Prepared by the Dag Hammarskjöld Library, Outreach Division, Department of Public Information, this calendar lists events organized to commemorate the sixtieth anniversary of the United Nations. For information on UN conferences and special observances , please consult this list.
2006
January February March April May June
July August September October November December

April
Millennium Development Goal 3
Goal 3

Promote gender equality & empower women.

Target: Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and in all levels of education no later than 2015.

Achievements:

The gender gap is closing — albeit slowly — in primary school enrolment in the developing world. This is a first step towards easing long-standing inequalities between women and men.

In almost all developing regions, women represent a smaller share of wage earners than men and are often relegated to insecure and poorly paid jobs.

Though progress is being made, women still lack equal representation at the highest levels of government, holding only 16 per cent of parliamentary seats worldwide.

Millennium Development Report 2005

The sixtieth anniversary of the United Nations will be celebrated until June 2006.
A/RES/59/145 - Resolution
GA/10320 - Press release

By resolution 58/211, the General Assembly designated 2006 as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. The Assembly is deeply concerned by the exacerbation of desertification, particularly in Africa, and its far-reaching implications for the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals, in particular on the goal on poverty eradication.

2006 marks the end of the First United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty which was proclaimed by the General Assembly by resolution 50/107 of 20 December 1995."
A review of the Decade will be carried out at the Commission for Social Development,44th session,
8 - 17 February 2006.

 

 
1 November 2005 - Early 2007
Exhibition
"Uniting Painting" by Ranan Lurie. This work of art is a large international exhibit spanning continents. One of its missions is to connect the world by art and goodwill.
UN Visitors' Lobby.

January - April
Exhibition
"Inequality Matters" - Human Development Report statistics on the state of the world: access to education, clean water, medical facilities and natal care, and rates of literacy and poverty presented in a country by country comparison of global social and economic conditions. Sponsored by UNDP.
UN Visitors’ Lobby.

20 March - 26 April
Exhibition
"Eyes on the World" - an exhibition of award winning photographic images and photo essays by amateur and professional photojournalists in the annual Alexia competition. Sponsored by the Alexia Foundation for World Peace and Cultural Understanding.
UN Visitors’ Lobby.

24 March - 9 May
Exhibition
"Child/Forced Labour" - a photographic exhibition to coincide with the launch of the Child Labour Global Report in April 2006. Sponsored by the International Labour Organization.
UN Visitors’ Lobby.

3 April
Event
Presentation of the Report on the International Year of Sport and Physical Education 2005. Adolf Ogi, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Sport for Development and Peace, will present the report to Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Moderator: Djibril Diallo, Director of the UN New York Office of Sport for Development and Peace. Organized by the Office of the Special Adviser in cooperation with the Swiss Mission to the UN, with support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. Co-hosted by the Group of Friends of Sport for Development and Peace.
ECOSOC Chamber
4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

3 - 20 April
Exhibition
Exhibition of photographs and a display of landmines in observance of the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action including a display of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty. Organized by UN Mine Action Service, UNICEF and UNDP.
UN Visitors’ Lobby.

4 April
Film Screening
Screening of a documentary on mine awareness “Explosive Remnants of War - a Protocol to End the Lethal Legacy of Modern Conflict". Panel discussion follows. Guests: UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Danny Glover; Jerry White, Co-Founder of Landmine Survivors Network; Ismael A. Gaspar Martins, Co-Chair of the Forum of Mine-Affected Countries; Richard Kidd, Director of the Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, U.S. Department of State; Kathleen Cravero, Director, Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery, UNDP.
Dag Hammarskjöld Library Auditorium
11:45 a.m. - 1.00 p.m.

5 April
Panel Discussion
Landmine Awareness - A Tribute to the Work of Nongovernmental Organizations. Panellists: Ralph Cwerman, President, Humpty Dumpty Institute; Heidi Kuhn, Founder and CEO, Roots of Peace; Rachel Galoob Ortega, Landmine Survivors Network; Perry Baltimore, President, Marshall Legacy Institute. Moderated by Lincoln Bloomfield, Former Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs. Sponsored by the U.S. Mission
Office of Press and Public Diplomacy.
Dag Hammarskjöld Library Auditorium
1:15 p.m.

5 April
Film Screening
The Africa Section of the UN Department of Public Information will screen the BBC film, “Shooting Dogs” as one of the events in observance of the 12th anniversary of the Rwanda genocide (7 April). The film is based on the experiences of a UN peacekeeping contingent in Rwanda.
Dag Hammarskjöld Library Auditorium
6:00 - 8:00 p.m.

6 April
NGO Briefing
In commemoration of the 12th anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda, the briefing will comprise a Roundtable discussion on the challenges faced by the international community as it seeks to protect civilians at risk of ethnic cleansing, war crimes, crimes against humanity or the threat of genocide within their own countries. Speakers: Juan Mendez, UN Special Adviser on Genocide; Alison Des Forges, Adviser for the Great Lakes Region, Human Rights Watch; Gregory Stanton, President, Genocide Watch; and Pierre Prosper, former Prosecutor, International Tribunal for Rwanda and former US Ambassador-at-large for War Crimes. The event will be moderated by Boston Globe journalist, Farah Stockman. Live webcast.
Dag Hammarskjöld Library Auditorium
10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

6 April
Panel Discussion
Several contributors to the title "Beyond the ‘Never Agains’" will be present for a discussion on genocide. The book includes interviews with several people about the prevention of genocide and other crimes against humanity.
Conference Room 4.
1:15 p.m.

6 April
Event
The grande finale of an "Apprentice-style" show in which a group of young people compete for the chance to become Goodwill Ambassador for Israel. It will be filmed in the Trusteeship Council Chamber. UN staff members are invited to come to the Trusteeship Council Chamber (2nd floor entrance) to judge the speakers and decide on the winner.
The Department of Public Information is collaborating with Israel's Keshet Broadcasting on this UN segment of the series.
2:15 - 3:15 p.m.

7 April
Observance
The Dag Hammarskjöld Library marks:
World Health Day

7 April
Book Signing
"The World is Flat : A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century" by Tom Friedman, New York Times columnist, who will read from and sign copies of this best-seller.
UN Bookshop
1:00p.m.

13 April
NGO Briefing
"Changing Realities: Indigenous Issues in the Next Decade". Speakers include: Marijke Velzeboer-Salcedo, Chief of the Latin America and Caribbean Section, UNIFEM; Elsa Stamatopoulou, Chief of the Secretariat of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues; and Tonya Gonnella Frichner, American Indian Law Alliance.
Dag Hammarskjöld Library Auditorium
10:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon.

20 April
NGO Communications Workshop
Accessing Correct UN Information : Fact or Fiction.
Dag Hammarskjöld Library Auditorium.
10:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon.

22 - 23 April
Film Festival
"Stories from the Field : 2nd Annual UN Documentary Film Festival", presented by the Media Communications Association-International, New York Chapter (MCA-I NY) and the UN Department of Public Information.
It will feature film screenings, panel discussions with the filmmakers and award presentations.
Tishman Auditorium, The New School.
New York, USA.

23 April
Observance
The Dag Hammarskjöld Library marks:
World Book and Copyright Day

24 April - 5 May
Conference
Committee on Information, 28th session
UN Headquarters, New York.

25 April - 9 May
Exhibition
A photographic exhibition marking the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster.
Sponsored by UNDP and the Permanent Missions of Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine to the UN.
UN Visitors’ Lobby.

27 April
Book Signing
"Left to Tell : Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust" by Immaculée Ilibagiza who will discuss and sign copies of her memoir.
UN Bookshop
1:00p.m.

27 April
NGO Briefing
Briefing on Migration
Dag Hammarskjöld Library Auditorium
10:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon.

28 April
Conference
General Assembly Special Commemorative Meeting to observe the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl catastrophe.
General Assembly Hall
10:00 a.m.

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