NGO-Forum '95 to parallel UN World Social Summit in Copenhagen
NGO-Forum '95 hopes to bring together over 2000 NGOs from around the
world in Copenhagen from 3 to 12 March 1995. This forum will parallel
the official UN World Summit for Social Development being held in
Copenhagen from 6 to 12 March, and will included theater, workshops,
dance, and parades. Gitte Just Mikkelsen, secretary for NGO-Forum '95,
explains that the alternative forum is "not just to push piles of
paper." The deadline for NGOs to send in their registration forms to
participate in NGO-Forum is 1 December. Similarly, NGOs who would like
to participate at the UN summit must return their accreditation forms
to UN head office in New York by 1 December. (NGO-Forum has prepared a
useful "Fact Sheet" that answers the most common questions about the
NGO forum and the UN World Summit. The one-page UN accreditation form
is available from Nicolas Johnson at the REC or from the UN.)
UN materials say, "The core issues of the World Social Summit are:
1. The enhancement of social integration, particularly of the more
disadvantaged and marginalized groups. 2. Alleviation and reduction of
widespread poverty. 3. Expansion of productive employment." This
conference is the third in the series of UN world summits and will not
be dealing specifically with environmental issues. NGOs can address
environmental issues as they fall into the three mentioned core issues.
According to Lisbet Rubinstein, the NGO Liaison Officer for the
summit, and Tony Hill of the United Nations Non-Governmental Liaison
Service, the UN would like to see increased participation from NGOs in
Central and Eastern Europe. Despite this, the UN has not made funds
available to facilitate participation from Central and Eastern NGOs at
the World Summit. It has, however, established a USD 1 million
Voluntary Trust Fund to help NGOs from the world's 47 least developed
countries attend the summit.
Contact:
NGO Liaison Officer
World Summit for Social Development
United Nations, Room DC2-1372
tel: (1-212) 963-1957
fax: (1-212) 963-3062
NGO-Forum '95
tel: (45-32) 961-995
fax: (45-32) 968-919
THE BULLETIN * AUTUMN 1994