Sustainability and the ‘’Arab spring’’ were the two keywords of the panel discussion organized by the UN Information Centre (UNIC) in Cairo on 14 May, to discuss the issues of sustainable development in the Arab region in the context of the new dynamics of the “Arab spring”, while highlighting the upcoming UN Rio+20 summit scheduled for 20-22 June in Brazil.

Speaking at the opening of the panel Ms. Khawla Mattar, Director, UNIC Cairo, highlighted the importance of Rio+20 as a landmark event  20 years after the first Rio summit and ahead of the deadline for achieving the MDGs in 2015, in a time still marked by the global economic, energy and food crisis. Ms Mattar said the Rio Summit was particularly significant in the context of the change the Arab region is going through. She added that reshaping the social discussion towards sustainability would impact the governance of natural resources and the schemes of development toward the consecration of the right of the Arab citizen to a sustainable environment.

The general discussion stressed the importance of political will and commitment to engage in sustainable development in the region. The participants pointed to the lack of focus and/or the absence of vision concerning sustainable development among the programs of the presidential candidates. They also lamented the absence of the issues of environment and sustainable development in the political debate including the debate about the new constitution.

Representatives of media outlets, NGOs, government bodies and academia attended the panel discussion, which considering the atmosphere in Egypt, is a very positive sign since the country is pre-occupied with issues related to the presidential elections and other very tense political issues.

To commemorate World Press Freedom Day, UNIC Cairo, UNESCO’s Regional Office and the Egyptian People’s Assembly (Committee of Culture, Media & Tourism), organized a panel discussion under the theme: “Press Freedom in Egypt following the Arab Spring and the Way Forward”.

Opening remarks were delivered by the UN Resident Coordinator, James Rawley, UNESCO Director Tarek Shawky, as well as the Speaker of the Shura Council (Senate) Ahmed Fahmy. The Statement by Egypt’s parliament speaker, Saad el Katatni, was delivered on his behalf by the Head of the Committee of Culture, Media and Tourism, Mohammed Al Sawy.

In addition to Mohamed el Sawy, the Panel included prominent figures from the media and politics:  Alaa Thabet, Editor-in-Chief of Al-Ahram Al-Messaei, Mamdouh el Wally, Chairman of the Egyptian Syndicate for Journalism, Hamdy Kandil, TV Host and Prominent Media personality, as well as Hafez el Mirazy, Director of “Adham”, Center for Journalism, American University in Cairo and talk show presenter.

The discussion, moderated by UNIC Director, Khawla Mattar, was followed by a question and answer session.  The event was covered by six television stations, with an attendance of more than 120 people.

Participants

In observance of the Human Rights Day, UN Information Centre (UNIC) Cairo and the MENA section of the OHCHR partnered to pay tribute to Human rights defenders in the region working on discrimination and to bring the issues of combating discrimination and promoting diversity under the spotlight of the public debate.

UNIC Cairo and OHCHR’s MENA section convened human rights defenders working on various forms of discrimination at the regional as well as the national level to share and discuss their experiences at a Regional Panel discussion on “Combating Discrimination, Promoting Diversity” organized in observance of the Human Rights Day.

The participants representing regional as well as Human rights grass roots organizations from Egypt, Lebanon , Palestine, Bahrain, Tunisia, Algeria and Iraq spoke about their several experiences in combating discrimination against women, persons with disabilities, refugees and internally displaced persons, Palestinians under Israeli occupation as well as in refugees’ camps. They also exchanged success stories, obstacles and challenges in addition to ways and means to improve and advance their work.

The participants highlighted the importance of adopting an inclusive approach in tackling discrimination as a core human rights issue extremely connected with all forms of human rights abuses. While recognizing the importance of UNIC and OHCHR joint initiative to engage dialogue about discrimination and diversity in the region, the participants also stressed the need for larger regional opportunities to bring such issues to the front of the public debate at the national and regional level with the participation of policy-makers and key opinion leaders.

Along with human rights defenders, media representatives participated in the panel discussion. At the opening UNIC Director Ms.Khawla Mattar conveyed the message of the UN Secretary-General while Mr.Frej Fennich Chief of the MENA Section at OHCHR conveyed the message of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. A short film featuring experiences of human rights defenders working on discrimination around the world was also screened. Then the panel focused on issues from different countries in the region.

During the Stand Up

A Youth Rally was organised by the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Cairo at the historic site of the Pyra-mids titled: "The Sphinx against poverty".

The rally is part of the "Stand Up, Make Noise" campaign that UNIC Cairo is organized in Egypt in cooperation with the UN Country Team, religious leaders of the Muslim as well as the Christian Orthodox Coptic Church, the National Council of Antiquities, the National Council of Youth, Scouts and Rotaract clubs.

On 17 September, the event was led by the famous egyptologist Dr. Zahi Hawas, Egyptian cinema stars Yusra and Leila Alaoui and representatives of the Muslim and Christian religious leaders in Egypt.

Friday sermons in more than 50,000 mosques across Egypt were dedicated to combating poverty.