[UNCTAD Seminar] Building Economic Resilience in Small Island Developing States

UNCTAD and the Commonwealth Secretariat will host an online seminar on “Building economic resilience in small island developing States” on 4 March 2021, from 3 to 5 p.m. CET.

Register here!

Background

The coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has exacerbated the significant vulnerability of small island developing States to external shocks and has unleashed an unprecedented socioeconomic and financial crisis. The pandemic has also compounded the lingering effects of the financial crisis of 2008/09, following which many small island developing States borrowed to underwrite deficit spending and spur economic growth. Already burdened with high debt service costs at the start of the pandemic, many small island developing States lack the fiscal space to respond to the extraordinary needs created by the pandemic.

To break this cycle of recurring crises and incomplete recoveries, small island developing States strive to build their resilience to environmental and economic shocks. In support of this important quest, in 2014, member States, in the SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action (SAMOA) Pathway, reaffirmed their “commitment to take urgent and concrete action to address the vulnerability of small island developing States”, taking into account their “individual country circumstances”. Economic development strategies provide a blueprint for Governments and incentives for the private sector to invest in new industries and infrastructure, ideally spurring a cycle of economic growth and structural transformation, towards a resilient economy and sustainable long-term development. In this context, UNCTAD and the Commonwealth Secretariat will hold this seminar for member States on building economic resilience in small island developing States, to present their ongoing work and exchange views with member States on alternative development strategies for small island developing States and other small States.

The specific objectives of the seminar are to:

Inform SIDS and small States of assistance provided by UNCTAD and the Commonwealth; Foster debate on “alternative development strategies for diverse SIDS” based on joint UNCTAD-Commonwealth research; and Identify next steps, including further research, policy analysis and technical assistance.

Speakers:

Mr. Paul Akiwumi Director, Division for Africa, LDCs and Special Programmes (ALDC), UNCTAD
Dr. Arjoon Suddhoo Deputy Secretary-General, Commonwealth Secretariat
HE Mr. Chad Blackman PR of Barbados to the UN in Geneva Coordinator of the SIDS Group in Geneva
Mr. Pierre Encontre Chief, SIDS and Status Issues Section, UNCTAD
Dr. Ruth Kattumuri Senior Director, Economic, Youth & Sustainable Development Directorate, Commonwealth Secretariat
Mr. Kris Terauds Economist, SIDS and Status Issues Section, UNCTAD
Mr. Paul Akiwumi UNCTAD

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-NY, please visit ngocsd-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-Vienna, please visit ngocsdvienna.org.

NGO Committee on Ageing-NY: Making the Case for a Convention on the Rights of Older Persons

The NGO Committee on Ageing-NY draws attention to its upcoming program meeting:

The meeting will provide a status report on the work of the Open-ended Working Group on Ageing and will discuss the meaning of an international legal instrument (a convention) for the rights of older persons, how we can advocate for a convention – what do we say and how do we say it. REGISTRATION is required.

Program:

Welcome and announcements: Dr. Cynthia Stuen, Chair of NGO Committee on Ageing

Moderator: Ms. Frances Zainoeddin, Vice-Chair, NGO COA

Brief overview and update of work of the Open-ended Working Group on Ageing: What does a convention/international legal instrument mean, in the UN context? What is its expected impact?

Ms. Susan Somers, President, International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse

It’s About Rights! Finding opportunities to make a case for older people’s rights and a UN convention during COVID-19 (see link to HelpAge Toolkit – helpage.org/what-we-do/un-convention/):

Ms. Bridget Sleap, Senior Rights Policy Adviser, HelpAge International

Building a case for a UN convention – how to frame messages

Ms. Laura Pares, Communications Adviser, HelpAge International

Q & A

Closing Remarks

Dr. Sandra Timmermann, International Federation on Ageing

Thanks to International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse for hosting this Zoom meeting. If there are any questions or problems with registration contact Susan at sbsomers5@gmail.com

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Ageing-NY, please visit ngocoa-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Ageing-Geneva, please visit ageingcommitteegeneva.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Ageing-Vienna, please visit ngoageingvie.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Intergenerational Solidarity, please email the vice chair at susanneseperson@gmail.com.

IFA Virtual Town Hall l with Dr. Sonia Mukhtar: Psychological Impact of COVID-19 on Older Adults

COVID-19 and Older People Virtual Town Hall Series: A Conversation with Dr. Sonia Mukhtar

COVID-19 has propagated wide-reaching psychosocial impacts on older adults with financial losses being the least of concern. Mass fear of COVID-19 termed as “coronaphobia,” has generated a plethora of psychiatric manifestations. While the pandemic has made the COVID-19 vaccine the focal point, Dr. Sonia Mukhtar’s work on “psychosocial impact of COVID-19 on older adults” revealed the profound impacts the pandemic has had on the mental and physical well-being of older adults.

As the world reflects on the impact that COVID has had on older people in the context of the Decade of Healthy Ageing, advocating for psychosocial crisis prevention and intervention models to foster the abilities of older persons is more important than ever before. During a global pandemic where the needs of older persons need greater attention, attending to psychosocial needs aids to optimize healthy ageing.

Dr. Sonia Mukhtar is a COVID-19 researcher and a former-visiting faculty at University of Management and Technology, Lahore, Pakistan. Dr. Mukhtar’s is certified in Integrative Counseling.

Geneva, Switzerland: 13:00
Lagos, Nigeria: 13:00
New Delhi, India: 17:30
Perth, Australia: 20:00

This town hall will be recorded and streamed live on Facebook – facebook.com/intfedageing – and a recording of the event will be available there afterwards. Further resources are available at: ifa.ngo/ifa-virtual-town-hall-resources

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Ageing-New York, please visit ngocoa-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Ageing-Vienna, please visit ngoageingvie.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Ageing-Geneva, please visit ageingcommitteegeneva.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Intergenerational Solidarity, please email the vice chair at susanneseperson@gmail.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Mental Health, please visit ngomentalhealth.org.

What the World Wants: A Briefing on the UN75 Global Consultation

On Friday 15 January, from 1630 to 1745 GMT / 1130 to 1245 EST, the UN’s 75th anniversary team will partner with UN entities based in the UK to hold a policy briefing on the findings of the global consultation conducted to mark the Organisation’s milestone at this turbulent time for the world.

The event will be hosted by the United Nations Association – UK, a charity devoted to providing information and analysis of the UN.

Join the Zoom webinar here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83991850723

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, humanity was grappling with the paradox of diminishing global cooperation against a backdrop of ever more challenges requiring global cooperation: from the climate crisis to deepening inequalities. The pandemic has added to this suffering and exposed long-standing fragilities in our societies and economies.

In this context, the UN75 initiative was an opportunity to for the Organisation to listen to the people it serves. Over 1.5 million people took part, sharing their hopes, fears, priorities and solutions for the future.

This event will see Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser on UN75, Fabrizio Hochschild, present the results.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Human Rights, please email the co-chairs at bobbinassar@gmail.com or bknotts@uua.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-Vienna, please visit ngocsdvienna.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org.

Africa Rise! Healthier and Stronger

Welcome to Africa Rise! Healthier and Stronger a virtual experience for a global audience, from across the Pan African Diaspora. As we celebrate our culture with music, dance, and other performances, you will be asked to donate money to make the needs for the Africa Health crisis to help serve the rural areas for the underserved communities with ongoing needs.

Africa Rise! Healthier and Stronger is brought to you by Earth Rights Institute, Inc., Give Them A Hand Foundation, Black Star News, the International Association of Applied Psychology, and The United African Congress which has been working together to improve the lives of Africans and Africans in the diaspora.

Explore channels to watch live, view the list of performers, and register here: africarise2020.com/index.html

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee for Rare Diseases, please visit ngocommitteerarediseases.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Mental Health, please visit ngomentalhealth.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org.

UNCTAD XV: Achieving prosperity for all after COVID-19

Co-organised by the Third World Network; the Civil Society Financing for Development (FfD) Group;
Our World Is Not for Sale; and the Third World Network – Africa

Join the Director of UNCTAD’s Division on Globalization and Development Strategies, Richard Kozul-Wright, to discuss the recent flagship Trade and Development Report 2020: From global pandemic to prosperity for all: avoiding another lost decade.

Thursday, January 21st, 23:00 Manila / 20:30 New Delhi / 18:00 Nairobi / 16:00 Geneva / 16:00 Lagos / noon Sao Paulo / 11:00 Bridgetown / 10am Washington, DC

Register here!

Covid-19 has served as a reminder that we live in a closely interdependent world that brings opportunities but also carries dangers. It has, just as importantly, shed light on a whole series of pre-existing conditions – from heightened inequality, to unsustainable debt and rampant environmental destruction – that were left unaddressed after the Global Financial Crisis.

The most recent Trade and Development Report argues that the global economic crisis caused by Covid-19 throws up a stark choice: continue misguided policy choices or collectively chart a new path that leads from recovery to a more resilient, more equal and more environmentally sustainable world in line with the ambition of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Neither path is preordained. Building a better world is a matter of conviction and collective action. The lives of future generations and of the planet itself will depend on the choices we all take over the coming months.

Kozul-Wright will share with civil society leaders from around the world some of the policy prescriptions recommended in the TDR, including:

· Increased government spending including a big public investment push into cleaner energy, environmental protection, sustainable transport systems and the care economy, including through industrial policies;

· Coordinated macroeconomic expansion focused on job creation and higher wages;

· Labour market regulation that supports employees’ compensation;

· Expanded use of Special Drawing Rights to boost global liquidity;

· Financial support for boosting the health emergency response to COVID-19 in developing countries through a Marshall Plan for Health Recovery;

· A Global Debt Authority to stop a repeat liquidity crises from turning into serial sovereign defaults;

This webinar is being held in the context of the XV Conference of UNCTAD which is scheduled for October 3-8, 2021 in Bridgetown, Barbados, which will set the mandate of UNCTAD for the next four years on the interrelated issues of trade, development, finance, technology, industrial policy, debt, investment, e-commerce, and more.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Education, Learning, and Literacy, please visit facebook.com/NGOCELLatUN.

ECOSOC Forum on Financing for Development

The 2021 session of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Forum on Financing for Development Follow-up, also known as the FfD Forum, is scheduled to convene from 12-15 April 2021.

The 2020 Forum was originally planned to take place from 20-23 April, in New York, US. Due to the COVID-19 situation, an informal event took place virtually on 23 April 2020.

The FfD Forum is an intergovernmental process with universal participation mandated to review the Addis Ababa Action Agenda (Addis Agenda) and other financing for development outcomes and the means of implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The FfD Forum is an intergovernmental process with universal participation mandated to review the Addis Ababa Action Agenda (Addis Agenda) and other financing for development outcomes and the means of implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The 2021 session of the Forum is expected to include a special segment on “concrete steps towards a sustainable, inclusive and resilient recovery from the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,” in relation to SDG and AAAA achievement efforts. The session may also seek to integrate the menu of policy options developed through an initiative of the Governments of Canada and Jamaica and the UN Secretary-General on financing the 2030 Agenda in the era of COVID-19 and beyond.

FFSD Office, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA): un.org/ecosoc/en/events/2021/forum-financing-development-follow

As information becomes available, it will be posted to the website.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-Vienna, please visit ngocsdvienna.org. Fore more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development, please visit ngosocdev.org.

Fifth Session of the United Nations Environment Assembly

2021 Theme: Strengthening Actions for Nature to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals

The fifth session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-5) provides leadership, catalyzes, intergovernmental actions on the environment, and contributes to the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and based broad consultations with Member States and Stakeholders, the UNEA Bureau decided on 8 October 2020 that UNEA-5 should take place in a two-step approach. The first session of UNEA-5 will be conducted virtually on 22-23 February 2021 with a revised and streamlined agenda that will focus on urgent and procedural decisions. Substantive matters that require in-depth negotiations will be deferred to a resumed in-person session of UNEA-5 in February 2022 in a format to be defined and agreed on at a later stage.

The theme calls for strengthened action to protect and restore nature and the nature-based solutions to achieve the SDGs in its three complementary dimensions (social, economic and environmental). UNEA-5 provides Member States and stakeholders with a platform for sharing and implementing successful approaches that contribute to the achievement of the environmental dimension of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs, including the goals relation to the eradication of poverty and sustainable patterns of consumption and production. UNEA-5 will also provide an opportunity for Member States and Stakeholders to take ambitious steps towards building back better and greener by ensuring that investments in economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic contribute to sustainable development.

The President of the UN Environment Assembly, in close cooperation with UNEA Bureau and the Committee of Permanent Representatives and its Bureau will continue to work in an open and participatory manner to ensure a successful and impactful two-step UNEA-5.

For further information, contact the UNEP Secretariat at unep-sgb@un.org.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee for Rare Diseases, please visit ngocommitteerarediseases.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-Vienna, please visit ngocsdvienna.org.

{Virtual from New York} 30th Anniversary of International Day of Older Persons

IDOP 2020 Program

The NGO Committee on Ageing, in partnership with UN DESA, invites you to the celebration of the 30th Anniversary of International Day of Older Persons on 1 October 2020. Also celebrating the 75th anniversary of the United Nations, this virtual event unites UN officials and leaders in the fields of ageing and elsewhere to address the call to action for a Decade of Healthy Ageing 2020-2030.

REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED

Register here: https://bit.ly/2XWwLm

9:00am – 12:00pm EDT (New York)
2:00pm – 5:00pm GMT (London)

The event will be broadcast live via the International Federation on Ageing (IFA) Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/intfedageing/). The event recording will be made available to all registered participants following the event. For additional information on programme and speakers, go to the NGO COA Website: http://ngocoa-ny.org/

We look forward to your participation on this special day!

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO committees affiliated with CoNGO: NGO Committee on Ageing-Geneva, please visit ageingcommitteegeneva.org; NGO Committee on Ageing-NY, please visit ngocoa-ny.org; NGO Committee on Ageing-Vienna, please visit ngoageingvie.org.

Gender Equality & Human Rights in a time of COVID-19 & Climate Change

Event: Gender Equality and Human Rights in a time of COVID-19 and Climate Change

Date: Tuesday, 22 September

Time: 09:00-10:00 EDT [9am New York | 4pm Nairobi | 10am Buenos Aires | 3pm Geneva]

Registration & more information: https://ungaguide.com/event/gender-equality-and-human-rights-in-a-time-of-covid-19-and-climate-change/

Hosts: ACT Alliance, Church World Service, World Student Christian Federation

We are thrilled to be joined by Speakers from CWS Africa, Koinonia Brazil and the Women’s Environment and Development Organization!

Please share with your contacts and register if you are interested in attending! For your information, we will have Spanish interpretation available via Zoom.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations, please visit rngos.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-New York, please visit ngocsd-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-Vienna, please visit ngocsdvienna.org.

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