Phoenix College Hosts U.N. Expert on Land Mine Removal

(PHOENIX, Ariz., Oct. 14, 2011) – The Phoenix College Liberal Arts Department celebrates United Nations Day 2011 by hosting a talk from a United Nations program officer specializing in land mine removal in war-torn countries.

Marc Vaillant, a program officer with the United Nations Mine Action Services, will speak to PC students and community members on October 20. He directs the implementation of the Mine Action Programme in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cotê d’ Ivoire, Chad, Lebanon and Gaza/West Bank.

"The UN Day program at Phoenix College is a great opportunity for students and the Phoenix community to meet and interact with someone who works to save human lives globally,” said Dr. Albert Celoza, chair of the Phoenix College Liberal Arts Department, who will introduce the featured speaker.

Vaillant will discuss the United Nations’ global humanitarian efforts in the area of land mine removal in these countries followed by a question and answer session moderated by Paula Cullison, past president of the United Nations Association Phoenix.

“It’s so inexpensive to create a land mine but it takes so much effort and money to remove them,” said Cullison, who serves as advisor to the local chapter of the United Nations Association. “Unfortunately, so many people, mostly women and children, are maimed or killed by these mines.”

Vaillant, 32, joined the United Nations headquarters in New York in 2010 as a Political Affairs Officer for the Department of Peacekeeping Operations. In April 2011, he moved into his current position. A Danish citizen, Vaillant has a master’s degree in Geography and International Development from Roskilde University in Denmark and is certified in Explosive Ordnance Disposal by the Danish Army.

The Oct. 20 event, which is free and open to the public, will be held in the Willo Room at Phoenix College’s Osborn site, 3110 N. 10th Avenue. The event runs from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Light refreshments will be served.

The program is presented in cooperation with the Higher Education Alliance of the Humpty Dumpty Institute in New York, Maricopa Community Colleges, United Nations Association Phoenix.

For more information and to RSVP, contact Dr. Celoza at (602) 285-7651 or albert.celoza@pcmail.maricopa.edu.