 |
What’s
Ahead @ ESCAP |
| www.unescap.org |
October
2006 |
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South
Asian MDG Forum workshop set for Nepal, MDG Media Awards to be launched
As
part of the ongoing advocacy campaign for the joint Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs) report A
Future Within Reach, the Poverty
and Development Division is planning a South Asian MDG Forum
from 11-12 October in Kathmandu, Nepal. The aim of the meeting
is to disseminate the key findings of the 2nd
regional MDG report and advocate policy actions to address
the main obstacles to achieving the MDGs in the sub-region. On the
opening day of the Forum UNESCAP
Executive Secretary Kim Hak-Su will announce first
media awards of its kind in the region designed to recognize
distinguished reporting on the MDGs. Entry
forms and contest rules are available from the website of
the Asian Institute for Broadcast
Development which will act as the secretariat for the Awards.
The Forum and Awards are a tripartite project of UNESCAP, UNDP,
and ADB to assess the region’s
progress to date on reaching the MDGs. |
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 UNESCAP
to observe Poverty Eradication Day, launch MDG statistics update
UNESCAP’s
Poverty and Development
Division will commemorate the International
Day for the Eradication of Poverty by joining an international
effort to set an official Guinness World Record for the most number
of people to Stand
Up Against Poverty for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
As part of the commemoration, scheduled for 16 October, UNESCAP’s
Statistics Division will launch a new UNESCAP/UNDP/ADB joint
publication, The Millennium Development Goals: Progress in Asia
and the Pacific 2006. Poverty Eradication Day seeks to promote
increased awareness of the need to eradicate poverty. It serves to
remind all people that a sustained and concerted effort is vital to
achieve the goal
of halving the number of people living in poverty by 2015. |
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Republic of Korea to host Seoul Initiative Leadership Programme on Green
Growth
UNESCAP’s Environment
and Sustainable Development Division and the Ministry of Environment
of the Republic of Korea, in collaboration with the Korea National
Institute of Environmental Human Resources Development, will hold
the Seoul
Initiative Leadership Programme on Green Growth from 30 October-10 November
in Incheon. The two-week Leadership Programme aims to enhance the
capacity of government officials from countries in the region to pursue
Green Growth and share their related experiences. In addition, it
seeks to cultivate human resources who will carry out the implementation
plans produced by the policy forum. Funding for the meeting is being
provided by the Government of the Republic of Korea. The Seoul
Initiative provides a regional cooperation framework for Green
Growth, taking into account regional economic, social, cultural and
geographical features. |
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 UN
Day celebration in Bangkok to highlight Millennium Development Goals UN
Day 2006 will be celebrated in Bangkok on 20 October
with a programme organized by the UN
Information Services Bangkok (UNIS) focusing on the Millennium
Development Goals. The annual event will include musical performances
by the Royal Thai Navy Orchestra, messages from UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan and UNESCAP Executive Secretary
Kim Hak-Su, the launch of Our
United Nations, a cartoon book produced by UNIS, and
a joint exhibition on the MDGs by the UN family in Thailand. The UN
officially came into existence on 24 October 1945, when
the Charter had been ratified by China, France, the Soviet Union,
the United Kingdom, the United States, and a majority of other signatories |
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 Preparations
underway for Ministerial Conference on Space ApplicationsA
joint meeting of the Twelfth
Session of the Intergovernmental Consultative Committee on the Regional
Space Applications Programme for Sustainable Development in Asia and
the Pacific (RESAP) and High-level Expert Group Meeting on the Preparations
for the Third Ministerial Conference on Space Applications for Sustainable
Development in Asia and the Pacific will be organized by
UNESCAP and hosted by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI)
from 17-19 October in Daejeon, the Republic of Korea. The Ministerial
Conference is tentatively scheduled for 5-10 February 2007 in
Putrajaya, Malaysia. RESAP
aims to promote regional cooperation and facilitate equitable sharing
of the benefits of space technology applications by countries in the
region. |
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| Education
the key to natural disaster reduction, preparation
Protecting
and preparing communities for natural disasters in the Asia-Pacific
region is the theme for this year’s International
Day for Natural Disaster Reduction remembrance set for 11 October
at the UNCC. As part
of the event, UNESCAP, the Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre, and
the Thailand National Disaster Warning Center will all receive field
libraries from the UN International
Strategy for Disaster Reduction, the Geneva-based focal point
in the UN system charged with coordinating and promoting disaster
reduction initiatives aimed at reducing risk and vulnerability to
natural hazards. Also on the event’s agenda are book launches,
speeches, an exhibition, and a panel discussion on “Education
for Disaster Risk Reduction.” |
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 Special
exhibition planned to mark International Day of Older Persons
UNESCAP
will mark the International
Day of Older Persons 2006 in Bangkok on 2 October with
the opening of a special exhibition at the UN Conference Centre focusing
on improving the quality of life of older persons. The conceptual
exhibition, designed by some of Japan’s noted architects and
designers, features a ‘5-element living design’ to reflect
the position of older persons of society. These elements include independence,
activity, dignity, productivity, and wisdom. The exhibition is produced
by the Population
and Social Integration Section of the Emerging
Social Issues Division in collaboration with Earth Identity
Project (Japan). |
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Special
Observances and Meetings |
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| The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the official views or policies of the United Nations. The information contained herein may be freely reproduced. What’s Ahead @ ESCAP is published monthly by the United Nations Information Services Bangkok. Tel: +(66-2) 288-1861-66 • Fax: +(66-2) 288-1052 • E-mail: unisbkk.unescap@un.org | ||