Millenium Forum: Deadline extended
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From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
Date: Tue, 21 Mar 2000 23:26:59 +0200 (EET)
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Subject: Millenium Forum: Deadline extended
From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
Original sender: Peace Praxis <[email protected]>
Millenium Forum: Deadline extended
To: All non-governmental organizations, humanitarian and
community-based organizations, private voluntary organizations,
academic institutions, religious organizations, unions,
parliamentarians, local authorities and other representatives and
groups of global civil society.
From: The Millennium Forum
Date: 10 March 2000
Re: EXTENDED DEADLINE - Update on the Millennium Forum
PLEASE DISTRIBUTE AS WIDELY AS POSSIBLE
PLEASE FORWARD TO OTHER INTERESTED GROUPS AND ORGANIZATIONS
PLEASE ACCEPT OUR APOLOGIES FOR CROSS-POSTINGS
Dear Friend(s),
In an effort to accommodate grassroots-level non-governmental
organizations and civil society groups in remote areas of the world
who have expressed an interest in participating in the Millennium
Forum, the deadline for applications to attend the Millennium Forum
has been extended to 31 March 2000.
The Millennium Forum is scheduled to be held 22-26 May 2000 at United
Nations headquarters in New York. It strives to solicit the best
thinking of civil society in all its sectors worldwide as they relate
to six broad themes: PEACE, the eradication of POVERY, HUMAN RIGHTS,
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, GLOBALIZATION, and "STRENGTHENING AND
DEMOCRATIZING" THE UNITED NATIONS. The Forum will also be GENDER
BALANCED in its representation.
The Millennium Forum represents the next step towards strengthening
the influence of global civil society in international affairs,
particularly at the United Nations. It is the next in the series of
major global NGO conferences, following on The Earth Summit, the
Social Summit, the Beijing NGO Forum for Women, the Hague Appeal for
Peace, and other great conferences of the 1990s.
In tackling such a wide range of issues, from peace to human rights to
globalization, and in its attempts to reach a new level of global
diversity and participation, the Forum is unique for a United
Nations-related civil society conference.
To Register on-line, or to learn more about the Forum, please visit
our website at: http://www.millenniumforum.org
REGISTERING ON-LINE IS THE QUICKEST AND MOST EFFICIENT WAY TO SUBMIT
YOUR APPLICATION.
In other developments, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan gave the Forum
a boost recently during remarks to civil society in New Zealand, when
he said that the "NGO Revolution" has been "the best thing that has
happened to our Organization in a long time." He invited civil society
organizations to the Millennium Forum, calling for a stronger
partnership between the UN and civil society.
"Civil society organizations have already given new life and new
meaning to the idea of an international community," said Secretary
General Annan on 23 February 2000. "And you can give us your ideas
about the role the United Nations should play in the twenty-first
century.
"I hope you will come to the Millennium Forum in May full of
constructive suggestions on how to approach the world's most pressing
problems, and how to deal with them in a spirit of global solidarity,"
Mr. Annan concluded. "I hope you will help us achieve our goal of
bringing the United Nations closer to the people."
We continue to seek your participation in this process, which we
believe will result in more effective efforts by NGOs and civil
society organizations in global decision-making and the implementation
of action plans, especially at the United Nations and in other
international organizations.
In particular, we hope that you will take one or more of the following
actions:
- Log-on to our Website at http://www.millenniumforum.org and read
through the various draft papers on the themes that interest your
organization and send comments on those drafts to the thematic
convenors, which are listed on the website. YOUR INPUT INTO THESE
PAPERS IS VITAL IF WE ARE TRULY TO REPRESENT THE VIEWS OF CIVIL
SOCIETY WORLDWIDE.
- Log-on to our Website at http://www.millenniumforum.org and register
for participation in the Forum's main meeting in May via our on-line
registration form (which can be found under the "How to get involved"
section). (Please note: we do hope to have some travel funds available
in the near future for organizations from the Global South.)
- Send this message to other NGOs and civil society organizations in
your network and/or to the appropriate person within your own
organization. WE WANT, PARTICULARLY, TO WIDEN THE NETWORK. SO PLEASE
FORWARD THIS TO OTHER PEOPLE YOU ARE WORKING WITH ON LOCAL-TO-GLOBAL
ISSUES.
- Print out this message and share it with others at various NGO/Civil
Society organization meetings such as you may be attending or
organizing in the next few weeks. We do understand that many
organizations in the Global South do not have email, so we are
counting on those that do to spread this message.
- Publish news about the Forum in your organization's newsletter,
magazine or website. We have on our website a range of press releases
and publishable background materials that are available for
downloading and publication. Visit http://www.millenniumforum.org for
more information.
Up to 1,400 representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
and other groups of civil society will be able to gather at the United
Nations in May to discuss these topics through an innovative program
of "interactive plenaries" focusing on the main themes of the Forum.
Plans are also being made to allow representatives of civil society
worldwide to participate through various on-line and satellite
meetings.
Among the main expected outcomes of the Forum will be an extended
document on the topics of peace, poverty, human rights, environment,
globalization and "strengthening and democratizing the United Nations
and other International Organizations," all under the main theme of
"the United Nations for the Twenty-First Century." This document will
be presented to the world leaders who gather at the Millennium Summit
in September.
If you have any questions, please contact us by at our main email
address:
[email protected].
The Millennium Forum
[email protected]
866 United Nations Plaza, Suite 120
New York, NY 10017, USA
Phone: USA 212-803-2522
Fax: USA 212-803-2561
***
If you would like to receive more information on the Millenium Forum
or other related events and activities, including all background
documents and materials related to the World Summit for Social
Development+5 taken place in Geneva, June 2000, please visit the
web-site of the Coalition for Global Solidarity and Social Development
at http://www.globalsolidarity.npaid.org
As well, if you would like to have information on conferences,
seminars, or events you are organising related to poverty,
development, peacebuilding and conflict, gender, international
financial institutions, etc., posted on the Coalition's web-site,
please write to [email protected].
--
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