JAY SAYED

BY DAVIDE GUALANDI
Contributing Writer

Author, poet and peace activist PHOTOS BY MARKETA KROUPOVA

Javaid Sayed is much more than a City College instructor. He is a published poet, a peace activist, and a recognized broadcaster/analyst who reintroduced the United Nations class as part of the Interdisciplinary Studies program in the year 2000.

“The course has developed a lot through the years and at this time I have an enrollment of 37 students, which is a very good number for a social sciences class,” he said.

Sayed, known as Jay by his students, wants them to experience, relate and associate their class education to current facts and local contexts. That’s why he started to organize special events here at City College, inviting U.N. members and local consuls to Foreign Diplomats’ Forums, held in the Rosenberg library.

During these meetings, Sayed directs the conversation on current events, analyzing the involvement of the United Nations in current conflicts and international issues.

As guests of City College, the diplomats are welcomed by a focused audience. After the introductions, they examine their role and the political circumstances in their country of origin. They connect these situations to concerns affecting the world as a whole. Sayed’s students ask questions following the diplomat’s speeches.

“I think the questions that the students put forward are there to prove Sayed’s teaching quality,” said Frédéric Desagneaux, consul general of France in San Francisco. “The students were very well aware of today’s problems and international relations.”

Sayed has hosted forums with participation from diplomats representing Pakistan, Ireland, Indonesia, Egypt, the Philippines, Switzerland and France.

Video conferences have also been conducted directly from the U.N. headquarters in New York. “My students sit in class, allowed to make questions and confront the members of the organization, connected through the video like VIPs,” said Sayed, who underlined how these conferences help the students fuel their self-esteem. Sayed’s students will connect with the representatives this semester in New York on Dec. 8.

“Overall the class is very interesting, Jay’s enthusiasm alone is enough to keep you in it. I would definitely recommend it to anyone with a certain interest in foreign politics,” said Daragh Sandford, a student enrolled in the United Nations class.

The course is transferable to California State University, but Sayed is working on having it recognized by UC Berkeley as well. Sayed was once invited as guest speaker by the political science department of UC Berkeley to discuss the General Assembly of the United Nations.

Sayed has a strong relationship with San Francisco. Originally from Pakistan, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States 20 years ago, making the city by the bay his home. “When I fly my way back home from another city or country, there’s always a smile on my face,” Sayed said. “People are friendly here; it’s unique.”

He is proud to teach the course in the city that is the birthplace of the United Nations. Representatives of 50 countries came together here in April 1945 for the United Nations Conference on International Organization. It was the beginning of a mission based on the values of multi-nationalism, human rights, peacekeeping and world health.

“Issues related to peace, international security and humanitarian rights and assistance have been major themes in my life, but I can guarantee that the analysis of the organization is objective,” Sayed said.

“I think it’s a pity that some college level students don’t even know the names of certain countries in the world,” he said. “In most cases, we just know about the United States and we don’t realize that a large part of humanity exists beyond our borders. I make a special effort to represent those countries in my class discussions, those who cannot afford a consul office on the west coast.”

The course has been offered on a regular basis every fall semester and Sayed is absolutely confident about seeing the United Nations class in next fall’s City College catalog. In the meantime, he is waiting for his collection of poetry entitled “Dyar-E-Maghrib Say (Reflections From The West)” to be translated into English. He is also working on other projects, including a collection of his own original English maxims called “Maximize Your Life” and a book titled “United Nations Made Easy.”

Sayed is also working on an as-yet-untitled book covering the current issues in Iraq. “I am going to bring out new facts about the conflict that is going on,” he said. “All the books I read so far don’t seem to really take into consideration the profile and the history of the Arab population.

“My own perspective, as a passionate researcher will provide a new outlook to the reader regarding Iraq, its people and their history in relation to the current conflict.”

More information about Javaid Sayed can be found online at www.tazakalam.com. The United Nations course also has a Web site at www.unbyjaysayed.com.