The United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Yaounde organised a briefing for local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on 10 June 2009 to inform them about the upcoming 62nd annual DPI/NGO conference.  Organized by the Department of Public Information (DPI) in cooperation with the NGO community, the aim of the conference is to highlight effective ways in which civil society, in partnership with other actors, can contribute to the advancement of human rights at the international, regional, national and local levels.  This year’s conference will be held in Mexico City, Mexico from 9 to 11 September 2009.

A total of ninety NGO representatives attended the briefing, including select accredited NGOs with UN consultative status, namely African Action on AIDS, CEFEPROD, FESADE, CADEF, UNA/Cameroon, CAMYOSFOP, and Soroptimist International.

UNIC Yaounde’s Officer-in-Charge, Ms. Anne Nsang, welcomed the NGO representatives on behalf on the Resident Coordinator/Director a.i., Mr. Thierry Mertens.  Ms. Nsang highlighted the purpose of the briefing, as well as the theme, objectives, and programme of the conference.  She also encouraged NGO representatives to attend the conference and called for those who are not accredited or could not attend to examine the possibility of organizing a local event instead.
 
The registration procedures and deadline were outlined by Mr. Jean Njita, the UNIC Yaounde staff member in charge of NGO relations. Mr. Njita invited NGO representatives to visit the website for the conference (to be launched soon) for the latest information. Mr Njita also offered UNIC Yaounde’s assistance with the online registration process to interested participants.

The presentations were followed by an enthusiastic exchange of questions and answers  between NGO representatives eager to know more about the UN’s relationship with NGOs and formal accreditation/affiliation procedures. NGOs with consultative status also shared their experiences to enlighten others on UN/NGO relations. Several constructive ideas emerged from the discussions, including the need to synergize and organize NGO actions through the creation of a unified network.

For more information about the conference or the accreditation process, please visit the DPI/NGO website.

As a follow up to International Women’s Day, the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) Yaounde organized a non-governmental organization (NGO) outreach event on 10 March 2009.

The event’s main objective was to identify and bring together NGOs working actively on the End Violence Against Women and Girls International Women’s Day campaign.

Representatives of ten NGOs attended the event. A United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) representative briefed the audience on the campaign’s theme and a representative of the National Commission on Human Rights and Freedoms and the Special Adviser on Gender Affairs at the Prime Minister’s Office highlighted the importance of ending violence against women and girls.

The United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Yaounde organized three events to commemorate International Women's Day. On 5 March 2009, UNIC Yaounde together with the Government organized a media outreach event entitled "UN Press Club" to discuss this year's theme for International Women's Day - "Women and Men United to End Violence Against Women and Girls."  The panel members for the event included the UN Resident Coordinator, the Minister of Women's Empowerment and the Family and representatives of several UN agencies operating in Cameroon. Participants viewed a screening of UN TV documentaries related to the Day's theme and were briefed on the Secretary-General's campaign "UNiTE to End Violence Against Women."

The representatives of the UN agencies discussed various projects underway to address issues such as female genital mutilation and economic empowerment of women. The Minister of Women's Empowerment and the Family thanked the UN System for their support of several training projects and activities such as the “remise de couteau” campaign in the North to stop female genital mutilation and collective marriages. The Minister made a special appeal to men to join the campaign to end violence against women and announced some future plans including the Green Line for Help and working with the NGO network nationwide.

On 8 March 2009 approximately 50,000 women and men participated in a march on 20th May Boulevard in Yaounde. Representatives of the Government, Diplomatic Missions and international organizations watched the march from a viewing stand. The objective of the march was to mobilize men and women to unite to say no to violence against women and girls in Cameroon.

In addition to the march, the UN System in Cameroon set up an information stand, where an assortment of publications and literature was available to the general public. UN staff answered questions and explained the work of the various UN agencies in Cameroon to visitors. The Minister of Women’s Empowerment and the Family visited the information stand.

The United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Yaounde organised a media outreach activity for 19 journalists of the UN Press Club, Bamenda on 13 February 2009. Bamenda is the capital of the North West region of Cameroon. The main objective was to brief journalists on the UN’s communication priorities and events for 2009.  The National Information Officer discussed the international observances for 2009, the theme for International Women's Day 2009, the UN Secretary-General's campaign "UNiTE to End Violence Against Women" and recent African Renewal publications.

The coordinator of the UN Press Club Bamenda expressed his appreciation for UNIC Yaounde's continuous support and thanked the UNIC for providing the Press Club with UN publications and other information materials. The Regional Delegate for Communication said "UN documents helped the media to report accurately on UN issues and other development stories."

The briefing closed with a discussion between the National Information Officer and the participants about ideas for World Press Freedom Day activities.