Enterprisers.inIn Preparation for the 50th Session of the Commission for Social Development The NGO Committee for Social Development
invites you to the
Civil Society Forum
Co-sponsored by:
United Nations’ DESA’s Division of Social Policy and Development
&
Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung
The Social Protection Floor Initiative
“Universal access to basic social protection and social services is
necessary to break the cycle of poverty and reduce inequality and social
exclusion. A basic social protection floor is affordable; its benefits need to
be weighed against the potentially high human, social and economic costs
of not investing in social protection.”
“The Global Social Crisis: Report on the World Social Situation 2011”
UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs Publication, 2011
January 31, 2012
10 AM – 4 PM
Conference Room 4, North Lawn Building
UN Headquarters, New York.
Register at http://esa.un.org/dspdEsa/absolutefp/civil-society-forum2012.html
Registration for this Forum also requires pre-registration for the Commission at:
http://social.un.org/index/CivilSociety/NGOParticipation/CSocD50Session/OnlinePreRegistration.aspx
This Civil Society Forum is offered in preparation for the Commission on Social Development –
February 1st – 10th, 2012 at the United Nations HQ, NY and the UN Conference on Sustainable
Development in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 4-6, 2012
The Persian Garden (Iran). The property includes nine gardens in as many provinces. They exemplify the diversity of Persian garden 
designs that evolved and adapted to different climate conditions while retaining principles that have their roots in the times of Cyrus the Great, 6th century BC. Always divided into four sectors, with water playing an important role for both irrigation and ornamentation, the Persian garden was conceived to symbolize Eden and the four Zoroastrian elements of sky, earth, water and plants. These gardens, dating back to different periods since the 6th century BC, also feature buildings, pavilions and walls, as well as sophisticated irrigation systems. They have influenced the art of garden design as far as India and Spain.
Click Here for more
Courtesy : Behram Pastakia
Zarathushtrian Religion — Library of Congress
OR
http://czcjournal.org/audiovideo/zarathushtra_bagli_insler_mehr_v3.htm
Courtesy : Jehangir Bisney
The FEZANA UN-NGO committee, as a co-ordinating body, facilitates such participation by making carefully chosen and relevant information available from time to time. The following information about an upcoming Youth Conference at the UN Headquarters in New York is shared.
Please note, that costs for travel, participation, visas and stay are the responsibility of prospective participants.
REGISTRATION for the 9th Youth Assembly at the United Nations, set for August 3, 4, and 5, 2011 will open on February 7, 2011. For details of registration and the report of the 8th Youth Assembly, please visit http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=h94dvwbab&v=001dsGnuBrFqEENobiRH0L7Ap7OrKfk4Ny1FUugxWp7NP_AjMqoQrURk7jYlq9ZYYX1wvaSmAQiPYY0CARiOGnUmPnVpTO7bg06ZFBAE5UVxww%3D
Date: Thursday, 10 February 2011
Time: 10:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Location: North Lawn Building, Conference Room 6
Background Information
“One day our grandchildren will go to museums
to see what poverty was like.” -Muhammad Yunus
Microfinance is an important contributor to achieving the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (UN MDGs) in particular the goals of ending poverty and hunger, increasing universal access to education, and improving health services. Progress achieved as a result of microfinance services was highlighted in the 2009 UN MDG Report. Some of the successes highlighted included increased enrolment in primary education in developing nations (88 per cent in 2007, up from 83 per cent in 2000). According to the Report, the number of deaths of children under the age of five has also declined steadily worldwide — to approximately 9 million in 2007, down from 12.6 million in 1990.. Use of microfinance services has also contributed significantly to global progress in moving closer to actually meeting the target of eradicating poverty. Success can also be seen in data from Mix Market, the number one source for financial and social performance data on microfinance institutions, which finds that the rate of return on borrowed money is 97%.
Although the number of the world’s poor people, as reported by the World Bank, has dropped from 1.3 billion to just less than one billion in the last decade, there is still much more work to be done. A recent study by the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) has found that, “Despite the rapid growth of the microfinance industry in the past ten years, it is estimated that between two and three billion people still lack access to a broad range of financial products and services on a sustainable basis.” Today’s Briefing will look at the history of microfinance, its role in alleviating poverty, what the UN and others have done in support of the poor, and the what NGOS, civil society and the private sector can still
do to end poverty.
MODERATOR
María Luisa Chávez; Chief, NGO Relations, Department of Public Information (DPI)
Mr. John Tucker, Deputy Director of the United Nations Capital Development Fund, United Nations Development Program
Dr. Ira Lieberman, President of Lipam International Inc.
Ms. Deborah Drake, Vice President, Center for Financial Inclusion, ACCION International (invited)
Dr. Todd Watkins, Director of Microfinance Program and Professor of Economics at Lehigh University
Yours Sincerely,
NGO Relations, DPI
United Nations
www.un.org/dpi/ngosection
RESCHEDULED: Holocaust Remembrance Ceremony will take place on Thursday, 10 February 2011, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. in the General Assembly Hall
The United Nations will observe the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust on Thursday, 10 February 2011. The annual solemn ceremony will be held from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in the General Assembly Hall at New York Headquarters.
As you may know, the event initially scheduled for 27 January 2011, was rescheduled due to the closure of the UN building as a result of inclement weather.
The event will honour the courage of women during the Holocaust, which continues to inspire and empower women today.
The ceremony is expected to feature remarks by the United Nations Secretary-General, the President of the 65th Session of the General Assembly, and the representative of Israel to the United Nations. Kiyo Akasaka, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, will host the event. Keynote remarks will be delivered by Ms. Lenore Weitzman, Professor Emeritus, George Mason University. Mrs. Nesse Godin, a survivor of a ghetto, four labour camps and a death march, will share her personal story.
An educational study guide and companion DVD titled “Women and the Holocaust: Courage and Compassion”, produced by the Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme in partnership with the USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education and Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority, will also be launched on that day. This year’s commemoration aims to further understanding of this history as seen from this important, but often less visible, perspective and to pay tribute to the individual accomplishments of women during those times.
The ceremony is open to the general public. Please register by inserting [Memorial Ceremony RSVP] in the subject line of the message, and please provide your name, title, and organization in the text. Kindly email us at holocaustremembrance@un.org
If you have already registered, please kindly send us an email confirming your registration for 10 February 2011.
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