CoNGO

[Side Event] Human Rights for Older Persons - The NGO Committee on Ageing (New York)
2023-04-03 13:00 - 14:30 (America/Halifax) | UN Headquarters, New York
The case for a new convention on the human rights of older persons – the view from Geneva and its relevance to the work of the Open-ended Working Group on Ageing

Organizer UNDESA and INPEA
Format of the Event In-Person
Location Conference Room 8

This side-event will examine recent developments relating to the human rights of older persons at the Human Rights Council and explore their relevance to the work of the Open-ended Working Group on Ageing (OEWGA). It will on focus on the 2022 report (A/HRC/49/70) of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights OHRCHR) on the current international framework relating to the human rights of older persons and in particular on the findings and recommendations of the multistakeholder meeting organised by OHCHR in August 2022 to consider that report. Panel participants will be drawn from member States, civil society organisations, national human rights institutions and experts.

[Side Event] Health Care Discussion - The NGO Committee on Ageing (New York)
2023-04-04 13:00 - 14:30 (America/Halifax) | UN Headquarters, New York
Health care for all or just for some? A discussion on the right to health
Tue Apr 4; 1:15pm – 2:30pm

Organizer UNDESA and International Longevity Centre Canada
Format of the Event In-Person
Location Conference Room 8

[Side Event] The Right of Older Persons to Access Palliative Care - The NGO Committee on Ageing (New York)
2023-04-05 10:00 - 11:30 (America/Halifax) | Online
The right of older persons to access palliative care as a component of the right to health: perspectives from Albania, Zambia, the US and the Philippines.
Wed Apr 5; 10:00am – 11:15am
Organizer International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care
Format of the Event Zoom. Register: https://us02web.zoom.us/webina…

[Side Event] Assuring Human Rights for Older Persons in Long Term Care Facilities - The NGO Committee on Ageing (New York)
2023-04-05 13:00 - 14:30 (America/Halifax) | Online
Assuring Human Rights for Older Persons in Long Term Care Facilities: Implementing Lessons Learned
Wed Apr 5; 1:15pm – 2:30pm

Organizer Gray Panthers
Format of the Event Virtual
Location Online

Everywhere, COVID exposed inequities and unleashed a torrent of disease and death, especially among older persons. Nowhere more than in the long term care sector, where the under-appreciation of the human rights of older persons becomes increasingly evident. This applies both to developed and developing countries. With a deeper understanding, we have the opportunity to implement lessons learned to properly incorporate respect for the human rights of older persons into the evolution of long term care systems – both residential and family care giving.
This discussion examines problems, cautionary tales, and solutions while re-imagining long term care with human rights as a guiding force.
Guiding Questions

What are human rights of older persons in long term care facilities?
Why were catastrophes from COVID created in long term care facilities? What happened in your country with respect to COVID and older persons receiving long term care?
How are the voices of older persons included when nations develop or refine their residential long term care facilities? We presume they are not included.
What lessons must be learned for developed and developing nations with regard to residential long term care? How are the human rights of older persons acknowledged and protected?
Give specific examples of good practice and bad practice to assure human rights for older persons in residential long term care facilities.
What is your “call to action” to protect human rights for older persons in long term care facilities? What needs to be accomplished? How do we assure that the precious lives lost were not lost in vain?

Virtual Platform Link:
Register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwkd-yhrD8oGNw28SIWGJ3zpo9EF3X2evod
Flyer of the event
For more information, please visit this website.

New Horizons in Translation and Interpreting Technology | Dialogue Forum
2023-04-13 08:45 - 11:00 (America/New_York)
**Call for Participation**

The NGO Committee on Language and Languages presents
New Horizons in

Translation and Interpreting Technology
13 April 2023
While technology has long mediated the work of language professionals, recent innovations as well as ‘the new normal’ of virtual meetings following COVID-19 have brought a range of issues and questions into the foreground. In what ways do technological tools make the work of translators and interpreters easier? What (new) burdens do technological innovations present for translators and interpreters? How has the rapid rise in the use of videoconferencing affected multilingual accessibility and also the health and well-being of interpreters? How might the future of artificial intelligence (AI) present opportunities for equitable communication among speakers of different languages? At the same time, what implications does AI have for the human elements of communication and the roles of interpreters and translators? A panel of leaders, practicing professionals, and researchers will take up these and other topics. Representatives of NGOs, Secretariat and UN agency staff, colleagues from Member States, language professionals, researchers, and students are welcome to attend.
Event Details
The NGO Committee on Language and Languages (CoLL) is hosting the dialogue forum virtually on 13 April 2023.
08:45-11:00 – New York
14:45-17:00 – Geneva
15:45-18:00 – Nairobi
20:45-22:00 – Bangkok
Registration
Representatives of NGOs, Secretariat and UN agency staff, colleagues from Member States, scholars, language professionals, students and others with an interest in technology for translation and interpreting. There is no fee, but pre-registration is required. Register here as soon as possible, but no later than 12 April.

Programme
8:45-9:00am Sign In
9:00-9:05am Francis M. Hult – Welcome, Chair, NGO Committee on Language and Languages
9:05-9:10am Linda Fitchett and Alison Rodriguez – Introduction
9:10-9:25am Harilaos Ghinos
9:25-9:40am Andrea Caniato
9:40-9:55am Jost Zetzsche
9:55-10:10am Muskaan Singh
10:10-10:30am Panel Discussion
10:30-11:00am Open Dialogue

See flyer HERE: CoLL Translation and Interpreting Technology April 2023
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CoNGO Notes: For information about the collaborative work of NGOs on the above issues, you can visit the substantive committees under the auspices of CoNGO. CoNGO is a partner of the World Summit on Information Society process (WSIS Process), in which the agenda of Information Communication and Digital Technology, including translation and interpreting technologies, are discussed. The CoNGO President, Liberato Bautista, has been a High-Level Track Facilitator at WSIS Forum 2022 and WSIS Forum 2023. For specific information about the NGO Committee on Language and Languages, contact: Chair: Francis M. Hult | Universal Esperanto Association | UEA | fmhult@umbc.edu

Conversations on the role of NGOs, Faith-Based Organizations, and Universities at the United Nations
2023-04-18 14:00 - 18:00 (America/New_York)
Conversations on global citizenship education and the role of NGOs, Faith-Based Organizations, the academe and Universities at the United Nations, including discussion on the “Vatican repudiation of the doctrine of discovery” and “global citizenship education”
Click HERE for speaker bios
Click HERE to view book cover
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CoNGO Notes: For information about the collaborative work of NGOs on the above issues, visit the substantive committees under the auspices of CoNGO.

First Global Commemorative Celebration of the 75th Anniversary of CoNGO
2023-04-28 14:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York)
First Global Commemorative Celebration of the
75th Anniversary of CoNGO
(Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations)
APRIL 28, 2023 | 14:00 – 16:45 CET
Venue: Vienna International Centre | Conference Room 1 | Wagramer Str. 5, 1220 Wien
____________________________
THERE ARE THREE WAYS TO ATTEND. REGISTER NOW.
Those with a UN Vienna grounds pass: Register Here
Those with no UN Vienna grounds pass: Register Here
Zoom Link to the Live Stream Register Here
Program Invitation
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Time
Agenda item
Name
Title

13.57
Music
Didier Louis
Bagpiper

14.00
Opening Welcome
Martina Gredler
CoNGO Second Vice President

14.02
Opening Video Address
H. E. Ghada Fathi Waly
Director-General, United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV)

14.07
Video Message
H. E. Peter Launsky-
Tieffenthal
Secretary General, Foreign Ministry of Austria

14.13
Messages
Permanent Missions to the United Nations and Other International Organizations at Vienna

14.15
Message
Shams Asadi
Human Rights Commissioner | Head, Human Rights Office, City of Vienna

14.19
Music: Jacques Castérède (1926-2014) Flûtes en Vacances
Flutists: Katarina Göbel, Ágnes Tóth, & Chiara Zoccola
2. Satz Flûtes Joyeuses

14.24
Presidential Address
Liberato C. Bautista
CoNGO President

14.34
Greetings
Gillian Sorensen (Co-Chair of CoNGO 75th Anniversary Commemoration)
Former UN Assistant Secretary-General for External Relations

14.37
Greetings
Patrick Rea (Co-Chair of CoNGO 75th Anniversary Commemoration)
International Grand Master Emeritus, OSMTH

14.39
In Memoriam
Ilona Graenitz, Marlene Parenzan, and Maria Jonas
Former CoNGO Leaders in Vienna

14.42
Music: Jacques Castérède (1926-2014) Flûtes en Vacances
Flutists: Katarina Göbel, Ágnes Tóth, & Chiara Zoccola
1. Satz Flûtes Pastorales

14.47
Keynote Introduction
Martina Gredler
CoNGO Second Vice President

14.50
Keynote 1: Re-Imagining and Re-Narrativizing Multilateralism: Why NGOs and Civil Society Truly Matter
Nikhil Seth, UN Assistant Secretary-General, Executive Director
UN Institute for Training and Research

15.05
Keynote 2: Gender Justice and Multilateralism: Achievements and Unfinished Agendas
Helga Konrad
Former Austrian Federal Minister of Women’s Affairs

15.20
Keynote 3: The Multilateral Human Rights Regime: Civil Society and NGOs in the Development and Promotion of Human Rights
Manfred Nowak
Secretary General, Global Campus of Human Rights in Venice

15.35
Music
Jacques Castérède (1926-2014) Flûtes en Vacances
Flutists: Katarina Göbel, Ágnes Tóth, & Chiara Zoccola
4. Satz Flûtes Légères

15.40
Greetings and Invitation to the Vin d’honneur
Omar Al-Rawi
Member of Vienna City Council and Provincial Parliament

15.44
Closing Remarks
Martina Gredler
CoNGO Second Vice President

A Vin d’honneur follows the program at the Coffee Corner, Building C opposite Conference Room 1, thanks to the hospitality of the City of Vienna and Regina Wialla-Zimm (International Relations Officer, Chief Executive Office for International Relations, City of Vienna)
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CoNGO: 75 Years and Beyond (1948-2023)
“Defining the Present, Shaping the Future, Making the Change Now”
In its 75th year since its founding, CoNGO (Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations in Consultative Relationship with the
United Nations) continues the legacy of advocacy for the voice and agency of civil society to be presenced at multilateral meetings at
the United Nations systemwide. Since its founding in 1948, CoNGO has been a significant interface between NGOs, now the broader
civil society, and the United Nations System. CoNGO has consistently promoted, defended, and boosted civil society access—both physical and political—to deliberative and decision-making processes throughout the United Nations System. CoNGO has encouraged and facilitated competent NGO inputs across the whole spectrum of local to planetary issues that constitute the daily and yearly agenda of the United Nations.
CoNGO has often spoken out in defense of the values that the UN and civil society share and has addressed governments with the plea—indeed the demand—that the financial underpinning of the UN is substantially reinforced to enable the Organization to adequately respond to the needs of the planet and its people. The 50+ entities, agencies, commissions, institutes, and other bodies comprising the United Nations System are coping with world, regional, and local aspirations and crises. Civil Society’s engagement with the United Nations is critical to the fulfillment of its mandate and its work, and CoNGO is a persistent and informed advocate of that cause. The depth and breadth of CoNGO’s knowledge of the United Nations System and NGO access to the system are unique.
CoNGO marks its 75th anniversary in 2023, with a look back, of course, but substantially with an eye to the future. The anniversary theme is “Shaping the Present, Shaping the Future, Making the Change, Now.” CoNGO will make the Anniversary a significant milestone on the road of cooperation and interaction between Civil Society—international, national, and grassroots—and the United Nations System. By motivating and galvanizing the entire CoNGO constituency and the United Nations System, CoNGO will build bridges to the future of multilateralism, cutting through the fogs of populism and short-termism. Together, the United Nations and Civil Society can—and must—work to enable future generations to enjoy healthy lives and sustainable livelihoods in greater peace, social justice, democracy, and the rule of law.
The CoNGO 75th Anniversary Committee and the CoNGO Board are undertaking ambitious but realistic goals—all forming part of the vision and direction that the presidency of Liberato Bautista has set to do. They constitute the backdrop to the following activities and events, which will be organized during the 75th Anniversary year and followed through for consolidation in 2024 and 2025: A) Four Anniversary Commemorative celebrations at UN Centres in Vienna (April), Bangkok (May), New York (October), and Geneva (December). Where possible, the events will include lectures and, where appropriate, cultural and hospitality events. B) Production of an anniversary book recounting the 75 years of CoNGO’s interactions among its members and with the UN System. The booklet will honor the giants of CoNGO’s past and present leaders and open a perspective into CoNGO’s future work. This shall include profiles of CoNGO presidents and vice presidents, the NGO substantive committees, and pages about CoNGO member organizations that may want to be featured. C) Six global thematic webinars will follow up on the themes that emerged from a CoNGO Civil Society Summit held in October 2021 with over 1,000 participants in person and online. The six thematic clusters are:
1. Social justice: Migration justice, racial justice, and health justice (March)
2. Pursuing Global Justice: Agenda 2030, sustainable development, and humanitarian action (May)
3. Gender Justice, youth, and intergenerational solidarity (June)
4. Peace and threats to the security of people and the planet (August)
5. UN-NGO relations: enhancing multilateralism, protecting NGO access, civil space and democratic discourse (October)
6. Human dignity and human rights (December)
To achieve CoNGO’s purposes for the 75th Anniversary, CoNGO has the structural benefit of a diverse and multidisciplinary membership of more than 600 organizations, solid and committed global officers and board members, 37 substantive NGO Committees, 37 Substantive Committees worldwide, and high-level 75th Anniversary Committee that provides advice and guidance. Through the involvement of international and national civil society organizations, all of the activities of CoNGO’s forward-looking 75th Anniversary Year will contribute to the achievement of the UN Agenda 2030, the advancement of the UN Secretary General’s “Our Common Agenda,” and the success of the UN 2024 Summit of the Future, including its follow up.
SPONSORSHIP: This program and other events scheduled throughout 2023 in celebration of CoNGO’s 75th anniversary are made possible through the generous contribution of The Mulchand and Parpati Thadhani Foundation, the STUF United Fund, and individual donors.
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Keynote Speakers
Please be at the VIC gate no later than 13:30 to go through security and arrive in time for the opening of the event at 14:00.
Event Flyer

Virtual Program Meeting ( with Claudia Mahler - the Independent Expert on Ageing ) : 4 May 2022
2023-05-04 13:00 - 14:30 (America/New_York)
CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE PROGRAM HERE (ZOOM LINK)

CoNGO Notes: For information about the collaborative work of NGOs on the above issues, visit the substantive committees under the auspices of CoNGO. Visit here for specific information about the NGO Committee on Ageing, NGO Committee on Ageing Vienna, and NGO Committee on Ageing Geneva.

RCAP Meeting and CoNGO 75th Anniversary Celebration in Bangkok, May 19 and 20, 2023
2023-05-19 - 2023-05-20 | Siam University, 38 Phetkasem Road, Phasi Charoen, Bangwa Bangkok, Phasi Charoen District, 10160, Thailand
Go to this Zoom link to watch the May 19 proceedings of the
CoNGO RCAP Meeting and 75th-Anniversary Commemoration

CoNGO REGIONAL COMMITTEE IN ASIA-PACIFIC
(RCAP)
Invitation to RCAP Bangkok, May 19 and 20, 2023

The CoNGO RCAP initiative took off in 2017 and has been productive for NGOs/CSOs in the Asia-Pacific Region, facilitating access to the United Nations deliberations on the Sustainable Development Goals, and encouraging intra-regional learning and cooperation processes.

This memorandum outlines the situation and planning for RCAP work in 2023 when we will meet in person for the first time after the pandemic that has so long disrupted lives and activities around the world.

You certainly know that UN. ESCAP has scheduled its 2023 Plenary Session (ESCAP 79) for May 15-19. We are delighted that our generous Bangkok host of many years, Siam University, kindly agrees to again host RCAP 2023 on May 19 and 20. (May 19, the last day of ESCAP, is normally a rather formal set of sessions to approve the conclusions reached during the preceding week.) As 2023 is CoNGO’s 75th Anniversary, we will also hold a commemorative event for that within the framework of RCAP.

Each year the work of RCAP provides input to the UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) – which in 2023 is meeting at the UN.HQ in New York from July 10 to 19. Information: hlpf-un-org/ 2023/programme. In addition, an SDG Summit will be held at the UN.HQ in September 2023, to assess progress at approximately the halfway stage of 2015-2030. (https://www.un.org/en/conferences/SDGSummit2023)
RCAP can have input to that too.

This year’s HLPF theme is “Accelerating the recovery from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at all levels”. The 2023 HLPF will review the following SDGs: SDG 6 (Clean water and sanitation), SDG 7 (Affordable and clean energy), SDG 9 (Industry, innovation, infrastructure), SDG 11 (Sustainable cities and communities), SDG 17 (Partnerships for the SDGs). The Voluntary National Reviews scheduled for HLPF 2023 include the following countries from the RCAP region: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Fiji, Maldives, Mongolia, Singapore, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam.

Based on past experience, we will again focus RCAP’s content on the key action words of the HLPF theme in 2023, namely “FULL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 2030 AGENDA FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT”.

The IMPLEMENTATION of the SDGs is so frequently lacking, and it is in the implementation area that NGOs and CSOs are often setting an example to governments, local authorities, and other stakeholders. So we are hereby inviting all NGOs/CSOs on the RCAP mailing list to send CoNGO a document (text, PPT, chart, etc) via our registration survey describing their specific projects and achievements in implementing one or more of the SDGs that are up for review this year. We want to have examples of grass-roots implementation that involves communities and makes a measurable difference in people’s lives.

As in past years, we shall then use the project reports as the basis for a composite synthesis for submission to the 2023 HLPF.

Under the updated RCAP Terms of Reference, the Steering Committee will be elected at the 2023 RCAP Session. I invite you to consider proposing a candidate.

We look forward to your responses on your Implementation of the SDGs!
Please fill out this registration survey.
Your organization’s SDG implementation documents should be sent to (rcap@ngocongo.org) by May 3, 2023.
CoNGO First Vice President
(firstvp@ngocongo.org)
N.B. As a reminder, the following are some relevant international events in the months until the HLPF:

Asia Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development, 27-30 March (ESCAP, Bangkok)
UN Commission on Population and Development (CPopD16), 16th Session, April 10-14, New York
17th World Congress on Public Health, May 2-6, Rome (World Federation of Public Health Associations)
International Labour Conference (ILC 111), June 5-16 (Geneva)

Annexe: RCAP 2023 Logistical Information and Provisional Schedule
RCAP_CoNGO@75_Events_Bangkok.Ver2.0

REGISTER

RCAP Logistical Information and Provisional Schedule

RCAP Terms of Reference

For any questions, please email rcap@ngocongo.org

Second CoNGO Global Thematic Webinar--Pursuing Global Justice and Solidarity: Realizing Agenda 2030, Sustainable Development and Humanitarian Action
2023-06-05 09:30 - 12:00 (America/New_York)
Click to register for webinar online participation.
June 5, 2023 Monday
9:30 AM – 12:00 PM EDT New York | 15:30 – 18:00 CEST Geneva
16:30 – 19:00 EAT Nairobi | 8:30 PM – 11:00 PM ICT Bangkok
Time Zone Calculator
THE WEBINAR WILL BE INTERPRETED IN ENGLISH, SPANISH, FRENCH AND ARABIC

Provisional Program Ver. 3.5
9:30 Anniversary Remarks by CoNGO 75th-Anniversary Honorary Co-Chairs

Gillian Sorensen (Former UN Assistant Secretary-General for External Relations)
Patrick Rea (Grand Master Emeritus, Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem, OSMTH)

9:34 Opening Remarks

Liberato Bautista (President of CoNGO and Assistant General Secretary for United Nations and International Affairs of The United Methodist Church—General Board of Church and Society)

9:40 Framing Remarks

Samuel Rizk (Head of Conflict Prevention, Peacebuilding & Responsive Institutions {CPPRI}, Crisis Bureau, United Nations Development Programme {UNDP})

9:45 Panel 1: Framing the Intersections of Sustainable Development, Peace and Humanitarian Action
Moderator: Liberato Bautista, President of CoNGO and Main Representative to the UN, United Methodist Church-General Board of Church and Society)
UN Agenda 2030 and the WSIS Action Lines: Convergences for the Attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals

Tomas Lamanauskas (Deputy Secretary-General, International Telecommunication Union)

Gender Justice and the Achievement of Sustainable Development and Sustainable Peace: No Development Without Peace, No Peace Without Development

Catherine Renee Andela (Chief of Gender Unit, UN Department of Peace Operations, and Senior Gender Adviser)

Achieving Global Justice and Solidarity in Times of Intersecting Global Pandemics and Crises

·Lidy Nacpil (Coordinator, Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development, Philippines)

International Financial Institutions and Trade: Their Impacts on Development

Kinda Mohamadieh (Senior Researcher and Legal Advisor, Third World Network)

10:18 Q & A
10:25 Panel 2: Sustainable Development and Peace in a Time of Intersecting Global Development and Humanitarian Crises
Moderator: Jan Lönn (Chair of CoNGO Board Standing Committee on Agenda 2030, Secretary General of ISMUN)
Reducing Inequalities Within and Among Countries: Challenges and Prospects in Implementing the Right to Development

Mihir Kanade (Independent Expert, UN Human Rights Council Expert Mechanism on the Right to Development; Professor and Director of Human Rights Centre at University of Peace, Costa Rica)

Pursuing Global Justice and Solidarity: Achieving Just and Equitable Access to Global Public Goods

Ana María Suárez-Franco (Executive Coordination Team in Geneva—FIAN International; Colombia)

Full Funding of the UN and Financing for Sustainable Development

Anita Thomas (Chair, NGO Committee on Financing for Development; Representative to the UN of Women First International)

10:53 Q&A
11:00 Panel 3: Sustainable Development In a Time of Intersecting Global Development and Humanitarian Crises
Moderator: Priska Fleischlin (Vice Chair of CoNGO Board Standing Committee on Agenda 2030 and Commissioner to the UN for the International Federation of Social Workers)
Humanitarian Action in a Time of Intersecting Global Pandemics and Crises

Rudelmar Bueno de Faria (General Secretary of ACT Alliance)

Humanitarianism and Sustainable Development: Dilemmas and Transformations

Ignacio Packer (Executive Director of Initiatives of Change {IofC} and former Executive Director of ICVA {global consortium of humanitarian NGOs})

Achieving Global Justice and Sustainability in a World of Uneven Economic Development and Common but Differentiated Responsibilities

Maria Mercedes Rossi (Main Representative to the UN, Associazione Comunità Papa Giovanni XXIII APG23)

11:35 Q&A
11:42 Break for Rapporteurs
11:50 Rapporteur’s Report in View of an Outcome Document
Rapporteur’s Team: Cyril Ritchie (Lead Rapporteur, CoNGO First Vice President) Margo LaZaro (NGO Committee on Sustainable Development/New York), Ingeborg Geyer (NGO Committee on Sustainable Development/Vienna; Zonta International), and Nina Wendling/Norm Coleman (International Cancer Expert Corps, tbc)
11:57 Closing Remarks by Liberato Bautista (President of CoNGO)

CONCEPT NOTE Ver. 4.0
Background to the theme
1. We live in a time beyond warning. Global inequities are widening. The ambitious UN Agenda 2030 with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is far from its realization. A climate emergency time bomb is ticking and already causing disasters for many millions of people. Action to cope with humanitarian crises is meeting increasing challenges, not least a decline in public attention to some of the most serious and long-lasting, accompanied by a decrease in funding.
2. Food insecurity and a cost-of-living crisis are leaving millions of people behind. Today, 828 million people are undernourished—this has risen by 150 million over the last three years. The debt crisis is alarming, with 60% of low-income countries and 30% of emerging market economies in or near debt distress, pushing nations to the brink where governments cannot provide their citizens adequate health, education, social protection, and other human resources rights.
3. Pursuing Global Justice—to ensure the right to development for all the citizens and nations of the earth and address the systemic root causes of a divided world—is a fundamental issue of our time. It must stand at the center of realizing the aims of the United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, whose 75th anniversary is commemorated this year.
4. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have a deep-rooted relationship to peace and stability. Without peace, all other goals—from focusing on youth, women and gender justice (SDG5) rights to addressing climate change (SDG13) and water (SDG6), energy (SDG7) and food security (SDG2), sustainable cities (SDG11) and sustainable industrialization (SDG9)—will be impossible to achieve. The connection between peace and development is so intrinsic that bridging the gap between humanitarian and sustainable development responses is critical and urgent to addressing lingering and protracted polycrisis. In the same vein, implementing Women Peace and Security (WPS) priorities—a political commitment in the Secretary General’s Action for Peacekeeping (A4P) initiative—will be reaffirmed, recognizing women’s equal participation in peace processes and achieving global development goals.
5. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have a deep-rooted relationship to peace and stability. Without peace, all other goals—from focusing on youth, women and gender justice (SDG5) rights to addressing climate change (SDG13) and water (SDG6), energy (SZDG7) and food security (SDG2), sustainable cities (SDG11) and sustainable industrialization (SDG9)—will be impossible to achieve. The connection between peace and development is so intrinsic that bridging the gap between humanitarian and sustainable development responses is critical and urgent to addressing lingering and protracted polycrisis. Similarly, implementing Women’s Peace and Security (WPS) priorities—a political commitment in the Secretary General’s Action for Peacekeeping (A4P) initiative—will be reaffirmed, recognizing women’s equal participation in peace processes and achieving global development goals.
6. The United Nations agenda of 2023 is marked by the preparations for and holding of the September SDG Summit, the High-Level Dialogue on Financing for Development, and preparations for the 2024 UN Summit of the Future. At the SDG Summit, Heads of State and Government will gather at the United Nations Headquarters in New York to review the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The preparatory process for the SDG Summit has stressed the urgency of action and commitment to focus on reversing negative trends, the immediate acceleration of SDG implementation and breakthroughs that steer towards transformative and systemic change. (GA Co-Facilitators’ elements paper for the consultations on the Political Declaration of the SDG Summit).
7. The 2024 UN Summit of the Future, organized on the proposal of the UN Secretary-General, will have a Ministerial meeting in September 2023 to set the stage for the Summit. To prepare for the Summit of the Future, the UN Secretary-General appointed a High-Level Advisory Board on Effective Multilateralism (HLAB), which published its extensive report in April 2023: ”A Breakthrough for People and Planet: Effective and Inclusive Global Governance for Today and the Future.” The Report includes proposals on reconstituting our global financial system to provide fairer representation, sustainable financial resources for all, and adoption by the UN of a Pact for People and the Planet. The report stresses that ”On our current trajectory, we face a collective breakdown. We are putting the existence of future generations at risk”.
8. At the UN General Assembly, a vital consultation process for the adoption by the 2024 Summit of a Declaration on Future Generations has started. These are ongoing UN processes that this second 75th Anniversary CoNGO webinar will seek to contribute to.
CoNGO and the webinar
9. The Civil Society Summit on Substantive Issues, “Shaping the Future: The UN We Need for the World We Want,” organized by CoNGO on 8 October 2021, highlighted global justice among all humanity’s significant global critical concerns.
10. The Civil Society Summit on Substantive Issues brought together over 1,000 participants worldwide to contribute experience and competencies, share doubts about our current world, and collectively articulate aspirations and proposals for the world we want and must achieve. The Civil Society Summit was rich in outlining concepts and actions needed to shape the future.
11. As a direct outcome, the CoNGO General Assembly resolved to use the outcome of the Summit—the Synthesis Report—as a substantive basis for CoNGO’s programmatic direction, especially highlighting it in 2023, CoNGO’s 75th anniversary year. It agreed to convene a series of six high-level global thematic webinars throughout 2023 to highlight and engage the global constituency on the critical themes articulated at the Summit and to elaborate on the agenda, responses, and actions necessary to shape a future of human rights, global justice, social justice, non-discrimination, peace, sustainable development, human and environmental security, and gender justice and inter-generational solidarity for all.
12. The Syntheses report stressed that “The UN and Civil Society must raise solidarity as an essential universal standard, proclaiming it a global public good. We need a new social contract that is not about economic recovery alone, but an approach based on broad consensus and not on special deals, and brings to the fore the voices of civil society and impoverished and marginalized communities.” “The CoVID-19 situation further illustrates the interests of the few taking precedence over the needs of the many. A cardinal principle should be prioritizing people and the planet over profit.” ”Climate change is a crucial driver of poverty and an inhibitor of sustainable development, exacerbating population displacement and conflicts. Action today, not promises today, are what the world needs.” The report stated that ”the UN and Civil Society must also work more closely together on disaster risk reduction, strengthening community resilience, livelihoods” As a critical element to enable progress the Synthesis report stressed that ”The budgets of the United Nations System are minuscule in relation to the tasks assigned to it in the UN Charter and by governments. Member States must substantially increase unrestricted funding for the UN, especially its core budget, on a predictable and timely basis.”
Emphases of the Second Webinar
13. At this CoNGO webinar, we will be able to highlight and discuss the following:
a. Review of the UN and expert conclusions on the implementation of agreed goals and the severity of the current climate, environment and development crises and discussing how better to make people around the world informed on the realities of the crises which require action for their existence, and that of future generations.
b. Reaffirmation of the fundamental UN development principles of global solidarity, right to development, peace and security, and common but different responsibilities, including strengthening “the global architecture for peace, security and finance; for ensuring more equity and fairness in global decision-making; for placing gender equality at the heart of a reinvigorated multilateral architecture; for rebuilding trust in multilateralism through inclusion and accountability” as recommended by the High-Level Advisory Board on Effective Multilateralism (HLAB).
c. Reiteration of the treaty obligations on social and economic rights and the critical role of and strengthening of the public sector for their implementation and building social protection systems, health, education and other social services to co-design preventative and responsive support systems that fulfill the rights and meet the needs of people and adequately integrate human rights obligations and standards into budgetary decisions.
d. Recognition that present and future water scarcity is and will be at the basis of increasing conflict, the webinar (in the context of SDG 6) will touch upon equitable water rights and community leadership. Moreover (in the context of SDG 11), the webinar will explore the centrality of achieving sustainable cities, including safe, adequate, affordable food, housing, water and energy services, health services, sustainable transportation, and decent work and a living wage.
e. Emphasis on SDG Goal 10, called an Orphan goal by the ECOSOC President at the CoNGO Assembly in 2021, while deepening inequality remains a key obstacle to achieving globally agreed ambitions of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the promise to leave no one behind.
f. Underlining of the UN Charter, which mandates the specialized agencies and related international organizations like the World Bank and IMF within the UN System to be under UN policy guidance and to review broadly supported reform proposals to enhance UN policy guidance and democratize those institutions, and strengthen the role of developing countries in the international financial institutions. It can be recalled that the NGO Millennium Forum at the UN in 2000 made strong calls for such reforms.
g. Recognition of the critical role of current financing for development processes and financing commitments within the climate change negotiations, but also acknowledging that the global needs call for enormous, far larger, many trillions more of dollars, financial resources to be raised and the need for a broad global public mobilization to generate such funds, which possibly could include convening a UN world conference.
h. Awareness-raising on the complexity of the current humanitarian crises caused by disasters and conflicts, including the increasing concern by humanitarian and faith-based bodies over suffering caused by sanctions and unilateral coercive measures.
i. Further stress on the need for a global information campaign to support drastically increased and total funding for the United Nations to fulfill its Charter role and implement its agreed programmes.
14. A webinar outcome document will reflect the strong points raised in the presentations and discussions. Among others, it will address concerns raised in the CoNGO Civil Society Summit of Substantive Issues (2021) and issues raised in the Secretary-General’s Advisory Report on Effective Multilateralism, which is that “our global governance system be redesigned around equitable access to global public goods, allowing all people, everywhere to benefit from our collective resources, knowledge, and security.”
15. The Outcome Document must reflect the urgency of ensuring the human species’ viability and the planet’s sustainability. This can only happen with radically new financial resources, profuse political courage at all levels of governance, and abundant political will among all people. Such resources must ensure the total funding of the core budget of the UN, including all internationally agreed development goals. To reach the Agenda 2030 and the SDGs, including reducing inequality within and among countries, an unprecedented mobilization of resources is imperative, reflecting the just and equal distribution of common global public goods. It must also reflect our resolve to address global economic governance based on principles of the UN Charter—so that the UN we need steps up to the demands of the world we want.
Background Information
a) CoNGO Civil Society Summit on Substantive Issues. http://ngocongo.org/27th-general-assembly/pre-assembly-civil-society-summit-on-substantive-issues
b) Synthesis Report of the CoNGO Civil Society Summit on Substantive Issues. http://ngocongo.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Synthesis_Report_Civil_Society_Summit_2021.Final_.pdf
c) CoNGO Declaration on the 75th Anniversary of the United Nations. http://ngocongo.org/declaration-of-the-conference-of-non-governmental-organizations-in-consultative-relationship-with-the-united-nations-congo-on-the-occasion-of-the-75th-anniversary-of-the-united-nations
d) High-Level Political Forum 2023 https://hlpf.un.org/2023
e) Our Common Agenda (UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s vision for the future of global cooperation) https://www.un.org/en/common-agenda
f) The SDG Summit (Sept. 18-19, 2023) https://www.un.org/en/conferences/SDGSummit2023
g) Summit of the Future (Sept. 22-23, 2024) https://www.un.org/en/common-agenda/summit-of-the-future
h) Invitation to the 75th Anniversary Celebrations of CoNGO in 2023 https://ngocongo.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Sorensen_Rea_Joint_Anniversary_Letter.pdf

Multilingualism Thematic Meeting
2023-06-12 09:00 - 13:00 (America/New_York)
The NGO Committee on Language and Languages and the Study Group on Language and the United Nations together with the Permanent Missions of Andorra, Burundi, Canada, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, and Spain and the Permanent Observer Mission for the International Organization of la Francophonie will hold a special meeting with the theme of Building Common Understanding through Multilingualism.
The four-hour meeting will take place in a virtual environment to maximize opportunities for participation globally. The President of the General Assembly and other senior leaders, Member States, Representatives of the Group of Francophone Ambassadors and of the Group of Friends of Spanish, Observer Missions, UN entities, ECOSOC-accredited civil society organizations with a focus on multilingualism, and scientific experts will deliver statements in relation to the aims of the thematic meeting.
The meeting will take place on 12 June 2023 from 09:00-13:00 EDT/New York via Zoom. Interpretation in the six official languages of the United Nations will be organized by the NGO Committee on Language and Languages using volunteer civil society interpreters. Esperanto interpretation will be provided by the Universal Esperanto Association.
Interested individuals from UN entities, civil society, academia, intergovernmental organizations, among others may register to observe the meeting by completing this general registration form no later than 9 June. The concept note is available in English, French, and Spanish below.

The concept note is available in English, Esperanto, French, and Spanish below.

Concept Note – EN
Concept Note – EO
Concept Note – ES
Concept Note – FR

CoNGO Notes: For information about the collaborative work of NGOs on the above issues, visit the substantive committees under the auspices of CoNGO. For specific information about the NGO Committee on Language and Languages, email its Chair:

Chair: Francis M. Hult | Universal Esperanto Association | UEA | fmhult@umbc.edu

Launch Event: Maastricht Principles on the Human Rights of Future Generations
2023-07-13 15:30 - 17:00 (America/New_York) | Church Center for the UN, 777 United Nations Plaza, 2nd Floor, New York, NY, 10017-3521, United States
PLEASE REGISTER HERE.
HERE’S THE DIRECT LINK TO FOLLOW ONLIZE VIA ZOOM: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_sUGt06LUTtycW8rb4IU6Hw
INTERPRETATION IN ENGLISH, SPANISH AND FRENCH AVAILABLE ONLINE.
EVENT WILL BE LIVE STREAMED ON CoNGO YouTube Channel

Facilitation: Liberato Bautista (CoNGO–Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations)

Panelists:
H.E Mariza Chan Valverde (Ambassador of Costa Rica to the UN in New York)
Mr. Thomas Lammar (Counsellor, Human Rights, Permanent Mission of Luxembourg to the United Nations)

Mr. Carroll Muffett (Center for International Environmental Law)
Dr.Jur. Ana María Suárez Franco (FIAN)
Mr. Christian Courtis (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights)
Mr. Jan Lönn (NGO Committee on Development, Geneva, and ISMUN)
CONCEPT NOTE
Already in the 1970s and 1980s, there was a growing understanding that a ”business as usual” model was exposing the Earth, present generations (particularly children and youth) as well future generations. In recent times, these threats have multiplied. They include the triple environmental crisis of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss; the exceeding of “planetary boundaries” through unsustainable patterns of production and consumption; global health threats such as the Covid-19 pandemic; inadequately controlled and regulated new technologies; the scourge of war and the deployment of weapons of mass destruction, global conflict and the outbreak of war; and the erosion of long-established norms of democratic governance and civil and political rights in many countries. These and a range of other developments are posing profound threats to the ability of future generations to enjoy all internationally recognised human rights.
Despite the gravity of the human rights threats faced by future generations and a rapidly evolving scholarship on this subject, there has not been enough attention to the human rights of future generations within the UN and other multilateral fora. The time was thus ripe to build on three prior Maastricht initiatives that made major contributions to the development of human rights law: The Limburg Principles on the Implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1986); the Maastricht Guidelines on Violations of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1997); and the Maastricht Principles on Extraterritorial Obligations of States in the Area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (2011). The fourth Maastricht project thus focuses on addressing the major gap in human rights protection – the human rights of future generations.
The Maastricht Principles, adopted on the 3rd of February 2023, seek both to consolidate and develop existing human rights standards to enhance the protection and fulfillment of the human rights of future generations. They provide a valuable guide to ensure that any action to strengthen solidarity with future generations is in line with international human rights law. It is hoped that the Principles will influence national and regional international governance processes, decision-making, standard-setting and jurisprudence, as well as promote social mobilization to advance the human rights of future generations. Their legal foundations can be found in international instruments, national legislative frameworks, and in Indigenous Peoples’ laws.
Human rights experts will present the motivation, the main debates and processes that led to their adoption, and key themes in the Principles. They will discuss with States representatives opportunities to better protect these human rights, including in the context of UN processes, such as the ongoing advisory proceedings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) concerning human rights and intergenerational equity in the context of climate or the preparation of the Summit of the Future to be convened by the UN Secretary-General in 2024.
Reference: The Maastricht Principles on the Human Rights of Future Generations (Extract from the Report “Spotlight on Global Multilateralism,” Global Policy Forum)

IFA Global Cafe | Registration OPEN for Friday 4 August 2023
2023-08-04 07:00 - 08:00 (America/New_York)
Greetings,
Are you interested in advancing human-centred policies that address the needs of ageing populations? The International Federation on Ageing invites you to join us for our upcoming Global Cafe sessions. These sessions provide an opportunity for participants to engage in meaningful dialogue and share insights on a range of topics related to ageing. As an organization, we are committed to viewing all workstreams through the lens of the four action areas of the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing, and in doing so, we strive to develop a common agenda that influences and shapes age-related policies.
We cordially invite you to participate in our forthcoming Global Cafe event, which offers an opportunity to engage in a significant discourse. Our upcoming session will center on “Education and advocacy to improve access to care,” featuring esteemed guest Mr. Seth Ginsberg, Co-founder and President Global Healthy Living Foundation.
We would be honoured to have you join us for this enlightening conversation.

Date and Time:

Friday, 4 August 2023
7:00 – 8:00 a.m. (Eastern Daylight Time)

Moderator:

Dr. Jane Barratt
IFA Secretary General

Register for the IFA Global Café

For any questions or concerns please contact apatrick@ifa.ngo
Kind regards,
Communications Team
International Federation on Ageing

CoNGO Notes: For information about the collaborative work of NGOs on the above issues, visit the substantive committees under the auspices of CoNGO.

Invitation to Participate Virtually: ASPBAE International Youth Day Celebration
2023-08-11 00:00 (America/New_York)
Dear Colleagues,
Greetings of peace and solidarity!
In celebration of the International Youth Day (IYD), ASPBAE is organising a virtual conversation involving youth representatives from the Asia Pacific on 14 August (Monday) at 14:00-16:00 Manila.
The theme of this year’s IYD is ‘Green Skills for Youth: Towards a Sustainable World’ as such, ASPBAE’s event will feature short presentations and sharing of initiatives advancing education for sustainable development with the involvement and engagement of young people.

To join our online event, please click the zoom meeting link below:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82738152388?pwd=[REDACTED]

Meeting ID: 827 3815 2388
Passcode: [REDACTED]

Thank you and looking forward for your participation!

Sincerely,

ASPBAE Secretariat
Unit 106 Sterten Place Condominium, 116 Maginhawa Street,
Teachers Village East, Diliman, Quezon City 1101, Philippines.
Tel/Fax: 632 8441 4594
Email: aspbae@gmail.com
Web: http://www.aspbae.org

CoNGO Notes: For information about the collaborative work of NGOs on the above issues, visit the substantive committees under the auspices of CoNGO. Visit here for specific information:
NGO Committee on Children’s RightsCo-Chair: Margaretha Jones | International Humanist and Ethical Union | marjones@nyc.rr.com
Co-Chair: Therese Folkes Plair | tfpisc@hotmail.com
NGO Committee on Intergenerational Solidarity
Vice Chair: Susanne Seperson | Generations United | susanneseperson@gmail.com

Third CoNGO Global Thematic Webinar: Gender Justice, Youth, and Intra-/Intergenerational Justice and Solidarity for Future Generations
2023-08-31 09:00 - 12:30 (America/New_York)
Register here for online participation.
The webinar will be conducted in English, Spanish, French and Arabic.
CONCEPT NOTE
(Version 4.5)
1. The Civil Society Summit on Substantive Issues, “Shaping the Future: The UN We Need for the World We Want,” by CoNGO on 8 October 2021, highlighted global justice among all humanity’s significant global critical concerns. The Summit brought together over 1,000 participants worldwide to contribute experience and competencies, share doubts about our current world, and collectively articulate aspirations and proposals we must achieve for the world we want. The Civil Society Summit was rich in outlining concepts and actions needed to shape the future.
2. As a direct outcome, the CoNGO General Assembly resolved to use the outcome of the Summit—the Synthesis Report—as a substantive basis for CoNGO’s programmatic direction, especially highlighting it in 2023, CoNGO’s 75th anniversary year. It agreed to convene a series of six high-level global thematic webinars throughout 2023 to highlight and engage a global constituency on the critical themes articulated at the Summit and to elaborate on the agenda, responses, and actions necessary to “define the present, shape the future, and make the change now.” This latter phrase is the anniversary’s theme.
3. The first webinar (March 2, 2023) focused on social justice, particularly migration, racial, and health justice. The second webinar (June 5, 2023) focused on pursuing global justice and solidarity, particularly realizing Agenda 2030, sustainable development and humanitarian action. This third iteration of the thematic webinar series (August 31, 2023) focuses on gender justice, youth and intergenerational solidarity, with a specific highlight on the responsibility of the present generation to protect and promote the human rights of future generations. The fourth webinar scheduled for Sept. 7 will focus on peace and the threats to the security and sustainability of people and the planet. Other webinars will focus on UN-NGO relations in revitalizing multilateralism and addressing the erosion and shrinking of civil spaces for democratic discourse.
4. The Synthesis Report emphasized the intersections of gender and other issues. Peace is not only the absence of war but the presence of justice in society. It stressed that “gender equality and justice foster conditions that make peace possible for all…Gender equality and justice foster conditions that make peace possible for all.” It also asserted that “the climate-gender-youth intersection requires our full engagement, recognizing that women and girls consistently carry the main social burdens” and that “a people-centered approach [is] crucial [in]…address[ing] the existing inequities in access to health, education, social protection and employment.” “Financing must also be gender-transformative,” the report added. “Human security includes protection for the vulnerable, gender justice, redress for victims, empowerment for rights holders and accountability for perpetrators of human rights violations. Human security is closely linked with Agenda 2030 and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.”
5. This third webinar will explore further what the Synthesis Report meant by advocating for Governments “to endorse (and fund) the Secretary-General’s intention to appoint a Special Envoy for Future Generations.” It is recalled that the 2014 CoNGO General Assembly supported a similar proposal, then entitled Ombudsman for Future Generations). CoNGO will “engage its membership in the shaping and empowering future generations as envisaged by the UN SG’s “Our Common Agenda,” including the proposed convening in 2024 of a Summit of the Future. “A robust, responsible and responsive UN – and multilateralism itself – must invest in our children and youth,” the Synthesis Report stressed. These will guide discussions on intergenerational solidarity for future generations, including an outcome document that NGOs want to address both in the drafting process and the substance of what is planned as the “Pact for the Future.” The webinar will also examine the key takeaways of the ECOSOC Youth Forum 2023 proposals.
6. The keynote presentations will address the webinar topics, while three panels will address specific issues. Panel 1 will focus on gender justice in a transformed multilateralism. This panel will address gender equality as a fundamental human right and how a multilateral approach to gender justice with a transformative framework will influence societies’ economic, political, and social transformation. Panel 2 is a roundtable discussion with nine young people about the sources of their fears today and their hopes for the future. Panel 3 will explore the main principles that should serve as fundaments to ensure that states’ human rights obligations frame solidarity with future generations. The panel will address the tensions between the rights of present and future generations, will define how the human rights of future generations should relate to the present, especially in the context of an unequal world, will explore how to apply intra- and intergenerational justice to public policies and legislative processes, and how to protect the use of the concept of solidarity with future generations in a way that does not undermine women’s rights and gender justice.
PROVISIONAL PROGRAM
9:00 Anniversary Greetings by CoNGO 75th-Anniversary Honorary Co-Chairs

Gillian Sorensen (Former UN Assistant Secretary-General for External Relations)
Patrick Rea (ret.) (Grand Master Emeritus, Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem, OSMTH)

9:04 Opening Remarks

Liberato Bautista (President of CoNGO and Assistant General Secretary for United Nations and International Affairs of The United Methodist Church—General Board of Church and Society | Philippines | USA)

9:10 Keynote Addresses
The keynotes will connect UN and NGO perspectives on gender, youth and intra- and intergenerational justice and solidarity with a view in mind to contributing to the sharpening of both the discourse and action plans related to the UN Secretary General’s “Our Common Agenda,” the SDG Summit (2023), the UN Summit of the Future (2024) and related conferences and documents.
Moderator: Liberato Bautista (President, CoNGO)
Panelists:

Jayathma Wickramanayake (UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth | Sri Lanka)
Kim Won-soo (Rector, Global Academy for Future Civilizations, Kyung Hee University | International Advisory Board Chair, Taejae Future Consensus Institute | Former UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs | Republic of Korea)
Hibaaq Osman (CEO and Founder, Karama; Member, UN Women’s Global Civil Society Advisory Group | Somalia)
Abramo A. Chabib (Executive Director, Italian Diplomatic Academy | Italy)

9:45 Panel 1: Gender Justice in a Transformed Multilateralism
This panel will address gender equality as a fundamental human right in achieving peaceful societies with full human potential and sustainable development. To achieve gender equality, a multilateral approach to gender justice with a transformative framework will influence societies’ economic, political, and social transformation. Gender inequality is intergenerational as oppression and discrimination pass on from a young girl to womanhood, institutionalizing the systemic oppression of women. Gender is part of the broader socio-political-economic-cultural context analysis, which includes class, race, poverty level, ethnic group, sexuality, reproductive rights and age. To have a secure, sustainable, and transformative future, gender justice must be addressed at socio-political-economic levels in all countries.
Moderator: Pamela Morgan (Co-Chair, NGO Committee on Status of Women, New York; Zonta International | USA)
Panelists:

Elizabeth Cox (Former Regional Head, Pacific Multi-Country Office of United Nations Women | Australia)
Indai Sajor (Senior Gender Advisor | Former Convenor, Women’s International War Crimes Tribunal | Philippines)
Sylvie Jacqueline Ndongmo (International President, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, WILPF | Cameroon)
Lilly Be’Soer (Founder and Director, Voice for Change | Member, UN Women’s Civil Society Advisory Group | Papua New Guinea)

10:25 Q&A
Rapporteur: Mara Cohen (Montclair State University | New Jersey, USA)
10:35 Panel 2:
Youth: Sources of Their Fears Today and Their Hopes for the Future
Any talk of the future cannot escape a discussion with young people about the present, significantly if the present and the future affect their lives today. This panel will address the sources of fears of young people today and how that is affecting their current lives and their hopes. Nine young professionals will converse with the CoNGO President about their fears today and hopes for the future. The panel is organized so that youth may also demonstrate their strategic role in addressing issues perpetuating gender inequality by promoting gender justice, which is the systemic redistribution of and access to power and opportunities for people of all genders without discrimination. The youth should play a significant role in breaking the inequalities between young women and men in responsibilities assigned, activities undertaken, access to and control over resources, and decision-making opportunities. If the hope of the future is in the youth, then their present condition matters, and the fight must be waged today against these inequalities that permeate all aspects of their lives.
Moderator: Liberato Bautista (CoNGO President)
Roundtable Discussion with French Young Professionals:

Elia Chevrier (Law, culture and international relations)
Jessica Champenois (Local and international solidarity, cooperation and social innovation)
Lea Hadjadene (Political scientist, social policy and innovation | education, migration and discrimination)
Victoria Charreyron (Human rights and international criminal justice)
Alice Lureau (Marine Protected Areas Project Officer | French Biodiversity Agency)
Chloe Moullec (Political scientist, international relations, diplomacy and conflict resolution)
Alice Fouillouze (Specialist in human-nature relationship and systemic societal changes for sustainability)
Cyprien Brabant (Industrial ecology, engineering, carbon emissions reduction, CSR)
Diane Ducleaux (Expert in international law, common law and the American legal system)

Live Intervention:

Angelica Tostes (World Student Christian Federation | Student Christian Movement | Brazil)
Pauline Masylgeline Mbong (Young WILPF Communications and Campaign Co-coordinator | Cameroon)

11:25 Q&A
Rapporteur: Kangwa Mabuluki (General Secretary, All Africa Theological Education by Extension Association | Former Co-General Secretary, World Student Christian Federation | Zambia)
11:30 Panel 3: Intra- and Intergenerational Justice and Solidarity for Future Generations
This panel will explore the main principles that should serve as fundaments to ensure that states’ human rights obligations frame solidarity with future generations. The panelists will speak about how to solve the tensions between the rights of present and future generations and define how the human rights of future generations should relate to the present, especially in the context of an unequal world. Panelists will explore how to apply intra- and intergenerational justice to public policies and legislative processes, considering both the short and long term. The panel will also explore how to protect the use of the concept of solidarity with future generations in a way that does not undermine women’s rights and gender justice. The panel recognizes that gender equality is, first and foremost, a human rights issue. Equality and non-discrimination, regardless of gender and race, are fundamental human rights principles. If we don’t address the violence and systemic discrimination against women today, the cycle of violence is bound to be repeated, and future generations will continue to suffer.
Moderator: Ana Maria Suarez Franco (FIAN International | Colombia | Switzerland)

The Maastricht Principles on the Human Rights of Future Generations: Prof Sandra Liebenberg (Distinguished Professor & HF Oppenheimer Chair in Human Rights Law, Stellenbosch University | South Africa)
A Universal Declaration of Human Responsibilities of the Present Generations Towards Future Generations: Kenneth Stokes (President & CEO, World Sustainability Forum | USA)
Youth Perspective: Lucy Plummer (Youth Engagement Consultant & Practitioner – Social and Environmental Issues & UN Affairs, Soka Gakkai International | United Kingdom)

12:00 Q&A
Rapporteur: Susanne Seperson (Vice Chair, NGO Committee on Intergenerational Solidarity, Generations United: USA)
12:10 Break for Rapporteurs
12:15 Rapporteur’s Report in View of an Outcome Document
Lead Rapporteur: Cyril Ritchie (CoNGO First Vice President)
12:25 Closing Remarks by Liberato Bautista (President of CoNGO)
12:30 Webinar ends
HELPFUL RESOURCES

Our Common Agenda
Synthesis Report of the CoNGO Civil Society Summit on Substantive Issues
The Maastricht Principles on the Human Rights of Future Generations
UNESCO Declaration on the Responsibility of Present Generations Towards Future Generations
A Universal Declaration of Human Responsibilities of the Present Generations Towards Future Generations
Young People’s Proposals for the 2023 SDG Summit (Key Takeaways from the Youth and the SDGs Online Consultation
