Mr. Liberato Bautista (L) and UNIC Director Mr. Alexandre Gorelik (R)

On 13 November 2009, the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Moscow organized a roundtable meeting for Mr. Liberato Bautista, President of the Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations (CoNGO), and representatives of several Russian NGOs. 
   
In his remarks, Mr. Bautista stressed that CoNGO advocated for strong, engaged and empowered civil society communities in different countries. Mr. Liberato stated that the conference's core mission is to guarantee NGOs access to the UN – not only physical, but also in terms of participating in decision-making.  A remarkable part of his comments was a review of civil society actors' effort in order to find a proper place in international governance.
 
Speaking next was Ms. Elena Topoleva, Director of the Agency of Social Information, where she presented a study highlighting major facts about the NGOs in Russia, which was compiled by the Higher School of Economics. According to the study, some 429,000 non-commercial organizations are officially registered in Russia. She also stated that their ever increasing role in the public life can be defined as a positive factor, whereas their major problem appears to be a lack of funds and resources.   
 
Mr. Viktor Kamyshanov, Chairman of the Federation of Peace and Reconciliation, focused on disarmament as an issue of top priority for the international community today, which had been underscored by the UN Secretary General recently in Mexico City. As the head of an organization concentrating on peace-making, he expressed his readiness to cooperate with the CoNGO in this and related matters. 
 
Mr. Gennady Zhizhin from the International Roerichs Centre, pointed out that his organization attended the NGO forums organized by the UN DPI over the last four years. His strong wish was that one of the next Department of Public Information/NGO conferences be devoted to preserving the world’s cultural heritage and to promoting intercultural dialogue.    
 
The discussion assisted Mr. Bautista, in obtaining firsthand information about how the Russian civil society actors are doing. It has, by all means, contributed to widening his horizon on matters related to engaging Russian NGOs in the CoNGO’s work.

Vice President Hilarion Etong stamps the "Seal the Deal" campaign banner

On behalf of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Yaounde participated at the Pan African Parliamentarians' Network on Climate Change (PAPNCC), for the Central African Sub-Region held in Yaounde at the National Assembly from 12 to 13 November 2009.

A two-day conference brought together parliamentarians from Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo (the Republic of), Central African Republic, Gabon, Chad, and Nigeria. A member of the PAPNCC Executive from Kenya was also in attendance. The theme of the Conference was “Securing an Adequate and Equitable Climate Agreement for the Congo Basin and Africa in Copenhagen”.

Hilarion Etong, the Senior Vice President of the Cameroon National Assembly chaired the opening session of the Conference, on behalf of the President of the National Assembly, Cavaye Yegue Djibril. He called on the parliamentarians to pursue the Central African / Congo Basin voice at Copenhagen, and ensure that the world adopts a fair and effective climate agreement for the safety of our planet.

Minister Hele Pierre stamps the "Seal the Deal" campaign banner

Several Speakers at the opening session including Awudu Mbaya Cyprian, Executive President of PAPNCC, Dr. Klaus Perter Treyote, Representative of Friedrich Ebert Foundation; Representative of PanAfrican Climate Justice Alliance and Bokwe Samuel of Network of Parliamentarians on Forest Conservation emphasized the need to “consolidate African Solidarity, to secure an adequate and equitable climate agreement for Africa in Copenhagen and to call for a Special Climate Fund for adaptation and mitigation for Africa and the Nairobi decision to have "One Africa: One Voice: One Position" at Copenhagen.

Cameroon’s Minister of Environment and Nature Protection, Hele Pierre gave a long background to the African vision and the meetings held by African Heads of State and Ministers of Environment and the Cameroon position taken for Copenhagen.

UNIC Yaounde’s National Information Officer, Anne Nsang presented the Secretary-General’s "Seal the Deal" campaign with the powerpoint presentation sent from UNEP in Nairobi. Ms. Nsang updated the parliamentarians on the Climate Summit held at UNHQ, New York in September and the UN Leadership Forum on Climate Change paraphrasing the UN Secretary General’s remarks at both events.

In addition, UNIC Yaounde mounted a Stamping Station for the signing of the Climate Petition, a follow-up to the June Conference. All the Central African Parliamentarians stamped the Deal led by the Senior Vice President of the National Assembly and the Minister of Environment and Nature Protection.

BEZGRANIZ.RU

On 9 November 2009, the pilot version of "Bezgraniz.ru" ("Life without borders") was launched in Moscow to an impressive audience of civil society activists, business executives, information technology experts and philanthropists.

The portal (http://www.bezgraniz.ru/), was already accessible for the visually impaired, and is expected to be finalized in the coming weeks and will be undergoing further upgrading according to quite ambitious plans of its creators brought together by the Marketkompas company.

According to them, the Bezgraniz project is intended for people with special needs and focuses on improving the environment they live and work in. Not only it presents new opportunities for communication in cyberspace, but it also "offers a large variety of interactive approaches to like-minded people".

Opening the ceremony, Alexandre Gorelik, Director of the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Moscow, welcomed this highly positive development on behalf of the UN Country Team in Russia. He placed the event into the context of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities stressing that 14 out of 32 substantive articles of the treaty mention obligations with implications for Information and Communications Technology (ICT). In continuing on that matter, according to the Convention, states are to adopt appropriate legislative and other measures promoting human rights of persons with disabilities, he said that e-accessibility is among the most pressing tasks internationally. Finally, he noted that the Bezgraniz project is a considerable step forward towards a disabled-friendlier society in Russia.

Introducing the portal itself, Tobias Reisner of Marketkompas stated that Bezgraniz would help many people with special needs break out of isolation, start networking and step with more assurance into the social life. In his words, “the ‘Life without borders’ will assist them in organizing seminars, concerts, sport competitions, exhibits, but also will offer goods and services.”

UNIC Director Will Davis

The United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Washington Director Will Davis visited Michigan State University (MSU) for UN Day to discuss the benefits of US-UN reengagement, he also got the unexpected bonus of discovering how MSU itself could play a role in impacting global issues.  

Mr. Davis said he was impressed by the efforts of student groups, the presence of international scientists at the Cyclotron and university efforts to work on climate change. Among other things, the Director headlined an event with the MSU Model UN, spoke at a dinner, was a guest speaker at the East Lansing UNA Chapter in Michigan’s Annual Dinner, and gave a speech on the status of achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) following presentations from the Head of Michigan Manufacturer’s Association and Michigan States Bus School Global Outreach program as well as faculty presentations on MSU’s work on the MDGs.

Mr. Davis’ goal was to elucidate a clearer idea of what the UN is and is not but was also pleasantly surprised to find his own views of MSU refined, paving the way for a potentially deeper cooperation in the future.