CRI听力:Next UN Chief Candidates Kick off First ever Open Hearings

Each candidate is being given two hours, which includes a short oral presentation followed by a Q&A session.

The informal meetings are being televised and webcast around the world in the working languages of the UN.

Key themes for the candidates so far have been the future role of the UN, and key issues in world affairs.

Most candidates come from Eastern Europe. By tradition the region is assumed to be the next in line to have a representative at the top of the UN.

The organization has had eight secretary generals in its 70-year history, all of them men. There have been many calls for the next holder of the position to be a woman.

Igor Luksic, former prime minister of Montenegro, was first to be interviewed. He proposed a new approach to improving the world body's work when it comes to peace building.

"More efficiency and effectiveness can be brought about by setting up a UN peace operation group (which is) closely supervised by secretary general and deputy secretary general as presented in my vision statement. This modification can make a difference in supplying the Security Council and peace building commission with necessary and improved insight enabling, better decision making and improved coordination."

Bulgarian diplomat Irina Bokova currently leads the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization of UNESCO.

Bokova highlighted gender equality and women empowerment during her session.

"I think that the 21st century has to be the century of a true commitment to equality between the sexes and to provide women an opportunity to develop as equal members in this society."

Apart from UNESCO boss Bokova, there are another five veterans of the Organisation. The former prime minister of New Zealand Helen Clark has led the UN Development Program since 2009.

Antonio Guterres of Portugal served as the UN high commissioner for refugees for a decade.

Also in the race are the former Slovenian President Danilo Turk, who once worked as an assistant secretary general of the UN, and Srgjan Kerim, Macedonia's foreign minister, who is also the country's UN ambassador.

The other contenders are the foreign minister of Croatia Vesna Pusic as well as senior Moldovan diplomat Natalia Gherman.

President of the UN General Assembly, Mogens Lykketoft, is an active promoter of this week's informal meetings with the candidates.

"I view these dialogues as a potential game changer for the United Nations. They represent an opportunity for the General Assembly to reassert itself to establish a new standard of transparency and inclusivity in decisive UN processes and most importantly to help to secure the best possible candidate to be our next UN secretary general."

Under the UN Charter, the 15-member Security Council has the final say in who will be the next UN chief.

In reality, the top post has been chosen behind closed doors largely by the five permanent members of the Security Council before a nomination is presented to the General Assembly for approval.

The successor to current UN chief Ban Ki-moon will begin a five-year term from Jan 1 next year.

For CRI, I'm Su Yi in New York.