NOON BRIEFING HIGHLIGHTS
Spokesperson for General Assembly President Csaba Kőrösi
United Nations Headquarters, New York
Wednesday, 9 August 2023
WORLD WATER WEEK
The President of the United Nations General Assembly, Csaba Kőrösi, will make an official visit to Sweden from 20 to 24 August 2023. While in Stockholm, he will attend the World Water Week, organised by the Stockholm International Water Institute, and have high-level discussions on water, climate, and the sustainability transformation, with representatives of the Government and the State, as well as with scientific, research and academic centres.
While in Sweden, President Kőrösi will meet with Mr. Tobias Billström, Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs. The President is scheduled to participate in a series of conversations at the Opening Ceremony of the World Water Week, on 21 August, where he will be in conversation with the Foreign Affairs Minister.
The President is expected to highlight the responsibility of global action and inaction, as related to the water crisis, and call for a stronger scientific approach to decision-making. The President’s simple message will be that – yes, we are in a water crisis, but we see the solutions and they are possible.
The 22 August, President Kőrösi will deliver the keynote address at the High-Level Panel to Follow-up on the UN Water Conference, which took place in March 2023 in New York. He is expected to focus on the outcomes of the Conference, on how to channel these into the upcoming SDG Summit, and on how to harness these to accelerate the sustainability transformation.
He will also meet the 2023 Laureate of the Water Prize, Dr. Andrea Rinaldo, and attend the Stockholm Water Prize Ceremony.
Given his Presidency’s strong emphasis on data and analysis, the President will also visit the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute and meet with Mr. Stefan Lofven, Chair of the Governing Board of SIPRI. The Officials are likely to discuss key takeaways from the Stockholm Water Week, as well as issues pertinent to the work of the General Assembly – namely, disarmament, climate, and security.
The President will return to New York on Thursday 24 August. He will travel with a Sustainable Development Adviser and a Communications Adviser. The travel costs are covered by the OPGA Trust Fund.
OPGA FELLOWS
Some items related to young people…
This week, our OPGA Fellows are wrapping up their work.
President Kőrösi met with the Fellows in an official group capacity yesterday for the last time.
He thanked Syuzanna Martirosyan from Armenia; Mmoloki Tsheole from the Republic of Botswana, Aimé Triana from Cuba, Amr Danyal from the Maldives, Nathalie Gasaro from Rwanda, and Gerard Anapu from Samoa.
“You were brilliant”, he told the Fellows.
“When given the opportunity, young people have tremendous potential to contribute to transformative solutions, and you have proven just that.”
Related tweet: https://twitter.com/UN_PGA/status/1689266849978937344
NEW PODCAST
Related, the next OPGA Fellows podcast is out.
Syuzanna and Amr spoke with the UN Youth Envoy Jayathma Wickramanake.
We’ll be talking a long about young people ahead of this weekend.
As you know, half of the world’s population is under the age of 30, and 90 per cent of these populations live in developing countries
I’ll tease you with a quote from the Youth Envoy. Here is one bit of advice that she tells us: don’t wait for an invitation. We often think that to be a change maker, you need to fit into a certain profile… But I think a change maker can look like anything that you want it to be. It can be a parent. It can be a teacher. It can be a farmer. It can be an innovator. It can be a software engineer. It can be an artist. Whatever you can use to express yourself, whatever the form, whatever the role that you can play to even change one person’s life, I would say just do it.
The interview was done by phone, so the audio is not ideal. But I hope you still check it out, or at least the transcript: https://soundcloud.com/pga-youth-fellows/podcast-6-un-youth-envoy
NAGASAKI ANNIVERSARY
Today is the 78th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
With nuclear threats resurfacing, President Csaba Kőrösi has called for technologies and resources to be used to create better lives, not costlier, deadlier threats.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY
Today is also Indigenous Peoples Day.
In a tweet, President Kőrösi calls indigenous peoples “agents of change” at the forefront of efforts to safeguard ecosystems, and ensure environmental justice and equity.
He noted that a sustainable future depends on protecting their rights, listening to their knowledge, and honoring their traditions, languages and cultures.
Related tweet: https://twitter.com/UN_PGA/status/1689288519271825409
QUESTIONS
The Spokesperson was asked whether President Kőrösi will raise the issue of burning holy books, while in Sweden. The Spokesperson said that the General Assembly had passed a resolution on that issue. The President’s focus while in Sweden will be on water and sustainability.
