59th Annual DPI/NGO Conference (6-8 September 2006)

 

Minutes of the 10th Planning Committee Meeting: 23 March 2006

 

1.0  Pre-Meeting Comments. The meeting was chaired by Michaela Walsh.

In response to a question about names of Planning Committee Meeting participants being added to the minutes, Sol Oca said that this had never been done before and would not be in the future.

 

2.0 Adoption of the Agenda. The Agenda was adopted as presented.

 

3.0 Adoption of the Minutes.

 

The following comments and corrections were made and the minutes were adopted with these corrections:

  • Executive Committee is called the NGO/DPI Executive Committee.
  • The reference to ECOSOC (on Codes) should be CSW, not ECOSOC
  • The 4th bullet point should read “NGO representatives, not UN representatives”
  • Under key discussion, the 3rd bullet should read items, 3rd bullet. Why might this policy be flawed?
  • 5.0 7th Bullet point should read additional specific topics, not “specific topics”, as we already had five.

 

 

4.0 Subcommittee Reports

 

(i)                 Resource Centre Support:

 

Some details relating to registration were summarized by Mona Gillet, staff member, Resource Centre; she emphasized that details were still being worked out:

  • Mona remarked that registration for this year’s Conference would be online, for the first time in the Conference’s history.

She said that NGOs without email addresses would be sent hard copies of materials. She informed the audience that in order to enter the registration website each organization would receive a letter with a unique password. Each organization’s headquarters would handle the registration of its participants and print out conformation letters. These confirmation letters would be forwarded to the participants. The deadline for registration is 1 June 2006. It was stated that at least one participant from each organization be under 30 years of age. It was discussed that speakers not be registered online, but rather be issued a day pass to the UN.

  • Michaela remarked that we would have to contact the NGOs if we did not meet last year’s number of registrations by 1 June 2006. The deadline would be open for extension and changes. NGOs needed to be aware that registration procedure had changed and that letters had gone out.
  • Sol added that last year’s Conference had a record number of registrations as it was open to Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) because of the IPU Conference and the 2005 World Summit. After discussion it was agreed that CSOs would be invited but after last year’s problems, details of how these inquiries should be handled would be decided later.
  • Several members of the Planning Committee expressed concerns about sending the letter of invitation and Sister Joan Kirby’s letter requesting donations only to the headquarters of each NGO. They stated that the reason the NGOs have representatives at the UN is that they inform their headquarters about UN activities and therefore they need to receive them as well. The Committee members added that important information might get lost or be forgotten if only sent to headquarters. Some NGO representatives, for instance, did not know that letters requesting donations had been sent out already. Sol stated that it was DPI’s policy to deal with the headquarters of the NGOs when sending invitations as well as accreditation forms to NGOs every October. Obvious issues will need further resolution regarding these new procedures.

 

 (ii)      The Troubleshooting Committee: No report.

 

(iii)       The Events- and Fundraising Committee: The Committee prepared a letter.

 

(iv)       The Multigenerational Committee: The Committee held a meeting on Thursday, 23 March 2006. In addition to working on the three workshops and supplying as many speakers to the Plenaries and Roundtables, they also discussed adding a piece to the Conference regarding grassroots. They said that their strategy is to find issues inherent to ideas around UNFINISHED BUSINESS: EFFECTIVE PARTNERSHIPS, sustainable development and human security; to go out and meet with youth groups, hold meetings or town halls to discuss how issues pertain to young and old outside of the UN. Based on this, they were hoping to put together useful information material for speakers, for the workshops, and also possibly something to distribute to the 60+ UN senators around the world, like a multigenerational perspective on the Conference, and the theme.

 

Multigenerational events discussed:

·        Fannie said that a youth ensemble from Lehigh University performed at the Conference last year; the Committee suggested that a young group such as a jazz band or NYC School perform again this year.

·        There was a comment that the Committee was looking into the possibility intergenerational symphony orchestra, to perform at the Conference

·        Michaela suggested having a lot of these sessions in the tent.

·        There was a suggestion that there could be a Buddhist entertainment in front of the tent, including a special ceremony and special Japanese/Buddhist instruments; dressed in uniform and performing orthodox old type songs. This might be good for the opening. 

 

(v)        The Internet Committee: The Committee said they had been gathering material to be put on website. Sarah and Vanessa would have a conference call next week to discuss what material would go up. They sent an e-mail on Monday, 20 March 2006 containing directions on how to use the blog. They announced that they would try to get a projector for next week for a presentation on how to use the website after the Planning Committee meeting.

 

 

(vi)             The Midday Workshops: The Committee scheduled a meeting with

Committee members to discuss the online proposal form for midday workshops. Access to the online form would use the same password and contact information as registration. The committee had sent a preliminary version to the Internet Committee. They were planning to have one sponsor per midday workshop and up to five cosponsors. The primary sponsor, unlike the cosponsors, would have to be affiliated with DPI or ECOSOC. It was decided that at least one speaker would have to come from outside North America and one would have to be under 30 years old. Each discussion would have four possible presenters and one moderator. Each theme must relate to the Conference theme and to one of the themes in the round tables. The committee said that they might also have some hands on workshops giving people skills they could walk away with. They suggested that contact persons for each workshop be available the entire summer, in case information needed to be updated or Planning Committee members needed to get in touch with them. They suggested having a sub-committee to review proposals, made up of members who have no conflict of interest i.e.no personal or NGO involvement.

 

(vii)     The Networking Committee: They had decided to write a letter to Conference participants to solicit their input in putting together Conference program. They wanted to look at best practices regarding MDGs, and wanted to put together a questionnaire to talk about how NGOs use networking to get their programs out. Fanny spoke to Sol about putting the letter/questionnaire on the web, to get feedback.

Sol clarified that that form would have to go to the internet committee. It was asked if we could get a list of some of the questions that DPI had used in the past. Fannie said that she had a resource on her committee who had promised to get someone who is knowledgeable about effective networking. She said she would check with the Internet Committee.

There was a comment that one of the most effective networking mechanisms was the blog community. It could assist in getting ideas out and conversations going before the Conference.

 

(viii)    The Media Committee: They had met just before the Planning Committee Meeting, Thursday 23 March 2006. The committee divided its work into different segments. They had local people working on an interview at the UN which would lead to a story on the conference. They stated that media did not want to feature a conference that takes place in September. The committee was going to continue to feature stories about NGOs and what they were doing, especially with regard to the title of our conference. Some of the committee members were traveling abroad, and would get the word out on the Conference as part of their presentations abroad.

Michaela said that Spanish CNN was running a series of issues that relate to development; MDGs, microfinance, etc. She suggested that somebody with Spanish skills should watch and see if we could find somebody for the Conference.

 

5.0 Plenary and Roundtable Topics:

 

  • Members of this committee were helping to make up a list of questions to be used for speakers and NGOs in terms of what kind of outreach we are looking for beyond this conference. It was said that we needed to continue to narrow the objectives of this Conference. Michaela hoped to see a draft of these questions by next meeting. The goal was to have a series of questions that all speakers could address.
  • It was suggested that we stay away from specific titles for plenary and round table discussions, and instead turn to themes, so we can broaden the base of what we mean and allow a variety of perspectives from the NGOs. Stating that most partners have their own agendas, the goal is to work together, to find common themes and objectives that will lead to attainment of the MDGs. Michaela suggested that anyone invited to a plenary or roundtable should also be invited to stay for a workshop. She also suggested having a sentence to describe each theme, in order to better match speakers with events.
  • The rudiments of a Conference agenda matrix were passed around, emphasized

it was only a rough draft. This matrix should help to begin to synchronize where the speakers might fit in the Conference. Various questions and comments were made on the Matrix.

  • It was obvious that the matrix draft was not clear to many members and that revisions would be available next week. It was suggested that a statement of vision from the millennium forum should be given greater prominence in this Conference. This was what drew us all in the same direction; if we did not highlight it, it would not serve that purpose.

 

6.0 Speaker Recommendations. It was suggested that before talking about speakers, themes for Plenary and Roundtables should be confirmed, providing a framework for potential speakers.

Items concerning speakers discussed:

 

·        Gala stated that it might be useful to send conference questions out before next week’s meeting since it was hard to hold discussions without them.

·        We had a lead toward getting the president of Bolivia and former President Clinton to give a keynote.

·        Sol announced that news regarding the involvement of the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel would be received within ten days.

·        Somebody was working on the invitation of the Chilean president.

·        Sarah McCue suggested getting input from speakers on where they would like to be, on themes.

·        Joan Kirby suggested requesting a statement on MDG from each speaker for reference. She added that usually there was a one page blurb on the Conference sent to the speakers in advance. Michaela said these blurbs were on their way.

·        It was suggested that each panel should have diverse group of voices, speaking from various perspectives—corporations, NGOs, government representatives, etc.

·        Sol asked everyone to please fill out speaker forms, with contact information and explanation why the person was suggested as a speaker.

 

7.0 Other Items

 

·        Sol would not attend the Planning Committee Meeting on Thursday, 30 March 2006; Sasa Gorisek, Officer-in-Charge; DPI/NGO Section would be attending the Planning Committee Meeting together with Michaela Walsh who agreed to chair.

·        Michaela said she would welcome any suggestions for interpreters.

Someone commented that we should tap into university contacts for interpreters. There would be no cost and it would be a good experience for the students.

·        Patrick said to please contact him for questions concerning the Travel Package. He was working on the travel package with Dan Uitti, and Allen Etra.

Last year we ran a travel package that brought in about $2,000 for the Conference, and this year we would be able to raise $17,000-20,000 if more people worked on the Travel Package. He also suggested that Sherrill have a small chamber ensemble to perform, free of charge, at the reception.

·        There was a question regarding the NGOs highly limited access and use as a means of communication. To solve this problem, it was suggested that e-mails be sent out with a return receipt delivery option.

·        It was agreed that speakers should be allowed into the entire Conference.