AMID PREPARATIONS FOR WORLD SUMMIT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, UNVEILING OF ‘WORLD MANDALA MONUMENT’ TO TAKE PLACE AT HEADQUARTERS, 28 JANUARY

Note to Correspondents

AMID PREPARATIONS FOR WORLD SUMMIT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, UNVEILING

OF ‘WORLD MANDALA MONUMENT’ TO TAKE PLACE AT HEADQUARTERS, 28 JANUARY

On the occasion of the opening of the second preparatory session of

the Commission on Sustainable Development, to take place from 28 January to

8 February, there will be a special ceremony to unveil the “World Mandala Monument” on Monday, 28 January, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the Visitors' Lobby of the General Assembly Building.  Prior to that, the artist, Neil Tetkowski, will brief correspondents at 11 a.m. in room S-226.

The eight-foot sculpture is made of clay collected from all United Nations Member States and moulded into a single "world clay", celebrating the oneness of all human beings.  Symbolizing the successive generations of humanity, the handprint of 102-year-old Mary Livornese graces the centre of the sculpture.  The work is an authentic symbol of sustainable development, representing as it does the community of interests, generation after generation, that protect our environment.

The unveiling will take place as the second preparatory session of the Commission acts as the preparatory committee for the World Summit on Sustainable Development, scheduled for 26 August-4 September in Johannesburg, South Africa.  Nitin Desai, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, said "this extraordinary work of art illustrates the spiritual and genetic thread that connects all people, tying us together with hope and inspiration".

Members of permanent missions, Secretariat staff, representatives of non-governmental organizations and the media are invited to attend the ceremony.  The sculpture will be on view to the public in the Main Lobby of the United Nations from 28 January to 11 March.  The entrance is on First Avenue on East 46^th Street, and opening hours are Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

For further information on the World Summit on Sustainable Development, go to www.johannesburgsummit.org.

For further information on Tetkowski's “World Mandala Monument”, go to www.tetkowski.com or cgwp@aol.com.

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