site devoted to its guided tour operation at United Nations Headquarters. In keeping with the multilingual nature of the guided tours, the new Web site -- www.un.org/tours -- can be accessed in all six official languages of the United Nations: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.

"Through this new Web site, the Department hopes to attract more visitors to take the guided tour", explained Thérèse Gastaut, Director of the Public Affairs Division of the DPI. "With its easy navigation, the site provides all the features and information in a well organized, user-friendly format. Visitors will find general information about visiting the United Nations and what they can expect to see on tour, as well as specific information on the history of guided tours and the guides themselves", she added. The site also includes links to other parts of the United Nations Web site and to the tour operations in Geneva and Vienna. Plans are also under way to provide general information on the site in German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese and Swedish.

The Web site has a section that enables former United Nations tour guides, many of whom continue to be strong supporters and well-informed advocates of the Organization, to maintain their contacts with the United Nations. It will also serve as a tool to facilitate the fiftieth anniversary commemoration of the guided tour operation at United Nations Headquarters in November 2002.

In New York, guided tours are conducted every day of the year, except on Thanksgiving Day, the year-end holidays, Eid Al-Fitr, Eid Al-Adha, and weekends in January and February. Up to 3,000 visitors take the tour every day. During the hour-long lecture tour, guides answer a myriad of questions about the role of the United Nations in current events and describe the unique collection of artwork on display throughout the tour route.

The Guided Tours Unit, part of the Department of Public Information, offers tours in over 20 languages -- more than any other tour operation in New York. Since the beginning of the tours in 1952, approximately 37 million visitors have taken a guided tour of United Nations Headquarters.

The United Nations Web site, managed and maintained by the Department of Public Information, was launched in 1995 and now is routinely accessed over 4 million times a day. The Guided Tours Web site was created in English, French and Spanish by the Guided Tours Unit, and rendered into the other languages by the Information Technology Section of the Department.

For more information, please visit www.un.org/tours, or contact Helene Hoedl, Guided Tours Unit, Telephone: (1-212) 963 3242, Fax: (1-212) 963 0071, E-mail: hoedl@un.org or toursunhq@un.org.

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