CONGO e-Update . 20 February 2008

The CONGO e-update is produced by staff in New York, Geneva and Vienna, with contributions from members and affiliated partners.

Climate Change: What NGOs should do?, 11-12 February 2008, New York

CONGO's General Assembly (5-7 December 2007) launched a Call for Action including a strong focus on and appeal for engagement in climate change issues. Participants identified that action is needed in three key areas - mitigation, adaptation and access to energy. Read the statement on climate change delivered by President Liberato Bautista before the UNGA thematic debate on climate change and see CONGO's proposals on the issue.

 1^st Regional Workshop on the Durban Review Conference, 25-26 February, Bangkok

The 1^st Regional Workshop on the Durban Review Conference (DRC) 2009 will be held in Bangkok on 25-26 February 2008. Organized by FORUM-ASIA and IMADR (International Movement against All Forms of Racial Discrimination) to facilitate civil society consultation and participation in response to the DRC process, the workshop will review the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA 2001), identify challenges related to its implementation and develop civil society advocacy strategies in the DRC process (stock-taking tools). For more information, please contact drc@forum-asia.org. This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

CONGO NGO Committee Migration / Family - 28 February, New York

On the occasion of the 52^nd Commission on the Status of Women to be held 25 February - 7 March in New York, the NGO Committee on Migration in co-sponsorship with the NGO Committee on the Family and the Global Center-UN, invites you to the workshop Actions for the Advancement of Women: Best Practices, which will take place Thursday 28 February, 11:45AM - 1:15PM, at the Church Centre, 8^th Floor (44^th Street & First Avenue).

UNCTAD XII - Next Preparatory Hearing, 3 March, Geneva

In view of the upcoming UNCTAD XII, Preparatory Hearings with civil society and the private sector are organized by the UNCTAD Secretariat. The last hearing was held on 28 January 2008: please find here the outcome document. The 3 March Hearing will focus on the sub-theme 4 "Strengthening UNCTAD - enhancing its development role, impact and institutional effectiveness". As such, the hearing agenda will be as follows:

1.      Strengthening UNCTAD: Institutional aspects;

2.      Civil society role (in the activities of UNCTAD); and

3.      Revitalizing UNCTAD: Priority issues.

Get prepared to provide inputs to the pre-conference negotiating text: please find here the consolidated [rolling] text under negotiation dated 22-1-2008. NGOs who could not participate in this hearing can send written inputs in relation with the agenda to the UNCTAD Civil Society Outreach Unit at cso@unctad.org.

 7^th session of the UN Human Rights Council, 3 - 28 March, Geneva

The main session of the second cycle - the 7^th HRC session - the will start with a High Level Segment and a General Segment. The provisional draft program of work is available on the HRC Extranet and the OHCHR Civil Society Unit circulated an Information note for NGOs. More information coming soon on the CONGO website. Read .

 1^st session of the HRC Working Group on Universal Periodic Review, 7-18 April, Geneva

The OHCHR recently circulated the timetable of the Interactive Dialogues concerning the 16 countries to be reviewed during the 1^st session of the Human Rights Council Working Group on Universal Periodic Review. Background information is available on the OHCHR website and on the CONGO website.

8^th Info-poverty World Conference, 16-18 April, New York

The Conference, focusing on "Low Cost-Smart technologies to fight poverty and save the planet", aims to advance the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and, in particular, supports programmes for alleviating poverty through information and communication technologies. The Provisional programme and the registration form are available on the Info-poverty Conference website.

Decent Work, Decent Life Campaign

Half of the world's workforce earns less than $US2 a day. The Decent Work, Decent Life Campaign, led by the International Trade Union Confederation , Solidar , the Global Progressive Forum, Social Alert International and the European Trade Union Confederation, aims at showing that Decent Work is the only sustainable way out of poverty and is fundamental to building democracy and social cohesion in all societies. Along with building-awareness projects and shifting the policy-making balance in favour of the many, the campaign warns about the consequences of the lack of decent work (poor social protection, violation of trade union rights, precarious jobs). The Call to Action calls for an international system based on solidarity and respect for people's rights, as enshrined in United Nations and International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions (8 Core Labour Standards). Sign NOW the Call to Action for Decent Work Decent Life and see how YOU can contribute to make sure that decent work becomes a norm not an exception.

 NGO Law and Governance - A Resource Book: 100 Tips 100 Tools for Better Governed NGOs

The Asian Development Bank has published a survey on NGO governance, by Grant Stillman of the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI). The survey, aimed at identifying in more detail the core principles common to a majority of the legal and governance systems throughout the world, offers a quick reference containing ten sets of tips and online tools on common topics related to the basic content of international and domestic laws and generally accepted governance principles affecting the civil society sector. Available for free at the ADBI website, the book provides tips and tools for members, managers, staffers and volunteers working in NGOs.

 Certificate Training Programme in Resource Mobilization/Fundraising, Geneva

More and more civil society organizations and communities depend on their ability to mobilize resources and raise funds to be able to accomplish their objectives and the competition between North- and South- based NGOs is harsh. The University of Geneva - IOMBA Programme (International Organizations MBA) launches a new certificate in fundraising and mobilization designed for professionals working in resource mobilization in NGOs/CSOs, as well as for managers in international organizations, trainers and consultants in fundraising for the non-profit sector. The programme - characterized by highly participative teaching methodologies and applied learning methods, fully in English - will begin in October 2008. The course will provide participants with a solid grounding in key areas of resource mobilization, including recent developments and trends, covering the full range of available funding sources - private individuals, companies, foundations, government funding and earned income. Find here the registration deadlines and read  

 61^st Annual DPI/NGO Conference commemorating the 60^th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 3-5 September 2008, Paris

The preparations for the planning of the 61^st Annual DPI/NGO Conference are under way. Preliminary information, including an information bulletin and a working paper, is available on the DPI / NGO Website. In addition, the minutes of the 2^nd meeting of the planning Committee can be downloaded on the CONGO website. Watch this page as more information is coming soon.

Other events:

 25 February - 7 March: 52^nd Commission on the Status of Women, New York

www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw

 26 February 2008: First preparatory meeting of the 3^rd Internet Governance Forum, Geneva

www.intgovforum.org

3 March 2008:  UNCTAD XII - Next Preparatory Hearing, Geneva

http://www.ngocongo.org/index.php?what=news&id=10469

 5-6 March: WILPF Seminar: At What Cost? - Women, Wars, Weapons and Conflict Prevention, Geneva

http://www.wilpf.int.ch/events/2008IWDseminar.html

 10-14 March 2008: 51^st Session Commission on Narcotic Drugs, Vienna

http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/commissions/CND/session/51.html

 25-26 March 2008: United Nations Meets Web 2.0, New York

http://www.un-gaid.org/fr/node/1347

26-28 March 2008: UNDP 6^th Forum of the World Alliance of Cities against Poverty (WACAP), Athens, Greece

http://mirror.undp.org/switzerland/wacap/en/forum_athens/index.htm

 7-18 April 2008 & 5-16 May 2008: Human Rights Council, 1^st & 2^nd sessions of the WG on the Universal Periodic Review, Geneva

List of the 16 Countries to be reviewed during this session

 20-25 April 2008: Twelfth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, Accra, Ghana

http://www.unctadxii.org

 21 April - 2 May 2008: Substantive session of the Preparatory Committee on the Durban Review Conference, Geneva Download the questionnaire for accreditation of new NGOs to the Durban Review Conference and its preparatory process.

http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/racism/groups/prep_committee_durban

 25-28 May 2008: Geneva Health Forum, Geneva

http://genevahealthforum.org

 10-11 June 2008: UNGA High-Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS, New York

http://www.un-ngls.org/unaids/en

 17-23 August 2008: World Water Week, Stockholm, Sweden

http://www.worldwaterweek.org

 The CONGO e-news is a weekly email information service of the Conference of NGOs, informing members and affiliated networks of relevant upcoming events sponsored by the United Nations, CONGO, CONGO Members and its affiliated committees and task forces, and other major civil society-related initiatives. Subscription to the e-news list is generally restricted to the UN offices and headquarters of members of the Conference of NGOs. For more information or to submit an event, please send a message to adina.fulgaradi@ngocongo.org, at least three weeks prior to the event. To unsubscribe please send an email to congo@ngocongo.org.