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UNRISD at the World Civil Society Forum: Geneva, 12-20 July 2002
20 Jun 2002
UNRISD is participating in the World Civil Society Forum which is being held in Geneva from 12-20 July 2002. The Institute has a stand at the Forum, where it is presenting its wide range of new publications. You are most welcome to visit and meet with staff members who are present there.
The Forum takes place at the International Conference Centre Geneva (ICCG). It is located in the immediate proximity of the UN and other international organizations based in Geneva. Activities are held in other locations near the ICCG, particularly in the buildings of some international organizations, notably the ITU.
Peter Utting, the UNRISD Research Co-ordinator leading the project on Business Responsibility for Sustainable Development, will be a speaker at the Forum's Working Group on Private Sector - Civil Society: Where Is the Border? What Are the Common Interests and Divergences? What Are the Main Problems? The Working Group will be held on Thursday from 14:00-15:30 at the CICG complex.
The Forum meets during the week preceding the Working Group of the United Nations on Indigenous Peoples, one week before the UN Sub-Commission on Human Rights and one week after the first Prepcom of the World Summit on the Information Society. Training sessions and many other activities are organized before and after the Forum. Those dates will enable the Forum to contribute directly to the World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg 2002/Rio+10) during which UNRISD will organize a parallel event with the University of the Witwatersrand, and to the preparation of the 2003 World Summit on the Information Society, in which UNRISD will also take part.
The project of the World Civil Society Forum was conceived initially during the Millenium Forum on UN reforms (May 2000, New York), which recalled the desire of the United Nations to work closely with civil society in its activities, as well as the request of several non-governmental organizations to strengthen co-operation among themselves as well as with the UN system. Research at UNRISD has long focused on civil society and its movements and one of the Institute's most recently launched projects in the area will concentrate on the newly independent states of Central Asia.
The Forum will encompass the different areas of the international arena (the environment, health, human rights, humanitarian rights, education, peace, security, information technology,etc) in which UNRISD has conducted research over the years. The aim is to allow, in each of these areas, the promotion of co-operation.
We look forward to seeing you there...