On 8 July 2011, the UN Regional Information Centre (UNRIC) Brussels launched the MDG Report 2011 by at a roundtable for the opening of ‘La 5è Rencontre européenne de Jeunes’, a Youth Festival organized by 'Le Mouvement de la Paix', with the EU and Mayor for Peace support at Varennes-Vauzelles (Nièvre).

During 8 to 15 July, about 200 young participants, who came from 10 countries, including Palestine, gathered for the event which contained a number of various activities such as roundtables, concerts, film screenings and art workshops, supported by UNRIC and dedicated to the International Year of Youth.

Following the presentation of the report, a Q&A took place which was an opportunity, as the whole event itself, to underline the link between the fight against poverty and the promotion of peace.

The UNRIC Brussels Information Officer together with the UN delegation from New York presented to Italian candidates in Rome, Milan and Palermo the upcoming UN competitive examination recruitment exam also know as Young Professionals Programme (YPP).

At the same event the Italian Foreign Ministry also presented as the institutional host in the exercise.

Several colleagues from New York took active parts in the presentations to over 300 students, which gathered with assistance from the Italian UNA (SIOI).

The UNRIC Brussels Information Officer represented the UN Regional Centre at the Cinemambiente (International Environmental Film festival) one of the world’ main movie picture and documentary festivals on environment, which took place in Turin, Italy form 3 to 5 June 2011.

The Director of the United Nations Division on Forests Ms. Jan Mc Alpine and the Head of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) Secretariat and Ms. Sylvia Chen were invited to Turin to receive a special award.

The UN Regional Information Centre (UNRIC) Brussels Desk Officer for Italy took advantage of the first-ever invitation by the Chamber of Commerce of Pescara to hold a lecture in the Master in Economy and Law of the Sea to group a number of similar events in other Italian cities in the same period. The mission covered the following cities: Pescara, Padova.  Vicenza, and Pisa.

On 19 to 20 May, the Desk Officer Fabio Graziosi met with students of the Master’s Programme in Law and Economy of the Sea, at the event, jointly organized by the local Chamber of Commerce and the University of Teramo.

In Vicenza on 24 May, at the Institute Medilingue’s UNRIC’s patronage Master’s programme, the Desk Officer met with this year’s Master’s students, who were currently translating information materials for UNRIC. Mr. Graziosi’s presentation was focused on the UNRIC’s website and its linguistic and thematic pages, and provided participants with detailed information on traineeship and employment opportunities. UN information material in several languages (Spanish, French, English, Dutch) was distributed.

In Padova, on 25 May, Mr. Graziosi also made a presentation to students of the CIELS Institute for Linguistic Mediation, which was focused on a wide range of UN public information activities, UNRIC’s thematic campaigns, with particular reference to the 2011 VAW campaign, UN job prospects and peacekeeping.

From 26 to 27 May, invited by the Director of the Center of Excellence for Stability Police Units Carabinieri Colonel Francesco Bruzzese Del Pozzo, Mr. Fabio Graziosi lectured on UN public information in peacekeeping missions in the four-week Police, Civil and Military Relations Course, attended by 40 non-Italian senior police and military officers in the rank of Colonel (main countries represented: Nigeria, Camerun, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Bangla Desh, Romania, Nepal).