UNDESA/DPADM and UNPAN would like to thank Erik Bergrud for his dedication and substantive contributions to the UNPAN Newsletter. Since 2003, Erik has served as the editor for the UNPAN Newsletter, producing high quality output quarterly. We would like to wish Erik good luck in all his future endeavors! Editor: Erik Bergrud, Director, International Centre for Civic Engagement and Special Assistant to the President for University Projects on Civic Engagement, Park University

EGM and Capacity Development Workshop on Promoting Innovations in Governance and Public Administration to Achieve the United Nations Development Goals- 23-24 June 2009.

The Experts Group Meeting on Promoting Innovations in Governance and Public Administration to Achieve the United Nations Development Goals, will take place following the United Nations Public Service celebration and awards ceremony in Conference Room 4 of the Secretariat building on Tuesday afternoon, 23 June, and in Hotel Millennium’s Diplomat Ballroom, on Wednesday, 24 June 2009.

For more information contact:

• Adriana Alberti (alberti@un.org)
• Slava Cherkasov (cherkasov@un.org)

A three-day training workshop on participatory processes to foster the MGDs was organized by DESA/DPUDM/BSEGM as part of the activities of the World Civic Forum 2009. The workshop which focuses on "Citizen Action for the Millennium Development Goals" was attended by about 60 participants from 15 countries in five continents, representing civil society, government and international organizations, scholars and students. Participants were presented with background and training materials by several experts in 7 thematic sessions, covering diverse aspects of participatory processes and citizen’s engagement to foster the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals, including the MDGs.

The sessions provided the opportunity for a rich discussion and interaction among presenting experts and participants about ways in which participatory processes can be promoted and how they can contribute to efficient achievement of the MDGs on hunger, health, education, gender equality, sustainable development and so on. The objective of strengthening capacities in this field for participants was successfully achieved, as indicated by the majority of evaluation reports submitted by participants. Also the goal to foster networking and partnerships was accomplished, from the attendance of this diverse group of participants and experts, as well as from intense exchanges of views and experiences among them and informal interactions during breaks and after session hours.

The World Civic Forum 2009 was held in Seoul, Korea from 5 to 8 May 2009 as a result of the successful collaboration of Kyung Hee University and UNDESA. The Forum gathered during four days an estimate of 2000 participants from 75 countries, including representatives from the academia, civil society organizations and the private sector, as well as government and international organizations. A total of 350 presentations were made in plenary sessions, roundtables, thematic sessions, workshops and expert meetings, all on a variety of issues related with the Forum’s central theme: Building our humanitarian planet. Among the most relevant topics were: the role of civil society in facilitating inclusive and equitable development by partnership with public and private organizations, the contribution of universities to this process (capacity building, values, leadership, knowledge sharing, etc.), and the need of citizens engagement to better meet the challenges for sustainability coming from climate change.

 

The Forum was opened by Mr. Inwon Choue, President of Kyung Hee University; DESA Under-Secretary-General Mr. Sha Zukang on behalf of the Secretary-General; and Mr. Han Seung-soo,  Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea, among other high level participants. Mr. Sha also participated in a roundtable on the contribution of universities to equitable, inclusive and sustainable development, together with the Assistant Director General of UNESCO, Mr. Hans d’Orville, and presidents from top universities of China, Japan and the Republic of Korea. 

 

The Forum concluded with a joint declaration from participants of the World Civic Forum, including representatives of governments, intergovernmental organizations, Non-Governmental Organizations, civil society groups and academic institutions. The Declaration highlights civic values for social justice, social inclusion and equity as well as civic engagement in public and global governance and civic action to foster the global agenda, including climate change. This Declaration is intended to favor the mobilization of the global community to foster enhanced participation to address present and future challenges for development and governance worldwide.  

The Conference on Sustainable Urbanization in the Information Age was held on 13 May 2009 at the United Nations ECOSOC Chamber in New York. It was jointly organized by the Global Alliance on ICT for Development (GAID/DPADM) and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), with sponsorship from the American Institute of Architects, the Regional Planning Association and several private firms and social organization.

 

The conference was opened by Ms. Anna Tibaijuka, Executive Director of UN-HABITAT, Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Mr. Cheick Sidi Diarra, and, representing UNDESA, Mr. Roberto Villarreal, Chief of the Socio-Economic Governance and Management Branch of DPADM.  During the conference, 200 participants from diverse countries (US, UK, Australia, Spain, Canada, South Africa, etc.), associated with CSOs, academic institutions, professional associations and private sector firms  participated in lively discussions about the challenges of harnessing urbanization in sustainable ways, addressing issues of infrastructure, urban planning, governance, citizens engagement and applications of ITC. Three ambassadors to the United Nations (Estonia, Germany and Indonesia) chaired the corresponding sessions of the Conference. Presentations made by panelists and analyzed by discussants helped raise the key issues. It was agreed by consensus at the conclusion of the conference that a similar one will be held again next year, with explicit attention to follow up related developments in represented countries. 

The United Nations Public Administration Network (UNPAN) improved its RSS (an abbreviation for Really Simple Syndication) feeds to better serve its users and partner organizations. UNPAN readers can now subscribe to news, documents, events and resources via RSS to keep informed about the latest updates on public administration and related matters. On the other hand, UNPAN partner organizations will be able to integrate the RSS feeds into their websites in order to display various content from the UNPAN portal including the ones submitted by them. More information about the UNPAN RSS feeds can be accessed by following the link: http://www.unpan.org/rss . UNPAN encourages all users and partner organizations to take advantage of this new development. Contact: Deniz Susar (susar@un.org)