Source: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=39455&Cr=sustainable+development%20&Cr1
Recently concluded annual joint conference of the United Nations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Bonn, Germany has called the civil society to encourage people that they must realize that their local concerns were connected to the larger global issues.
This year’s conference was on the theme “Sustainable Societies Responsive Citizens” and it provided an opportunity for NGOs and civil society to interact as they prepare for next year’s UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in Brazil.
The three-day 64th annual conference of the UN and NGOs was organized by the Department of Public Information (DPI), in partnership with the DPI/NGO Executive Committee, Germany and the UN Volunteers (UNV) program. The delegates at conference were of the view that the dots between civil society groups dealing with various issues for greater impact on global problems need to be connected.
During the final news conference, Kiyo Akasaka, the UN Under-Secretary for Communications and Public Information, said that the gathering was an important step in dialogue and cooperation between the UN and non-governmental organizations. He also added that the final declaration would be sent to organizers of the Rio+20 meeting.
Flavia Pansieri, the Eecutive Coordinator of the UN Volunteers Program, said that the goal of “connecting the dots” between sustainable communities and public engagement had been realized. Ms. Pansieri expressed her appreciation for the constant and strong support of the partners with whom they had worked to organize the conference.
Felix Dodds, the Chair of the 64th DPI/NGO Conference, said that Germany was playing a major leadership role in the global discussions on environmental matters, noting that the conference was the first of three major environmental meetings the country would host in the coming months.
Mr. Dodds also added that the final declaration was rich in knowledge, information and ideas and encouraged organizations to use the document to trigger debate.