The Government of Colombia and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean
(CEPAL), carried out a conference on Sustainable Development in Latin America and the Caribbean on 7, 8 and 9 March, in the city of Bogotá. All the UN agencies in Colombia participated in monitoring the development of the Post-2015 Agenda. During the meeting, different international and Latin American and the Caribbean authorities examined from a regional perspective, the progress of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the Post-2015 Development Agenda, and the adopted agreements after the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Río+20), that took place in June, 2012.

The meeting was opened by María Ángela Holguín, Colombia’s External Relations Minister; Alicia Bárcena, CEPAL’s Executive Secretary; and Heraldo Muñoz, UN Development Group President for Latin America and the Caribbean, on 7 March. 

During the first part of the working day, the inter-institutional document titled Sustainable Development in Latin America and the Caribbean: Monitoring the UN for Development Post-2015 and Rio+20 Agenda was presented. The document identifies regional pending challenges in terms of the fulfillment of the MDGs and suggests guidelines for the future. This publication includes contributions from different UN agencies in the region and was coordinated and organized by CEPAL.

You may view this document at: http://nacionesunidas.org.co/blog/2013/03/04/paises-de-america-latina-y-el-caribe-evaluan-avances-en-la-agenda-de-desarrollo-sostenible/#more-6449

The UN Information Centre (UNIC) in New Delhi collaborated with the Maya Academy of Advanced Cinematics (MAAC) to present the ninth edition of the 24FPS International Animation Awards. The theme for the Awards was ‘The Future We Want’, encouraging young animation filmmakers to explore new ideas and solutions to some of the most pressing global challenges.
 
Speaking at the event attended by animation design students, their mentors and animation and VFX professionals from India and abroad, the UNIC Assistant Information Officer said UNIC’s collaboration recognized “the enormous potential of young people in this country – their energy, their creative spirit” as well as “the need to channel it for the common good.”
 
“At the UN, we look at youth as partners,” she added. “Your creativity makes people see things that they would otherwise ignore".

Thirty students from the Economics Institute of the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, visited UNIC Rio de Janeiro on Thursday 18 October to learn about the work of the UN System in Brazil and in the world, as well as to discuss how the UN is debating the economic issues today.

The study trip happens yearly since 2005 and this year, the Danish students visited several institutions both in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. According to the students, the trips are academically oriented, and based on themes discussed during their economics course. The themes chosen to explore in Brazil were the challenges and opportunities in Brazil’s economy; Danish investment opportunities in Brazil; and Growth versus Inequality.

UNIC Rio's Public Information Assistant, Gustavo Barreto, briefed them on the UN System,s work in the country particularly in implementing the MDGs. He also talked about the mission of the WTO, IMF, World Bank, UNCTAD, UNECE, ECLAC, UNDP and DESA. In addition, the students were briefed about the Rio+20 debates and conclusions.

On Thursday, 18 October, in the context of UN Day and the UN4U outreach campaign, UNIC Moscow hosted a meeting with students of several Moscow-based Universities undergoing training in the framework of the “Youth. Society. Culture” annual programme.
 
The programme, which is run by UNIC’s long-standing partner the “Social Partnership” Centre, a civil society organization, requested UNIC to organize the event conceived as an intensive discussion on the relevance of the UN, and other international organizations, in today’s world.
 
The discussion focused on two main topics: “What is the future for the UN?” and “Sustainable development as a new paradigm for the world”.
 
On the first point, UNIC Moscow’s Director expounded on a wealth of ideas and proposals contained in a number of detailed and exhaustive reports and documents that have appeared over the last ten years or so, such as, “We the People”, “A More Secure World”, The Millennium Declaration, etc. He also reflected ideas informing the “Delivering as One” concept. In particular, he spoke about the evolution of the global governance tenet, the uniqueness of the UN’s dual vocation: an organization dealing with global peace and security plus a tool for promoting development and social well-being. Finally, he discussed with the students the UN’s comparative advantages and endemic problems, concluding that the global body has to reinvent itself.
 
On the second point, the conversation gravitated around the vision of sustainable development as agreed on at the Rio + 20 forum. The Director quoted the report "Resilient People, Resilient Planet: A Future Worth Choosing" by the Secretary-General's High-Level Panel for Global Sustainability, stating that sustainable development is a dynamic process of adaptation, learning and action. The emphasis was placed on the notion of interconnections between the economy, society and the natural environment. Noting the need for a new political economy, he mentioned the UN’s stress on the task of creating a set of sustainable development goals.
 
The Q&A session that followed demonstrated the students’ keen interests in global issues, in general, and the UN – Russia relationship, in particular.
 
Taking the floor after him, the UNIC Librarian, introduced the system of UN documents and publications on MDG’s, sustainable development and human rights. A video about the UN, produced by ITAR-TASS news agency was then screened.