World Conference on Early Childhood Care and Education: Gender transformative parenting--Why it matters for our future
2022-11-14 17:30 - 18:30 (Asia/Tashkent)
INVITATION
World Conference on Early Childhood Care and Education
Gender transformative parenting Why it matters for our future
Monday 14 November 2022
17:30-18:30 Tashkent, Uzbekistan / 12:30-13:30 GMT
Panel Discussion – Live Broadcast
Dear friends,
Join us for the UNESCO World Conference on Early Childhood Care and Education, which is just a few days away. We will be in Tashkent for this event with our partner ACEV, supported by other key ECD players, who will help to highlight the transformative power of shared parenting – particularly during the critical early years.
If you can’t be with us in person, you can watch the broadcast in real time on the conference website (starting at 12.30 GMT).
Warm wishes from the MMM Tashkent team.

Reimagining Brain Health: Inside the Brain Capital (NGO Committee on Ageing-New York)
2023-01-12 11:30 - 13:00 (America/New_York) | Online

Ninth International Symposium on the Role of Religion and Faith-Based Organizations in International Affairs
2023-01-24 08:30 - 13:30 (America/New_York) | Online
NINTH ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM ON THE ROLE OF RELIGION AND FAITH BASED ORGANIZATIONS IN INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
Theme: Securing People’s Wellbeing and Planetary Sustainability
24 January 2023 | 8:30 AM – 1:30 PM EST
Virtual Event | Interpretation in English, Arabic, French, Portuguese and Spanish
REGISTER: bit.ly/2023_symposium
READ SPEAKER AND MODERATOR BIOGRAPHIES HERE.
PROGRAM
8:15 Zoom opens for participants to join
8:30 WELCOME
Video Introduction to the Ninth Symposium
8:45 HIGH-LEVEL OPENING SESSION
The moderator will introduce the theme of the symposium, and the 9th Symposium will open with representatives of the three major organizing components of the annual symposium–UN official, faith-based representative and member state providing their perspectives on the theme of human security.
CO-MODERATORS:

Rev. Dr. Liberato C. Bautista (Assistant General Secretary for United Nations and International Affairs, General Board of Church and Society of The United Methodist Church and Chair, 2023 Symposium Planning Team)
Ms. Nika Saeedi (PVE Team Leader, Crisis Bureau, UNDP; Global focal point on Religion, Mental Health and Psychosocial Support, and Hate Speech for UNDP)

SPEAKERS:

H.E. María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés (Former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Defense of Ecuador and former President of the UN General Assembly)
H. E. Archbishop Gabriele Giordano Caccia (Apostolic Nuncio and Permanent Observer, Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations)
Ms. Ulrika Modéer (UN Assistant Secretary-General and Director of the Bureau of External Relations and Advocacy, UNDP)
Ambassador (ret.) Sergio Duarte (Former United Nations High Representative for Disarmament Affairs and President of Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs)
Bishop Dr. Heinrich Bedford-Strohm (Moderator, Central Committee of the World Council of Churches and Bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria)
Priestess Beatriz Schulthess (Founder and President of Indigenous Peoples Ancestral Spiritual Council and Member of Qulla/Kolla Nation and Honorary President, Religions for Peace)

9:25 FRAMING HUMAN SECURITY AS SHARED SECURITY FOR PEOPLE AND THE PLANET
Conceptual and practical convergences on the topic of human security abound between faith communities and the UN System. These convergences also illustrate the complexity of what security, in its multiple dimensions, entails.
MODERATOR:

Prof. Dr. Azza Karam (Secretary General, Religions for Peace)

SPEAKERS:

Mr. Samuel Rizk (Head, Conflict Prevention, Peacebuilding and Responsible Institutions (CPPRI) Team, Crisis Bureau, UNDP)
Mr. Anwar Khan (President, Islamic Relief USA)
Mr. Garry Jacobs (President and CEO of World Academy of Art and Science and Chairman and CEO the World University Consortium)
Ms. Sophia Farion (Senior Program Officer for Eastern Europe, South Caucasus, and Central Asia, Global Network of Women Peacebuilders {GNWP})
Dr. Anne Mette Fisker-Nielsen (Associate Professor, Soka University)

10:45 BREAK
Cultural intermission: Cello piece by Michael Fitzpatrick
90-second video on human security
11:00 SEEING AND DOING HUMAN SECURITY
This session will highlight actual activities and initiatives that are focused on and promote human security. It will demonstrate how faith based actors, UN entities and Member States see and work for human security.
MODERATOR:

Mr. Rudelmar Bueno de Faria (General Secretary of ACT Alliance)

SPEAKERS:

Ambassador Amanda Ellis (Former Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Mission of New Zealand to the United Nations in Geneva and Professor, Arizona State University)
Ms. Mehrnaz Mostafavi (Chief of the Human Security Unit {HSU} and the UN Trust Fund for Human Security {UNTFHS})
Dr. Jerry White (Executive Director, United Religions Initiative {URI})
Ms. Nadia Alawamleh (Team Leader for Social Cohesion Programme, UNDP Iraq)
Mr. Asif Ali Sherazi (Country Director for Pakistan, Islamic Relief Worldwide)
Atty. Salma Pir Rasul (Programs Director, Philippine Center for Islam and Democracy and Director, Islamic Law Studies, University of the Philippines Law Center {UPLC})
Mr. Nelson Ngalle (National Programme Officer, Presbyterian Church in Cameroon {PCC} Peace Work Department)RESPONDENT:
Peter Schlosser (Vice President and Vice Provost of Global Futures, Arizona State University)

12:20 KEY LEARNINGS
This session will highlight key learnings that relate to work for human security and the roles different actors can play. It will address in concrete ways the development of “unity, solidarity, international cooperation and global coordinated action” necessary to make human security real.
MODERATOR:

Ms. Audrey Kitagawa, JD (President/Founder, International Academy for Multicultural Cooperation and President, Light of Awareness International Spiritual Family)

SPEAKERS:

Prof. Dr. PL de Silva (Adjunct Professor, UN Studies, Seton Hall University)
Dr. Elizabeta Kitanovic (Executive Secretary, Human Rights, Council of European Churches {CEC|KEK})
Ms. DWI Rubiyanti Kholifah (Secretary General of The Asian Muslim Action Network {AMAN}, Country representative of AMAN Indonesia)

12:50 CONCLUDING SESSION
This concluding session will provide key ideas about what needs to be done next, and is envisioned to inspire action and impart a strong call for collaboration and partnership on the key learnings from the symposium.
CO-MODERATORS:

Rev. Dr. Liberato C. Bautista (Assistant General for United Nations and International Affairs, General Board of Church and Society of The United Methodist Church and Chair, 2023 Symposium Planning Team)
Ms. Nika Saeedi (PVE Team Leader, Crisis Bureau, UNDP; Global focal point on Religion, Mental Health and Psychosocial Support, and Hate Speech for UNDP)

SPEAKERS:

Mr. Jonathan Granoff (Senior Advisor and Representative to the United Nations of the Permanent Secretariat of the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates)
Dr. Ganoune Diop (Director, Public Affairs and Religious Liberty, Seventh-day Adventist Church)

1:30 CLOSE
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CO-ORGANIZERS AND PARTNER OF THE 2023 SYMPOSIUM
Religious and Faith Based Organizations: ACT Alliance | General Board of Church and Society of The United Methodist Church | Islamic Relief | Religions for Peace | Seventh-Day Adventist Church | Soka Gakkai International | United Religions Initiative | World Council of Churches
United Nations: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) acting on behalf of the UN Inter-Agency Task Force on Religion and Sustainable Development (currently chaired by UNFPA, United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect, and the UN Alliance of Civilizations and includes 27 entities within the UN System. See IATF-Religion and SDGs).
Partner: The Human Security for All (HS4A) campaign led by the United Nations Trust Fund for Human Security and the World Academy of Art and Science.
ABOUT THE SYMPOSIUM
The Annual Symposium on the Role of Religion and Faith-based Organizations in International Affairs was initiated by the General Board of Church and Society of The United Methodist Church, the Seventh-day Adventist Church and the World Council of Churches. Today, the symposium co-organizing entities and partners have grown to include denominational, ecumenical, multireligious and faith-based groups including long-time co-organizers ACT Alliance, Religions for Peace, Islamic Relief-USA, and the United Religions Initiative. From the third year (2017) of the symposium, the Interfaith Task Force on Religion and Sustainable Development – currently representing 27 entities within the UN System – cooperated as a co-organizer. The Symposium was conceived as a space to focus on how religious and partner faith-based organizations could reinforce engagement around shared concerns of human dignity, human rights and sustainable development, in particular as regards UN the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)/Agenda 2030. The Symposium is organized as an annual event for conversation to identify and deepen the multifaceted, multi-layered, multidimensional, and multidisciplinary aspects of the permanent general theme on human rights and human dignity and follow that with an annual thematic focus that would enjoin the organizers to build upon previous conversations and continue to heighten intellectual engagement, create practical forms of action, and develop mechanisms for collaboration among symposium organizers, partners and participants. The Symposium is held annually on a date in January close to the birthday (January 15) of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

CONCEPT NOTE
NINTH ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM ON THE ROLE OF RELIGION
AND FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATIONS IN INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
Tuesday, January 24, 2023
8:30 AM to 1:30 PM
Virtual Event | Interpretation in English, Arabic, French, Portuguese and Spanish
I. HISTORY OF THE SYMPOSIUM:
The 2023 Symposium will be the ninth in a series of symposiums held annually since 2015.
Nine years ago (2015), faith-based partners came together to launch an annual symposium around the intersections of religion and international affairs, intentionally including the participation of UN member states and UN System entities. From the second symposium (2016), partnership with the UN Interagency Task Force on Religion and Sustainable Development was instituted with the intention of organizing an annual policy dialogue between the UN System, member states, faith actors and wider civil society on critical issues of the day. Over the years, the sponsorship of the Symposium has included an increasing range of religious and faith traditions.
The Symposia series features a theme each year that both relates to current policy debates and intersects with the concerns and contributions of faith-based actors working in international affairs. The first Symposium in 2015 established the framework for all future symposia with a focus on human rights and human dignity. Such focus will undergird all symposiums in the series.
The second Symposium focused on the prevention of atrocity crimes and violent extremism (2016), the third focused on just, inclusive and sustainable peace (2017), the fourth focused on migration and displacement (2018) and the fifth (2019) covered the intersections of these four themes with key aspects of economic justice and financing for sustainable development, positing an economy of life. The sixth (2020) was intended to reflect on the planned processes to review progress 25 years after the Beijing Platform for Action and the state of multilateralism at the 75th anniversary of the UN, but was postponed due to unforeseen circumstances. Given the crucial importance of the theme, a smaller but well-resourced workshop for faith-based organizations was organized in its stead.
Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the seventh symposium was convened as a virtual symposium (2021) and focused on accelerating gender equality, equity and justice. The succeeding 2022 symposium was also held virtually on a theme focused on “mobilizing moral influence and governance to end the systemic injustices of racism, the legacy of colonialism and slavery.
The Symposiums have been timed to be held in January of every year in close proximity to Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday to help commemorate the values and legacy he bequeathed to the world. The Symposium is also a contribution to the global observance of the World Interfaith Harmony Week that is celebrated annually in the first week of February of each year.
The symposium in 2023 is co-organized by the following groups and their representatives compose the planning team. They are, from the faith-based side, the ACT Alliance, General Board of Church and Society of The United Methodist Church, Islamic Relief USA, Religions for Peace, Seventh-day Adventist Church, Soka Gakkai International, United Religions Initiative, World Council of Churches, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on behalf of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Religion and Development. The Human Security for All (HS4A) campaign led by the United Nations Trust Fund for Human Security and the World Academy of Art and Science is a partner.
II. 2023 THEME: SECURING PEOPLES’ WELLBEING AND PLANETARY SUSTAINABILITY
A. HIGH-LEVEL WELCOME
The 9th symposium will be opening with a high-level panel that represents the three major organizing components of the annual symposium–UN official, faith-based representative and member state. The moderator will introduce the theme of the symposium, both in the context of the history of the symposium and the urgency and saliency of the current theme.
B. FRAMING HUMAN SECURITY AS SHARED SECURITY FOR PEOPLE AND THE PLANET
Conceptual and practical convergences on the topic of human security abound between faith communities and the UN System. The convergences—in discourse and practice—also illustrate the complexity of what security entails—be it national security, human security, or people’s security. Add to that complexity the urgency of conceiving security beyond human needs into planetary security that speaks to the intricate relation between people and the planet and their survival and sustainability in a common ecosystem. The UN Agenda for Sustainable Development (Agenda 2030), in particular the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), refers both to the wellbeing of peoples and the ecological integrity of the planet. In Agenda 2030, sustainable development is people-centered and planetary in scope. The attainment of sustainable development is co-constitutive with the attainment of peace and prosperity. This symposium intends to scale up support for the achievement of the SDGs by faith-based groups.
Faith based organizations have rich and diverse histories of discourse and practice demonstrating the nexus of human development, humanitarian work, and peace and human rights advocacy. Such discourses and practices affirm a people-centered, community-focused and human rights-based approach to peace and human security. The religious, ecumenical and interfaith character of the symposium will ensure presentation of the diversity of both discourse (theological, ethical, moral) and practice (advocacy, campaigns, projects) on human security. The unique contribution of this and previous symposiums in this series is the intentional exploration of faith-based understandings and their complementarity with UN normative frameworks and standards, like the Agenda 2030, the UNDP reports, and UN debates and reports of the UN Secretary-General on human security (see Part V. Readings).
The symposium is structured in such a way that faith-based organizations, UN System entities, including member states contribute to the development of “unity, solidarity, international cooperation and global coordinated action” on the thematic focus on human security, bearing in mind the overarching themes of all symposia in this series which is human dignity and human rights. The symposium will be a venue to illustrate how both conceptual and practical convergences around human security are exhibited in actual projects, programs, advocacies and campaigns by the participating entities, including the intersections of human security with sustainable development, durable peace, and gender justice.
Any discussion about human security necessarily implicates human development. Put in another way, human security and human development must be pursued simultaneously. The symposium will contribute to the bridging of the disconnect between human development and human security. It will demonstrate human security as shared security.
The inequalities unraveled by the Covid-19 pandemic and the varied forms of human induced activities, especially climate change, illustrate the urgency of revisiting the nexus between people’s needs, wellbeing, physical integrity and human dignity and the planet’s sustainability and ecological integrity. Such discussion necessarily implicates a variety of existential threats to human and planetary security that must be laid bare and addressed by the symposium.
In fact, UNDP’s 2021-2022 Human Development Report, “Uncertain Times, Unsettled Lives: Shaping our Future in a Transforming World”, argues that layers of uncertainty are stacking up and interacting to unsettle life in unprecedented ways. The last two years have had a devastating impact for billions of people around the world, when crises like COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine hit back-to-back, and interacted with sweeping social and economic shifts, dangerous planetary changes, and massive increases in polarization. Human development has fallen back to its 2016 levels, reversing much of the progress towards the SDGs. There are many reasons for these devastating trends, including how insecurity and polarization are feeding off each other today to prevent the solidarity and collective action we need to tackle crises at all levels.
This symposium will explore how to better address these threats and more through the discourse and practice of faith-based organizations and partners in the UN System, including member-states, civil society actors, and other international and regional organizations committed to human and people’s security. The symposium will present grassroots perspectives, experiences and voices from the ground that will give evidence to what makes them secure or insecure and therefore what needs to be done.
C. SESSION ON SEEING AND DOING HUMAN SECURITY
This session will highlight activities, events, programs, campaigns and the like that demonstrate how human security works and is operationalized in a variety of settings by a variety of actors. Panelists will come from the three categories representing the tripartite character of the symposium’s collaborators.

How do faith-based organizations see and do human security?

Much is needed in understanding human security. But much more is required to realize it in the day to day lives of peoples and their communities. The UN General Assembly Resolution 66/290 speaks of human security as “an approach to assist Member States in identifying and addressing widespread challenges to the survival, livelihood and dignity of their people” and thus calls for “people-centered, comprehensive, context-specific and prevention-oriented response that strengthen the protection and empowerment of all people.” (UN Trust Fund for Human Security).
The role of religion in realizing human security is not alien to the work of faith-based organizations. The symposium will take a look at how religious, theological, ecumenical and interfaith groups have translated the theme into actual advocacy on the ground. Themes predicated by concern for human security abound in religious discussion and work, including food security, water security, economic security, climate security, health security, common security, digital and information security, and more. These themes, not exhaustive in this list, demonstrate the complexity of both theory and practice of human security. The symposium planners are all too aware of such complexity even as they are focused on specific themes for this symposium. This segment will spotlight how lives of peoples and communities are affected and changed by what faith groups do.

How do U.N. partners and member states see and do human security?

The themes identified with work by faith-based organizations are not alien to UN partners. The active collaboration by faith-based organizations, UN partners and Member-States underscores the concern for joint and concerted action and transformative solidarity among all actors. This and eight previous symposiums prove both the importance of FBO and UN partnership and collaboration.
The 2022 Special Report of the UNDP, called “New Threats to Human Security on the Anthropocene: Demanding Greater Solidarity” is timely for the purposes of the symposium. The Special Report reminds us that when introduced in 1994, the “human security approach refocused the security debate from territorial security to people’s security”, emphasizing “the importance of everyone’s right to freedom from fear, freedom from want and freedom from indignity”, and highlighting “the close connection among security, development and the protection and empowerment of individuals and communities.” New data and analysis in the Special Report shows that people’s sense of safety and security is at a low in almost every country, including the richest countries, despite years of upwards development success.
Today, accelerating planetary and social changes have given birth to a new generation of threats, which span borders and foster insecurity in fragile settings and beyond. In this context, the Special Report offers a new framework for action, adding “solidarity” to the existing pillars “protection” and “empowerment”. Threats to human and planetary security abound, and the symposium will look into them, including but not limited to what the Special Report calls the “four threats to human security superimposed on the Anthropocene context: “the downsides of digital technology, violent conflict, horizontal inequalities, and evolving challenges to healthcare systems.” (Overview, 2022 UNDP Special Report on Human Security)
D. KEY LEARNINGS
Identifying the normative corpus of international law dealing with security and doing the same in the body of available religious, ecumenical and interfaith teachings on human security will be critical in the symposium’s aim to contribute to the reorientation of both discourse and practice from territorial security (state constructs of national security, for example) into viable human security (securing the needs and wellbeing of peoples and the integrity of the planet and the whole ecosystem).
The symposium will give time to the demonstration by FBOs and UN partners of ongoing discourses and practices of human security that prove the viability and necessity of human security as a pivotal and overarching principle for “peace and prosperity for people and the planet”.
III. STRUCTURE, FORMAT AND LEADERSHIP OF THE SYMPOSIUM
A. High Level Welcome:
The formal welcome session will feature a high level representative from three entities—faith-based and IATF-nominated speakers from the UN System and UN member state. It will focus on reaffirming the importance of the symposium in general and the urgency and relevance of the current theme.
B. Framing Session:
The framing session will be held in a conversational format involving a moderator and speakers representing faith-based leaders, officials from the UN System, Member-States, and other experts in the human security field. (Part II.A)
C. Session on Seeing and Doing Human Security:
This session will highlight activities, events, programs, campaigns and the like that demonstrate and are focused on human security. Panelists will come from the three categories representing the tripartite character of the symposium’s collaborators. The session will address the following questions:

How do faith-based organizations see and do human security? Panelists will come from religious, ecumenical and interfaith organizations. (Part II.B)
How do UN partners see and do human security? Panelists will come from UN entities and member-states. (Part II.C)

How do Member States see and do human security? Panelists will come from UN partners and member-states. (Part II.C)

D. Session on Key Learnings: (practical experiences from different levels–grassroots, national, regional, multiregional, international)
This session serves as the learning and hearing section of the symposium. The chair and panelists will attempt to retell what they heard are key learnings from the symposium and relate that to the roles played by religious and multilateral processes and entities—both intergovernmental and religious/ecumenical/interfaith. The session will address in concrete ways the development of “unity, solidarity, international cooperation and global coordinated action” necessary to make human security real. (Part II.D)
This panel session will be interactive. Panelists will be asked to speak about actual, practical, and good and beneficial practices of UN and FBOs working together collaboratively. Emphasis will be given to distinguishing as well as moving from national security to human security into shared security for people and the planet. Session chair will draw wisdom from the participants by eliciting examples of ways of seeing and doing human security different from already identified ones in the previous sessions above.
E. Concluding Session: This concluding session will feature speakers from all of the symposium entities–faith-based groups, UN system, governments– who will provide key ideas about what needs to be done next. This session is envisioned to inspire action and impart a strong call for collaboration and partnership on the key learnings from the symposium.
IV. PARTICIPATION
A. Invitations will be sent to various constituencies and networks of the collaborating symposium partners. This includes FBOs, civil society organizations, member states and their permanent missions, and UN agencies through the Inter-Agency Task Force on Religion and Sustainable Development.
B. The event will be virtual and all participants will be required to register electronically. Direct participation in the symposium via Zoom is limited to the first 500 registrants. Registrants beyond this number will be directed to a livestream via the WCC YouTube channel:www.youtube.com/WCCworld. Questions and comments by participants in Zoom and YouTube will be monitored.
C. Interactive modes of communication will be employed. There will be language interpretation in English, Arabic, French and Spanish.
V. DOCUMENTATION
Following in the tradition of previous symposiums, a symposium packet will be produced electronically and distributed in advance. It will include this concept note, a short bibliography of reference materials to prepare participants for discussion, and a list of biographies of panel moderators and speakers. A weblink to the event will contain the symposium packet as well as post-event documentation of presentations and statements. As a hybrid event, various social media platforms will be used to simulcast and broadcast the symposium.
VI. READINGS
U.N. RESOURCES

UNDP Special Report: New Threats to Human Security in the Anthropocene: Demanding Greater Solidarity (2022) (https://www.un-ilibrary.org/content/books/9789210014007/read; https://www.undp.org/somalia/publications/new-threats-human-security-anthropocene-demanding-greater-solidarity)
UNDP Human Development Report 2021-2022: Uncertain Times, Unsettled Lives: Shaping our Future in a Transforming World https://hdr.undp.org/content/human-development-report-2021-22
UNDP Human Development Report: New Dimensions of Human Security (1994)https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents//hdr1994encompletenostatspdf.pdf
What is Human Security (UN Trust Fund for Human Security) https://www.un.org/humansecurity/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/What-is-Human-Security.pdf
UN General Assembly Resolutions and Debates, and Reports of the Secretary-General on Human Security https://www.un.org/humansecurity/reports-resolutions/
GA Resolution 66/290 on Human Security https://www.un.org/humansecurity/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/N1147622.pdf
Human Security Approach from Principles to Practice, especially the first two modules https://www.un.org/humansecurity/human-security-e-course/

RELIGIOUS, ECUMENICAL AND INTERFAITH RESOURCES

Peace and Human Security, Excerpts from a lecture given by SGI President Daisaku Ikeda at the East-West Center, Hawai’i (1995)
Vulnerability and Security: Current challenges in security policy from an ethical and theological perspective. Prepared by the Commission on International Affairs in Church of Norway Council on Ecumenical and International Relations (2015)
Vulnerability and Security: A Paradox Based on a Theology of Incarnation (Wanda Deifelt, 2005)
Religion and Human Security: A Global Perspective. Edited by James K. Wellman Jr. and Clark B. Lombardi (Oxford University Press, 2012)
Human Security as Shared Security: Towards Sustaining Peace and Human Wellness with Justice and Human Rights (Liberato Bautista, 2013)
The Letter: A Message for our Earth (Movie): The Letter tells the story of a journey to Rome of frontline leaders to discuss the encyclical letter Laudato Si’ with Pope Francis. The exclusive dialogue with the Pope, included in the film, offers a revealing insight into the personal history of Pope Francis and stories never seen since he became the Bishop of Rome.

7th Meeting of the International Indigenous Forum on Food Sovereignty
2023-01-28 08:00 - 10:00 (America/Denver)

Reimagining the Future of Work for the Needs of Humanity
2023-02-08 11:30 - 12:45 (America/New_York)
REGISTER HERE

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on CoNGO–the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations, visit www.ngocongo.org. For specific information about how CoNGO and its substantive committees (also known as NGO Committees) work on matters related to the subject of the event on this page, visit NGO Committees. In particular, visit the NGO Committee on Ageing-New York.

Social Work Strategies to Support Decent Work to Overcome Inequality and Achieve the 2030 Agenda: Co-Building an Eco-Social World
2023-02-09 15:00 - 16:15 (America/New_York)
Social Work Strategies to Support Decent Work to Overcome Inequality
and Achieve the 2030 Agenda

Join the International Federation of Social Workers for this virtual side-panel event in support of the
61st Session of the United Nations Commission on Social Development.
Thursday, February 9, 2023
3:00PM-4:15PM EST
Register here to attend: https://www.monmouth.edu/school-of-social…/ifsw-ny-event/
Concept Note
Social Work Strategies to Support Decent Work to Overcome Inequality and Achieve the 2030 Agenda: Co-Building an Eco-Social World
IFSW's commitment to co-building transformative social protections, standing with workers to ensure collective worker rights, protections and decent pay in the context of jobs and industries that do no harm to the environment are central to our holistic human rights framework and our goals of co-building an eco-social world.
This event will focus on local and global approaches that IFSW and its partners use to support full and productive employment and decent work for all to overcome inequality and achieve the 2030 Agenda. Discussion will include strategies that center on a holistic human rights framework that encompasses human rights, cultural rights, ecosystem rights, and the broader rights of nature including workers' cooperatives and wastepickers’ role in recycling and organizing for occupational health.
Creating full and productive employment and decent work for all as a way of overcoming inequalities to accelerate the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Don't Steal My Childhood: Child Labor and Children in Migration
2023-02-10 11:30 - 12:45 (America/New_York)
Don’t Steal My Childhood!
Child Labor and Children in Migration

Despite significant progress in reducing child labor in the past two decades, most recent data show that global progress has stalled since 2016. Forced child labor deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity. It is harmful to their physical and mental health and development, ultimately with severe consequences for the entire society. Therefore, it is crucial to address the problem, especially if we are to reach the ambitious 2025 target date for ending child labor (SDG 8.7).
At the beginning of 2020, the latest global estimates indicated that 1 in 10 children aged 5 and over were involved in child labor worldwide – equating to an estimated 160 million children. A further 8.9 million children will be in child labor by the end of 2022 as a result of rising poverty driven by the pandemic.
Within the already ‘at risk’ group of child laborers, recent analysis points to an even more vulnerable group, namely child migrants. Children in migration, mainly the youngest ones, are at particularly high risk of being exploited and trafficked along migration routes and in host countries.
Some of the literature refers to them as the ‘invisible group,” suggesting that amongst child laborers, migrant children receive less pay, work longer hours, attend school less often, and face higher death rates at work in comparison to local children.
Most governments have failed to develop effective policy responses to assist and protect child laborers despite the fact they are obliged to do so by multiple international acts.
Real progress, however, requires translating these commitments into national laws that are then actually used as tools for action. Nations must also protect and promote other child rights, including birth registration, strong social protection systems, quality education, health care and nutrition starting with mothers and infants. They must also extend protection from violence, abuse, neglect, dire poverty and exploitation, by supporting meaningful economic and livelihood opportunities for adult family members. These rights are guaranteed to all children, all child laborers, and those who need additional special protections, such as migrant children working in child labor.
In particular, measures to prevent and respond to child labor during a humanitarian crisis should link the humanitarian, development, and peace dimensions by using the transformative power of Early Childhood Education and Care Programs. All the measures should help build social cohesion, resilience and peace, and strengthen existing government, economic and social structures.
As an outcome we expect that Member States, UN agencies and NGOs will honor and renew pledges made at the 5th Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labor -Durban 2022 and most importantly, share their good practices and policies to end child labor, paving the way for a global strategic partnership committed to achieving SDG Targets 8.7 and 16.2 while recognizing synergies between progress on SDG 8 and SDGs 1 (end poverty), 4 (quality education), 5 (gender equality), 10 (reduced inequalities) and 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions).
Recommendations
• Recognize Child Labor as a serious violation of children’s rights enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, in multiple international acts, and in SDGs 8.7 and SDGs 16.2;
• Promote birth registration;
• Stop hiring children below the minimum age and invest in eradicating all forms of slavery;
• Encourage businesses to prohibit child labor;
• Use the link between the labor inspection and workplace occupational safety and health committees to establish a monitoring system;
• Create and enforce policies for reducing the risk of child exploitation and trafficking along migration routes and in host countries;
• Address the special protection needs of smuggled and or trafficked children, those who are seeking asylum, unaccompanied and separated minors and refugees;
• Provide support to children found in child labor, ensuring that they and their families can benefit from all social protection measures;
• Listen to the voices of children currently in child labor, as well as those who survived the experience.
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CoNGO Notes: For more information on CoNGO–the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations, visit www.ngocongo.org. For specific information about how CoNGO and its substantive committees (also known as NGO Committees) work on matters related to the subject of the event on this page, visit NGO Committees. In particular, visit the NGO Committee on Migration and the NGO Committee on Social Development.

‘Research on Violence Against Older Women Through a Feminist Lens’
2023-03-09 09:00 (America/New_York)
INPEA VIRTUAL CSW67 PARALLEL EVENT
‘Research on Violence Against Older Women Through a Feminist Lens’

DURING the CSW67 FORUM
Date: Thursday 9 March 2023
Time: 9:00 AM -10:30 AM EST
A ‘Virtual Program’
CSW67 Priority Theme: Innovation and technological change, and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.
Please Click here to Register in advance for this meeting.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Description: Panel presentation of current research on violence against older women (VAOW) from an international perspective. Virtual networks of feminist researchers on violence against older women emerged in response to technological innovation and change that enable rapid sharing of data and findings among VAOW scholars. This has advanced the field in different directions and stimulated emergent interventions that stress human rights and gender empowerment over more ageist strategies of protection and confinement. Research to be presented includes prevalence, qualitative, and quantitative studies. Findings demonstrate both the scope of gender-based violence against older women and their resilience in all societies.
Welcome: Susan B. Somers, JD, INPEA
Moderator:
Lisa Nerenberg, MSW, MPH, Ex. Dir., California Elder Justice Coalition, USA
Panelists:
Judith Smith, PhD., Associate Professor Emerita, Fordham University, USA – Qualitative
Lucie Vidovićová, PhD., Assistant Professor, Masaryk University, Czech Republic – Quantitative/Prevalence
Liliana Giraldo-Rodriguez, PhD., Researcher, National Institute of Geriatrics, Mexico – Life Course Perspective
Rahma Mahamid, PhD., Minerva Ctr. on Intersectionality in Aging, Haifa University, Israel – Life Course Perspective
Q & A
Closing: Synthesis: Patricia Brownell, PhD., Associate Professor Emerita, Fordham University, USA

Platform: INPEA Zoom platform
Technical support: Erica Udow, MSW Candidate, INPEA UN NGO Intern, Fordham University

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CoNGO Notes: For information about collaborative work of NGOs on the issues above and related matters, visit the substantive committees related to CoNGO. Visit here for specific information about the NGO Committee on Status of Women/New York, NGO Committee on Status of Women Vienna, and the NGO Committee on Status of Women Geneva.

Successes in Family Frameworks and Technology for the Empowerment of Rural Women and Girls
2023-03-16 15:00 - 16:30 (America/New_York)
Register here: bit.ly/FamilyCommitteeCS

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CoNGO Notes: For information about collaborative work of NGOs on the issues above and related matters, visit the substantive committees related to CoNGO. Visit here for specific information about the NGO Committee on Status of Women/New York, NGO Committee on Status of Women Vienna, and the NGO Committee on Status of Women Geneva.

NGO Committee on Ageing Meeting (Geneva)
2023-03-28 13:30 - 15:00 (America/New_York) | Virtual
The NGO Committee on Ageing will hold a virtual zoom meeting on March 28, 2023 from 13:30 to 15:00 (CET).
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CoNGO Notes: For information about collaborative work of NGOs on the issues related to the above event, and related matters, visit the substantive committees related to CoNGO. Visit here for specific information about the NGO Committee on Ageing New York, the NGO Committee on Ageing Vienna and the NGO Committee on Ageing Geneva.

[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] 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…

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
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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
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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
