Dutch actress Famke Janssen joins professors, faculty members and students today in celebration of United Nations Day.

The focus of this year’s celebrations will be on gender issues within the U.N., its importance in solving international human rights issues like human trafficking and the organization’s overall importance in global rights.

United Nations Day marks the founding of the U.N. on Oct. 24, 1945.

“[The U.N. is] not perfect, but it’s needed,” said Zach Messitte vice provost for International Programs Center. “[It’s] deeply poised to address issues because it’s an international organization.”

Janssen, a U.N. Goodwill Ambassador, will hold two discussions at OU. She will lead a discussion on acting at 3 p.m. in Beaird Lounge with Thomas Huston Orr, director of the School of Drama.

Janssen will discuss human trafficking with Jill Irvine, associate professor of religious studies and director of the women’s studies program, during a dinner at 7 p.m. in the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art.

A trailer of Janssen’s newest film, “Taken,” will be shown at the dinner to promote awareness of human trafficking. Janssen plays a mother of a child who is sold into slavery.

The main goal of the day is to raise awareness about pressing human rights issues that the U.N. supports, Messitte said.

“It’s terribly important to draw attention on the part of human rights,” Irvine said. “It’s sometimes easy for people to look to individual countries for human rights issues.

People should be more aware of the U.N.’s role in the issues, Irvine said.

She said the organization is essential in promoting human rights, and she hopes students will learn how they can become more involved with global issues.

“The U.N. has been such a leading force in promoting women’s equality in the world,” she said.

Keith Brecheen, political science and economics senior and OU’s Model U.N. Chief of Country Representation, said he hopes the events help change peoples’ minds about the U.N. and what it does.

“People in this part of the country don’t reflect [on it],” he said. “I hope somebody will learn something new about the U.N. and perhaps turn over an anti-U.N. bias.”

Brecheen said there is a misunderstanding that the U.N. tries to keep the country from doing things it needs or wants to do and he hopes people will talk about the issues and learn the U.N. exists to do “good things” for the world.

Stephanie Holliman, international area studies and economics senior, is the secretary-general of OU’s Model U.N. She said the group members are dedicated to raising awareness about the U.N., and today’s celebrations are a good way of doing that.

Both events are organized by OU International Programs, the Women’s Studies Program and the Film and Video Studies Program.