NOTE TO CORRESPONDENTS WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY TO BE OBSERVED AT HEADQUARTERS

Press Release

NOTE TO CORRESPONDENTS WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY TO BE OBSERVED AT HEADQUARTERS

World Environment Day will be observed at Headquarters on Thursday, 5 June, with two half-day events in Conference Room 4.

The morning programme, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., intended for schoolchildren, is being organized by the Department of Public Information (DPI) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Mian Qadrud-Din, Director, Promotion and Public Services Division, DPI, and Joanne Fox- Przeworski, Regional Director for North America, UNEP, will deliver opening remarks. The programme includes a screening of the video, "How much is enough?"; a briefing with question-and-answer session by Adam Rogers, author of the environmental guide, "Taking Action"; and a personal appearance by actress Ariana Richards, who appeared in "Jurassic Park".

Also in the morning, there will be a cyber quiz contest, "How well do you know your environment?", based on the United Nations World Wide Web site, CyberSchoolBus, in which participants will interact with a group of students in Mexico City via the Internet. Following the cyber event, musician Don Knaack, known as "The Junkman", will perform on musical instruments made of junk, found objects and recycled household gadgets. Children will be invited to participate in the music-making.

The afternoon programme, from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., will consist of a panel discussion organized by UNEP, in association with the Permanent Missions of the Republic of Korea and Sweden, to recognize 25 years of international commitment to global environmental protection and to highlight future environmental challenges. Ms. Fox-Przeworski will be the moderator. Featured speakers include Nitin Desai, Under-Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development; Tom Lovejoy, Counsellor for Biodiversity and Environmental Affairs to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution; Irving Mintzer, Executive Editor of Global Change magazine; Sylvia Earle, Chairman, Deep Ocean Exploration and Research; Paul Tebo, Vice-President of the Safety, Health and Environment Excellence Center of E.I. DuPont; and Linda Descano, Vice-President for Environmental Affairs of Salomon, Inc.

Following the afternoon programme, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the General Assembly Visitors' Lobby, a reception with the theme, "Communicating from the Heart: Outlook from the Stars", will have as featured guests actress Alexandra Paul and actor Esai Morales.

- 2 - Note No. 5411 2 June 1997

World Environment Day is observed on 5 June to commemorate the opening day of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, held in Stockholm in 1972, which led to the establishment of UNEP; this year marks UNEP's twenty-fifth anniversary.

For further information, contact Hasan Ferdous (DPI), tel. (212) 963- 6555 or Jim Sniffen (UNEP), tel. (212) 963-8094. For media accreditation, call (212) 963-6934, and for United Nations television coverage, (212) 963- 7650.

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