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One Hundred days to Rio + 20

One Hundred days to Rio + 20

Monday 12 March marked one hundred days until world leaders will gather in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to renew their political commitment for a sustainable future. “Rio+20 is a historic conference. It offers an opportunity for an integrated review of a host of inter-linked global challenges – like poverty, water stress, food security, energy, disaster prevention, oceans, and urbanization, among others – as well as possible solutions,” said Rio+20 Conference Secretary-General Sha Zukang in an interview with Brazilian media during his recent trip to Brazil last week.

With a packed schedule, Mr. Sha led an inter-departmental mission to Brazil to organize logistics for the groundbreaking Rio+20 Conference scheduled for 20-22 June. He held several rounds of consultations with departmental focal points as well as the Brazilian National Organizing Committee. Mr. Sha stressed that it takes the dedicated efforts of UN secretariat departments as well as strong support of the UN Country Team on the ground to prepare a successful Conference.

In Brasilia, Mr. Sha also met with the Foreign Minister and the Minister of Environment, as well as other high-level government officials on substantive preparations for the Conference. He also spoke at the Public Hearing of the Committee on Foreign Relations and National Defence of the Federal Senate and addressed the opening of the National Commission on Sustainable Development.

To commemorate the 100 days until Rio+20, global stakeholders, Major Groups and UN system partners used social media to share messages of support of the Conference and highlight a few of the most important themes and objectives of Rio+20. The Conference is anticipated to be one of the largest gatherings in UN history – a fact owed in part to the impact of social media in disseminating information and engaging the public. In addition to a green economy in the context of sustainable development and the institutional framework for sustainable development, Rio+20 also promises to consider the need for developing sustainable development goals.

The newsletter Rio+20: Making it Happen also launched a special issue yesterday highlighting the role of social media. Click here to subscribe to the official newsletter.

In conjunction with Rio+20, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has launched a global conversation on the future we want, inviting citizens around the world to send in videos, photos, letters, essays or drawings on what a sustainable future could look like. A multimedia exhibition of the Future We Want campaign will be shown at Rio+20, on the Internet and around the world. Click here to see the campaign and join the global conversation.

Behind the Logo:

The logo for “Rio +20: The Future We Want” was created by DPI’s GDU designer Matias Delfino. Matias is one of a team of 10 design professionals “who make hope visual”. His design for the 2010 UN Day Concert Poster won the 2011 Graphics Gold Award for design.

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