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

 

 

Minutes of the Planning Committee Meeting: 2 March 2006

 

1.0 Pre-Meeting Comments:

 

Sol Oca chaired the Planning Committee Meeting. Michaela Walsh stated that she was not aware that the Art Center has had an agreement with the DPI. Therefore, at this stage of the planning the Art Center could go ahead and submit graphic design for the Conference. However, Michaela underlined that the opportunity must be open to other design schools in the future to have a broader group playing an active role in the preparation of the Conference.

 

2.0  Adoption of the Agenda and Adoption of the Minutes: The agenda was adopted with an addition by Media Committee that they were planning to organize their first meeting.

 

 

3.0  Conference Preparation Up-date by Sub-Committee Co-Chairs

 

1) Media Committee: The Committee had a productive meeting. The Committee will liaise with other committees as the central gathering point. The Committee will write a press release; reach out to the media - national, international, regional and ethnic; assist press officers of NGO delegations for local coverage; work with the Midday Workshop Committee to reach out to the press officers of the speakers. It was noted that from media analysis of last year’s Conference, the most effective media compared to UN media and mainstream media were the NGO Media. (See 58th DPI/NGO Conference Final Report, Annex I)

 

2) Networking Committee: A meeting was not held. They plan to have a meeting next week and submit room requirements to Sol.

 

3) Resource Center Support: The Committee is working on online registration. They are waiting for the Resource Centre staff member to work on the online registration. Sol will meet with Security on Friday to discuss registration.

 

4) Midday Workshop: The Committee is currently working on setting up a listserve via invitation. Mailing will start middle of March. It was proposed that a media representative attend each workshop to be responsible for the write-up about the workshop. A virtual workshop was also proposed.

 

5) Internet: The Planning Committee members were invited to join the blog.

At the end of the meeting Stephanie Sigg volunteered to show how the blog works. Sarah McCue and Vanessa D’Amato were not present at the meeting but they sent a report via e-mail (see separate report)  

 

6) Multigenerational Committee: Gala Narezo the co-chair was still in Mexico and the meeting is scheduled for next Thursday at 2pm in the UN Cafeteria

  

7) Events. The date for the reception has been confirmed for 6 September. Venue for the reception was also discussed and the following suggestions were:

·        Have the reception outside or again at the Delegates Dinning Room of the UN.

·        The Events and Fund Raising Committee were asked to ensure that there would be no other activities going on simultaneously in the Delegates Dining Room.

·        Honour distinguished individuals to raise funds for the reception. Oprah Winfrey and the Secretary General were suggested to be recipients of the award.

·        Michaela also mentioned that if members of the Planning Committee had contact with celebrities to please inform her.

 

8) Trouble Shooting: The Committee reported that there were no pressing issues to tackle presently.

 

4.0  Discussion of plenary and roundtable topics: Planning Committee members were invited to come up with ideas on how to set up the round tables. It was proposed that their ideas be brought to the Planning Committee during the next meeting scheduled to take place on 9 March.

 

 

4.1 The following issues were discussed:

·        A total of six roundtables were agreed upon.

·        Moderators must be efficient and eloquent

·        Roundtable topics should be forwarded to Michaela Walsh at walshm@mville.edu and Sol Oca at oca@un.org

 

                4.2 The following topics were suggested for the roundtable discussion:

 

·        HIV/AIDS

·        Accountability and Transparency

·        Financing for Development

·        Societies for all ages

·        Value of Business Ethics

·        Sports and Development

·        Health Issues

 

5.0 Speaker recommendation forms were circulated in the meeting. It was stressed that the form be complete, highlighting some of the important achievements and background of the person recommended. It was also stressed that speaker’s contact information should be included in the form. Additional copies of the forms were available at the NGO Resource Centre. Speakers would be drawn from different walks of life including a youth representative. They must have vision of the MDG; must be able to speak with concrete examples; present clear ideas relating to the topic; and must show examples of their achievements. Completed forms should be handed over to Michaela and Sol.

 

 

6.0  Other Business:

 

  6.1 Discussion of the Title of the Conference: Some clarifications were made on the topic of the Conference. It was agreed that “Unfinished Business: Effective Partnership for Human Security and Sustainable Development” be the title of the conference.

 

 

        6.2 The following issues and questions were discussed:

·        NGO information materials were not allowed in the Neck area (by the Vienna Café area) but can be displayed at the foyer by Conference Room 4.

·        Another question asked was whether the Conference proceedings could be filmed? Sol responded that the Media Accreditation Liaison Unit (MALU) was the office to approve their request. She promised to send an e-mail to verify if that could be allowed during the Conference.

·        Stephanie Sigg suggested that the Chair of the Conference Planning Committee Michaela Walsh, visit Art Centre School of Design to brief the students about the forthcoming DPI/NGO Conference. Michaela gladly accepted the invitation.

·        Michaela is working on letters of notification and invitation to speakers and participants which were to be sent out to the NGOs by mid-March.  She needed help to complete this task. Interested helpers should register their interest with Victor Ukorebi at the NGO Resource Centre (section5@un.org).

 

     6.2 Finding for participants

The issue was raised as to whether there would be funding for participants from developing countries?  Last year funds were made available only to speakers from developing countries through Millennium Development Fund (CONGO, NGO/DPI Executive Committee/WFUNA). It was decided that funds will only be made available to speakers from developing countries and not participants. Some of the participants received funds from NGOs.

 

     6.3 Film Festival.  The Planning Committee members were asked to brainstorm over the week on the possibility of organizing a film festival as a side event. The feedback is expected on 9 March.

 

     6.4 The meeting ended with Stephanie Sigg, demonstrating to the Planning Committee how to use the blog created to facilitate communication. The address is www.unfinishedbusinessconference.blogspot.com

 

 

7.0  Next Meeting

 

The next meeting will be held on Thursday, the 9 March from 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. at Room GA 37.________________________