UN Day Program 2026
UNA-San Francisco Exhibit on display at the SF War Memorial Veterans Building, American Legion Gallery
Power Play: The United Nations’ Pursuit of Peace
Exhibit is open to the public starting October 15th - October 24th from 9 am - 5 pm at the San Francisco War Memorial Veterans Building Lobby, 401 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CA.
American Legion Gallery October 12th - October 25th, 2026
Power Play: The UN’s Pursuit of Peace is an exhibit presenting an intergenerational collection of symbols, educational and promotional materials featuring UN soft power tools focused on the power of play. We explore how toys, familiar characters, and childhood nostalgia can serve as forms of soft power.
The exhibit will feature soft power tools such as HelloGlobalGoals Ambassador, GI Joe Adventure Team, and Shirely Temple Black, to help introduce UN programs and agencies that use the power of play to set the stage for peace.
Come explore the exhibit and learn about the UN agencies of UNICEF, UNESCO, FAO, and UN programs such as the Sustainable Development Goals and learn how you can become an instrument for peace.
The exhibit also features our UN Day member art that we have compiled from our Art and Cake: Reflection of the SDGs events honoring the 80th Anniversary of the founding of the UN Charter.
Come see what our GenUN, young professional, and legacy members have depicted for the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Let their perspective inspire you to create your own storytelling in support of the UN goals of sustainable peace and prosperity.
Special thanks to our young professionals Umit Capanoglu and Sarah Hussein for their creative contributions and development of the Escape Room. Click the button below to start playing
Power Play Escape Room
Welcome to the United Nations Secret Archives.
You and your elite team of cultural attachés, historians, and diplomats have just been granted emergency clearance. Your mission isn't to disarm a physical bomb—it's to diffuse a geopolitical powder keg using the ultimate global asset: Soft Power. Now, the fate of international relations rests entirely on you.
To succeed, you must equip yourself with culture, master international law, decode culinary peace treaties, and leverage global media before the General Assembly sounds the final alarm. No weapons. No coercion. Just pure strategy, persuasion, and influence. Go through exhibits of Madame Alexander, GI Joe, Hello Kitty, Shirley Temple, and the UN Charter to solve each puzzle leading to the final clue! You have 30 minutes! Good luck!
Can you win the hearts and minds of the world before the clock strikes zero? Or will the alliance crumble? Lock in your credentials. The world is watching!
UNA San Francisco will be hosting a UN Day Reception
Wednesday, October 21, 2026 6:00-9:00 pm.
Space is limited for our Wine and Cheese Reception, please pay what you can to support our featured programs and future events.
Faith Akovi Cooper, UNA-USA Executive Director will share keynote remarks for this special occassion.
UNA-USA Executive Director, Faith Akovi Cooper
Faith Akovi Cooper is a humanitarian executive and global refugee advocate with more than two decades of experience leading humanitarian assistance, international development, and community-centered systems across Africa, Asia, and the Americas. She currently serves as Executive Director of the United Nations Association of the USA (UNA-USA), a grassroots movement of more than 20,000 Americans in over 200 chapters nationwide dedicated to advancing the work and values of the United Nations.
She also Chairs the United States Refugee Advisory Board and previously spent eight years in senior leadership roles at the International Rescue Committee, including Senior Director for Community Engagement, Regional Director for the Southern Border within the Resettlement, Asylum and Integration unit, and Country Director of Liberia. Her international work includes serving as Regional Advisor and Program DIrector for the U.S. Government–funded West Africa Disaster Preparedness Initiative at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Center in Ghana, where she led Ebola preparedness coordination for 15 ECOWAS countries.
Learn more ways you can get involved with the exhibit
Bring canned food or non-persishable goods to deposit in the exhibit collection bins in commemoration of October 16th World Food Day, running during the display. All collected non-perishable food will be donated to the SF-Marin Food Bank.
Sign up for an Escape Room experience in the gallery where you and elite team of cultural attachés, historians, and diplomats have just been granted emergency clearance at the UN archives. Your mission isn't to disarm a physical bomb—it's to diffuse a geopolitical powder keg using the ultimate global asset: Soft Power.
I-Spy Global Goals Ambassador Hello Kitty and Friends are hidden throughout the gallery exhibit for the youngest attendees to experience the power of play. Can you find all of her friends?
Join the SF City Guides on a UN Charter Trail tour on Saturday October 24th and visit the SF War Memorial Veterans Building.
If you would like to host a private viewing of the exhibit, or reserve the Power Play exhibit for a special event, please email president@una-sf.org for more details. We would be happy to coordinate a tour with your classroom for a deeper dive on the UN Sustainable Development Goals and more!