September 2004
United Nations DPI/NGO interactive website opens
In an effort to make
events relating to civil society at United Nations Headquarters more
accessible to a broader public, the NGO Section of the United Nations
Department of Public Information (DPI) has launched an interactive website
highlighting the proceedings of the 57th Annual DPI/NGO Conference.
The Conference,
"Millennium Development Goals: Civil Society Takes Action", will take place
from 8‑10 September 2004. It focuses on the worldwide efforts of NGOs to
support the United Nations campaigns to dramatically reduce indices of
extreme poverty by 2015.
In 1998, the World
Chiropractic Alliance was granted status as an NGO associated with the
United Nations DPI and has since been active in the NGO health committee.
Christopher Kent, DC, WCA Vice President and liaison to the United Nations,
serves as the Chairman of the committee.
The new website aims to
increase the number of participants outside United Nations Headquarters,
especially NGO activists, the media and citizens from around the world.
Viewers can access the plenary sessions live at:
http:www.undpingoconference.org. The interactive website will broadcast in
English, French and Spanish and include an on‑line discussion area for
comments, questions and answers before, during, and after the plenary
sessions.
The Conference is
designed to raise awareness of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
among civil society organizations, especially NGOs. At the Millennium Summit
in 2000, 189 Member States adopted a Declaration that synthesized the
priorities of the international agenda and reflected the commitments that
had been painstakingly negotiated during the previous decade of world
conferences. The Millennium Declaration, and the eight goals it identified,
have become a road map for tackling poverty, instability, HIV/AIDS, gender
inequality and violence in virtually all parts of the world.
The website will
webcast the five plenary panel sessions: 1) Towards 2015: MDG Progress to
Date, 2) Obstacles to the MDGs: Strategies to Overcome Them, 3) North/South
Partnerships: Different Responsibilities and Opportunities, 4) Making MDGs
Relevant: Taking the Campaigns Home and 5) Public Hearing: Conference
Participants Voice Their Views.
"We believe it is
crucial to make our meetings here in New York accessible to interested
people around the world", says Mr. Shashi Tharoor, Under‑Secretary-General
for Communications and Public Information of the United Nations. "NGOs are
key partners in our efforts to inform and involve a broader constituency of
UN supporters."
In addition to the
plenary panels and 30 Midday NGO Interactive Workshops, the Conference will
feature speakers such as Eveline Herfkins, Executive Coordinator, United
Nations Millennium Development Goals Campaign, Jeffrey Sachs, Special
Advisor to the Secretary‑General on the Millennium Development Goals, Mark
Malloch Brown, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP),
Kavita Ramdas, President of the Global Fund for Women, Jacques Attali,
Founder and President of PlaNet Finance, Ryokichi Hirono, Senior Adviser of
the Japan Council on the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable
Development and Bineta Diop, Founder and Executive Director of Femmes Africa
Solidarité,
among others.
Another dynamic feature
of the website is the on‑line message boards, where participants can share
comments on MDG Conference topics and NGO issues. The interactive
"Discussion forums" section is coming soon. The plenary session message
boards will enable participants to ask a question that may be shared at the
plenary session for real‑time participation. All Conference content will be
archived for future dialogue and discussion. To access the website and learn
more about the MDGs, go to the Conference website at
www.UNdpiNGOconference.org. For further information on the DPI/NGO Section,
visit: www.un.org/dpi/ngosection.
**************
