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UN Headquarters 22nd to 26th May
Millennium Forum: Non Governmental |
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by Isthar D. – Adler Under the heading “The United Nations for the 21st century”, the Millennium forum which is scheduled to take place from the 22nd to the 26th of May at United Nations Headquarters in New York, will bring together Non-Governmental Organisations’ representatives from all four corners of the world, to consult about our future in relation to the great global challenges that must be confronted by the United Nations in the 21st century. As part of the preparations for the United Nations’ Millennium Assembly in September, the Millennium Forum in particular will strive to solicit the best thinking of civil society in all its sectors worldwide as they relate to six themes: peace, the eradication of poverty, human rights, the environment, globalisation and “strengthening and democratising” the United Nations. “The expansion and increasing activism of civil society has changed the way a whole range of social, environmental and economic issues are understood worldwide” said Techeste Ahderom, co-chair of the Forum, “which has given rise to a whole new methodology of ‘People’s participation’ in solving complex human problems. The next step in this evolving process is for civil society to find its collective voice in a manner that is more widely representative of all the world’s people”. To this end the Millennium Forum promises a significant step forward in the process of empowering and enabling the people to play a more effective role in global decision making, by seeking to create a process whereby the input from global civil society can be collected and consulted upon in an open, transparent and representative manner, reflecting democratic principles. Mr Annan, United Nations Secretary General has been a strong supporter of civil society as an important force in world affairs. He said that success in reform efforts would require “that the United Nations devise effective means by which to collaborate with other international organisations and institutions of civil society, thereby amplifying the impact of its own moral, institutional and material resources”. An official request has been made to the Forum co-chair for the programme developers to facilitate a discussion on the concept of a spiritual forum at the United Nations which focuses upon the establishment of a permanent structure to house discussions on spiritual perspectives for solutions to global issues and human solidarity - which is both a political and a spiritual concept - for a better world. A concept which includes Non-Government Organisations participation as well as supporting the more formalized creation for religious and spiritual leaders to officially interface with the political process. The United Nations has always been advocating global interdependence which is actually based upon such a concept. “There is a basic affinity between the teachings of the great religions of the world and the values enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations” Mr Annan said. The defining of ‘spiritual’ and its relevance in this millennium is fast becoming a topic of much discussion in all areas of society, and there is a definite call for global interdepence to be brought beyond the physical/material level into a ‘higher’ spiritual level which connects all in a spirit of human solidarity towards finding new approaches to human understanding. Among the main expected outcomes of the Forum, an extended document on the topics covered will be presented to the world leaders who are scheduled to gather at the Millennium Summit in early September. Connect with the Millennium Forum on: http://www.millenniumforum.org |
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