UN Department of Public Information Continues to Mobilize Non-Governmental

Organizations Worldwide, Associating 11 More with Its Work

The Department of Public Information has associated 11 new non-governmental organizations (NGOs), bringing the total number of such organizations that work with the Department to 1,597.  This was done after the 16 March first biannual meeting of its Non-Governmental Organizations Committee, which approves the applications for association.

The newly appointed Director of the Department of Public Information Outreach Division, Maher Nasser, expressed his pleasure at chairing his first Committee meeting and welcomed the new diverse group of non-governmental organizations.  He expressed the hope that this group would ably demonstrate their commitment to supporting important criteria of association, namely their “commitment to promote the work of the UN”.

The newly associated NGOs represent organizations based in Australia, Brazil, Mexico, Nigeria, United Kingdom, and the United States.  They work with a wide range of issues, including autism awareness, health, global sustainable development and youth.

The list of the newly associated non-governmental organizations is as follows:  American Cancer Society (ACS) (United States); Autism Awareness Ltd (Australia);Congregations of Sons of the Immaculate Heart of the Eastern Province, Inc./Claretian Missionaries (United States); International Society of Nurses in Cancer Care (ISNCC) (United Kingdom);Institute of Research, Formation and Diffusion in Public and Social Politics (IPFD/Obore) (Brazil);Mother Helpage UK (United Kingdom); Peace Dividend Trust (PDT) (United States); Patronato Pro Zona Mazahua A.C. (Mexico); Stakeholder Forum for a Sustainable Future (United Kingdom); Women’s Freedom Forum, Inc. (WFF) (United States); and Youth Enhancement Organization (YEO) (Nigeria).

Among the recent Department of Public Information-associated organizations, four NGOs also hold consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council.

The Non-Governmental Organizations Committee also reviewed a list of NGOs which no longer met the criteria for association.  Consequently, the following such organizations have been disassociated:  Orphans International America; Orphans International Worldwide; andInternational Film and TV Exchange.

The Department of Public Information is also pleased to announce that its sixty-fourth Annual United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI)/Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) Conference, entitled “Sustainable Societies; Responsive Citizens”, will be held in Bonn, Germany, from 3 to 5 September.  This will be the fourth time the Conference will be held outside United Nations Headquarters in New York, and the second time the Conference has been held in Europe.

The objective of taking the Conference “on the road” is to diversify and strengthen the geographical representation of non-governmental organizations associated with the Department of Public Information, as well as broaden its reach to NGOs in that region.  To assist with this new initiative, the Department revised its association policy, giving priority for affiliation to non-governmental organizations based in the region hosting the annual Conference.  This revised policy has proven to be an effective way to reach out to those NGOs and members of civil society, who, otherwise, would be unable to attend the Conference, or become involved with the UN DPI/NGO community.

In 2009, as a result of the sixty-second DPI/NGO Conference in Mexico City, 43 non-governmental organizations based in Mexico were newly associated, and more than three quarters of the attendees at the Conference hailed from the region.  In 2010, 62 NGOs from the Asia and Pacific region were associated with the Department of Public Information as a result of the sixty-third DPI/NGO Conference in Melbourne, Australia.

As this year’s Annual United Nations DPI/NGO Conference heads to Bonn, prospective non-governmental organizations in Eastern, Central and Western Europe interested in association with the Public Information Department are encouraged to apply by contacting their nearest United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) or United Nations Regional Information Centre (UNRIC) for information on the association process.  This does not preclude any other interested non-governmental organization from other regions of the world from applying for association.  For further information, please visit the NGO Relations website at:  www.un.org/dpi/ngosection; or contact DPI/NGO Relations, tel.:  +1 212 963 7234, or e-mail:  dpingo@un.org.

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For information media • not an official record