What’s Ahead @ UNESCAP: A look at upcoming meetings and events in October 2011

What’s Ahead @ ESCAP

UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

www.unescap.org		October 2011
UN Family in Bangkok to Commemorate the World Habitat Day The United Nations Family in Bangkok will commemorate the United Nations World Habitat Day under the theme ‘Cities and Climate Change’ on 3 October at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok. The Commemoration will start with receiving nearly 2,000 marchers from FRSN, the Four Regions Slum Networks and LOCOA, a network of Leaders and Organizers of Community Organization in Asia and will be followed by conveying the message of UN Secretary-General and the Executive Director of UN-HABITAT. In the afternoon, UN-HABITAT jointly with ESCAP and UNDP, is organizing a Seminar on 'Our Cities and What Can We Do?' It is expected that 40 to 50 Government representatives, researchers, academic institutes, practitioners, NGOs, local communities and others will participate in the Seminar.

ESCAP to Hold Asia-Pacific Trade Facilitation Forum ESCAP in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Ministry of Knowledge Economy, Republic of Korea and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) will hold the Asia-Pacific Trade Facilitation Forum (APTFF) 2011 from 4 to 5 October in Seoul, Republic of Korea. The Forum is supported by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA). This year, the Forum carries the theme of ‘Trade Facilitation beyond Borders: International Supply Chain Efficiency.’ More than 300 experts and stakeholders from both public and private sectors are expected to join the Forum and share emerging practices and technologies, experiences and lessons learnt, and seek networking among relevant partners. A Multimedia Exhibition will be featured during the week, aimed at promoting and sharing best practices on paperless trade/e-trade facilitation, with participation from around 20 service providers, public agencies and international organizations. As the host country of the event, Republic of Korea will showcase a number of pioneering initiatives on Trade Facilitation. Other week-long side events include: a) Dialogue on Regional Cooperation for Trade Facilitation; b) World Bank Workshop on Trade and Transport Facilitation Assessments; c) High-Level Stakeholder Workshop on Mongolian Trade Corridors; d) UNNExT Capacity Building Workshop on Data Harmonization and Legal Issues for Paperless Trade; e) UNNExT Advisory Committee Meeting; f) Launch of Asia Pacific Trade and Investment Report 2011 and g) Field Trip to Incheon Port . The APTFF, in its third consecutive year, is a unique annual platform for all relevant stakeholders for Trade Facilitation in the Asia-Pacific region. APTFF has gained strong support from regional and multilateral partners over the recent years.

Investing in Youth The United Nations Asia-Pacific Interagency Group on Youth will launch the publication “Investing in youth policy: The case for youth policy development in the Asia-Pacific region” on 5 October at the United Nations Conference Centre, Bangkok. The launch will be attended by representatives of Governments, youth organizations, civil society and United Nations and affiliated organizations. The purpose of the launch is to raise awareness among and build capacity of government officials and other stakeholders with regard to developing and implementing coherent and effective youth policies. The publication to be launched will be in the form of an innovative electronic Flip Book covering the development of youth policy from countries around the region and will be presented and profiled with the participation of key government actors and young people. For more information: http://www.unescap.org/sdd/issues/youth/youth_ig_01.asp.

ESCAP Organizes High-Level Stakeholder Workshop to facilitate Subregional trade and transit cooperation in Mongolian trade corridors ESCAP is organizing a High-Level Stakeholder Workshop for Subregional Trade and Transit Cooperation in Mongolian Trade Corridors on 7 October in Seoul, Republic of Korea in cooperation with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), UNDP Greater Tumen Initiative, Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and Korea International Trade Association (KITA). The High-Level Stakeholder Workshop aims to provide a platform for strengthening cooperation on trade and transit issues in the subregion, in particular among China, Mongolia and the Russian Federation. Discussions will focus on at- and behind-the-border bottlenecks and impediments to trade identified in the study conducted by ESCAP and concrete recommendations and action plans for enhancing the efficiency of Mongolian trade corridors. The workshop will be joined by government officials from China, Mongolia and the Russian Federation
ESCAP Organizes a Regional Coordination of Statistical Training ESCAP is organizing the Meeting of Working Group on the Regional Coordination of Statistical Training (WG-RCST) from 10 to 11 October in Greater Noida, India. The main purpose of the meeting is for the Working Group to initiate discussions on a proposed strategy for the coordination of statistical training programmes in Asia-Pacific. The meeting will review the outputs of the WG-RCST to date, including the results of assessments of existing gaps in statistical training in the region and of priority issues that need to be addressed through improving coordination among training providers and donor agencies.

Seminar on Developing the Capacity to Produce Economic Statistics for the Region ESCAP, in collaboration with the United Nations Statistics Division, is organising a seminar on Developing the Capacity to Produce Economic Statistics, including National Accounts in Accordance with the 2008 SNA, in the Asian and Pacific Region at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok from 10 to 13 October. The seminar is organized to develop an implementation plan for the strategy for improvement of the capacity of countries in the Asia-Pacific region to produce economic statistics of good quality and coverage including the capacity to produce national accounts in accordance with the System of National Accounts 2008. The seminar will bring together members of the Steering Group for the Regional Programme on Economic Statistics and other experts to facilitate a broader consultation on the implementation plan to ensure that it meets priorities and needs of the majority of countries in the region. The Seminar is a part of ESCAP's efforts aimed at executing the Regional Programme for the Improvement of Economic Statistics in Asia and the Pacific, a regional initiative by the ESCAP Committee on Statistics, supported by the ESCAP Commission through resolution 67/10.

Asia-Pacific Countries to Coordinate the Region’s Voice Ahead of the Cannes G20 ESCAP is organizing the High-level Consultation on the G20 Cannes Summit: Perspectives from Asia-Pacific from 11 to 12 October at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok. High-level government officials, policymakers and experts from around thirty countries in Asia-Pacific will gather to discuss non-G20 perspectives and coordinate the region’s voice ahead of the G20 summit to be held in November in Cannes, France. Touching on the critical issues of growth, development, financial stability, volatility of commodity prices, and the reform of the international monetary system, the high-level consultation is expected to highlight the priorities of ESCAP member countries in relation to the G20 agenda. Building on last year’s consultation on the G20 summit in Seoul, the high-level event will also contribute to shaping the development-friendly global economic governance, whose importance was underlined at the 67th session of the Commission. Welcoming remarks will be delivered by Dr. Noeleen Heyzer, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ESCAP.

Launch of the Statistical Yearbook for Asia and the Pacific 2011 The Statistical Yearbook for Asia and the Pacific 2011 will be launched by the Executive Secretary of ESCAP on 12 October at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok. The Yearbook, comprising a publication as well as two online products, The region @ your fingertips and a database of indicators, provides decision-makers, researchers and the general public with a snapshot of the Asia-Pacific region: how many people are there; how many are born, educated, working; how many have access to healthcare, sanitation, water; what is the state of the economy; where is there inequality; are environmental resources diminishing; in the new ‘global economy' are more or less people migrating, trading, travelling, communicating; as well as other important questions. Data is presented for the 58 ESCAP member States, together with world, regional, sub-regional and economic aggregates for comparison. The Yearbook presents current trends and emerging topics in the Asia-Pacific, grouped around the themes of people, the environment, the economy and connectivity, and prepared by experts from a number of international organizations. The Yearbook provides the international and regional community with key indicators, objective analyses of the current trends and emerging issues, along with data and charts.

Observance of the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction and ASEAN Day for Disaster Management The UN International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction and ASEAN Day for Disaster Management is organized every year on 13 October. This year, ESCAP, UNISDR and its partners will observe the Disaster Day under the theme “Step Up for Disaster Risk Reduction! Making Children and Youth Partners in Disaster Risk Reduction” at the UN Conference Centre to raise awareness about the importance of investing in disaster risk reduction. With youth at the heart of the campaign this year, children and young people from around the world are invited to Step Up for disaster risk reduction. They will have an opportunity to share their views with policy-makers in the Asia-Pacific region on how to make the world safer from disasters. With more than 66 million children affected every year by disasters, they are one of the most vulnerable groups to the impacts of disasters. Yet, voices from Asia show that they can also become leaders in creating a safer society from disasters. Activities promoted throughout the day will give the message that committing resources and actions for disaster risk reduction is an investment for a better future, especially of young generations.

The Asian and Pacific Regional Preparatory Meeting for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development ESCAP in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) will organize the Asian and Pacific Regional Preparatory Meeting for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (RPM) from 19 to 20 October at the Lotte Hotel, Seoul, Republic of Korea. The Meeting is being hosted by the Government of the Republic of Korea. Over 100 government and 60 civil society and business delegates are expected to attend the Meeting, which will prepare an Asia-Pacific statement to the Earth Summit. Two other events involving civil society and business will be held in conjunction with the RPM: a workshop on capacity building on Rio+20 and effective engagement with the UNCSD will be held on 16 October organized by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs in collaboration with ESCAP, and the Major Groups and Stakeholders Asia-Pacific Meeting: ‘The Road to Rio 2012: Charting Our Path’ will be held on 17 to 18 October, organized by UNEP in collaboration with the ADB and ESCAP. The UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD - also known as the Rio+20 Earth Summit) will take place in Brazil on 4 to 6 June 2012 to mark the 20th anniversary of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), in Rio de Janeiro. For more information on the global process, visit http://www.uncsd2012.org and on the regional process, http://www.unescap.org/esd/environment/rio20/home.html.

ESCAP to Partner on Fourth South Asia Economic Summit in Dhaka The Fourth South Asia Economic Summit (SAES IV) will be jointly organized by ESCAP’s Macroeconomic Policy and Development Division, Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) and other partners and organizers from 22 to 23 October in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The theme of the SAES IV will be Global Recovery, New Risks and Sustainable Growth: Repositioning South Asia. A large number of high-level experts, policymakers, scholars, and policy practitioners will discuss a set of cross-cutting issues facing South Asia, including: (i) current phase of global recovery and implications; (ii) role of regional cooperation towards an inclusive growth; and (iii) policy challenges in delivering a South Asian dream. It also offers an open platform to share knowledge and opinions on a cluster of thematic issues such as food and energy security, trade and investment, migration, and infrastructure reforms. For more details on the SAES IV, see http://www.cpd.org.bd/saesiv/.

UN Family in Thailand to Celebrate United Nations Day on 24 October in Bangkok The United Nations Family in Thailand will celebrate United Nations Day on 24 October with Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn as the Guest of Honour at a ceremony to be held at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok. The highlight of this year’s celebration is the launch of Bangkok: the United Nations Hub for Asia and the Pacific. The ceremony will begin at 8:30 am. with the UN flag-raising in the presence of Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, the Prime Minster of Thailand H.E. Ms Yingluck Shinawatra and United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ESCAP Dr. Noeleen Heyzer. There will be addresses by Her Royal Highness, the Executive Secretary of ESCAP, the Prime Minister of Thailand, the President of the UN Association of Thailand and the Governor of Bangkok. Other progammes include musical performances by a school marching band and UN staff members, screening of the UN Secretary-General’s video message, a multi-media presentation on UN presence in the region, cultural performances, inauguration of an inter-agency exhibition and an exhibition of Chinese and Thai art titled “From Shanghai to Bangkok”, followed by a reception.

APCICT to Organize the Second Asia-Pacific Regional Forum on ICT Human Capacity Development: ‘Where are we, Where are we going and What will it take to fill the gap? in the Republic of Korea The United Nations Asian and Pacific Training Centre for Information and Communication Technology for Development (APCICT) will organize the Second Asia-Pacific Regional Forum on ICT Human Capacity Development: 'Where are we, Where are we going and What will it take to fill the gap?' from 24 to 28 October in Incheon and Cheonan, Republic of Korea. The Regional Forum will provide ministers, senior-government officials, and regional development stakeholders with an important multilateral platform to assess what has been achieved in terms of promoting use of ICTs for socio-economic development (ICTD) in recent years, what the current challenges and opportunities are, and what course of action will be necessary to overcome these challenges and achieve the region’s developmental goals in the near future. In addition to panel discussions and theme presentations by domain experts, the event will include 3 Parallel Track workshops focusing on key and emerging areas of ICTD, namely cyber security, ICTD capacity building for students and youth, and strengthening partnerships for implementation of ICT human capacity development programmes. The workshops will serve to enhance knowledge sharing on all three themes and strengthen peer-learning for promoting ICTD. APCICT will also utilize the Forum as an occasion to introduce stakeholders to enhanced programmes and knowledge products that APCICT has partnered to develop in order to help build the necessary ICT human resources and institutional capacity in the region.

Special Observances and Meetings
United Nations Literacy Decade: Education for All (2003-2012) Second International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People (2005-2014) United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014) International Decade for Action: Water for Life (2005-2015) Decade of Recovery and Sustainable Development of the Affected Regions (relating to the Chernobyl disaster) (2006–2016) Second United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (2008–2017) United Nations Decade for Deserts and the Fight against Desertification (2010–2020) Decade of Action for Road Safety (2011-2020) International Year of Water Cooperation 2013 International Year of Sustainable Energy for All 2012 International Year for People of African Descent 2011 International Year of Chemistry 2011 International Year of Forests 2011 International Day of Older Persons (1 October) International Day of Non-Violence (2 October) World Habitat Day (3 October) (First Monday in October) World Teachers’ Day (5 October) World Post Day (9 October) World Mental Health Day (10 October) International Day for Disaster Reduction (13 October) World Sight Day (13 October) (Second Thursday in October) International Day of Rural Women (15 October0 World Food Day (16 October) International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (17 October) United Nations Day (24 October) World Development Information Day (24 October) World Day for Audiovisual Heritage (27 October)



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 ESCAP’s Strategic Communications and Advocacy Section. Tel: +(66-2) 288-1861-66 • Fax: +(66-2) 288-1052 • E-mail: unisbkk.unescap@un.org