DAILY PRESS CONFERENCE SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED FOR DPI/NGO CONFERENCE

Note to Correspondents

DAILY PRESS CONFERENCE SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED FOR DPI/NGO CONFERENCE

            The fifty-sixth Annual DPI/NGO Conference, “Human Security and Dignity:  Fulfilling the Promise of the United Nations”, being held at Headquarters

8-10 September, provides a forum for the United Nations and civil society organizations to jointly reassert their determination that security and living in dignity remain viable goals, through common commitment and international solidarity.  During the Conference, the premier non-governmental organization (NGO) event at the United Nations, a diverse and dynamic group of NGO representatives, United Nations and government officials, and others will discuss the psychological aspects of human security and dignity; education’s impact on socio-economic development and democratic reform; overcoming oppression; and sustainable solutions to environmental problems.

Featuring seven plenary sessions and 30 midday NGO workshops, the Conference will be webcast live for the first time through an interactive site, http://www.ngodpiexecom.org and the United Nations DPI/NGO Section web page, http://www.un.org/dpi/ngosection, enabling NGO representatives and the general public worldwide to follow and participate in the proceedings.

Press conferences will be held daily at 12:30 p.m. in the press briefing room, S-226, located in the United Nations Secretariat Building, and will feature the following Conference speakers:

Monday, 8 September:

-- Fernando Henrique Cardoso, former President of Brazil; Special Adviser to the Secretary-General and Chair of the High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on United Nations-Civil Society Relations

-- Mary Racelis, Research Scientist of the Institute of Philippine Culture at Ateneo de Manila University; Member of the High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on United Nations-Civil Society Relations.

Tuesday, 9 September:

-- Danny Glover, the actor and Goodwill Ambassador of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

-- Kingsley Moghalu, Head of Resource Mobilization and Global Partnerships of The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

Wednesday, 10 September:

-- Sadako Ogata, Co-Chair of the United Nations Commission on Human Security; former United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

-- Roland Wiedekehr, Member of Swiss Parliament; Founder of the Green Cross

The press conferences can be accessed live via the Internet or telephone. For more information and interviews, please contact Maria Carlino, (212) 963-1859/ carlino@un.org; or Tala Dowlatshahi, (917) 239-0653/dowlatshahi@un.org.

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