The following statement was issued today by the Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:

BONN, 3 September — “We are exhausting the capacity of our planet to guarantee our sustainable future,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a video message today as the sixty-fourth annual United Nations DPI/NGO Conference opened in Bonn, Germany. “The solution lies in a fundamental transformation of our consumption patterns and lifestyles,” he added, thanking the large number of representatives from non-governmental organizations in attendance.

BONN, 4 September — Speakers at this morning’s DPI/NGO Conference round table held a spirited discussion on the role of the green economy, not only in environmental stewardship, but also in ending poverty and advancing social justice.

BONN, 3 September — At a press conference following the opening session of the sixty-fourth annual Department of Public Information/Non-Governmental Organization (DPI/NGO) Conference, Kiyo Akasaka, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, as well as keynote speakers and other major spokespersons, made remarks and answered questions about the three-day Conference.

BONN, 4 September — Participants in the sixty-fourth annual Department of Public Information/Non-Governmental Organization (DPI/NGO) Conference were urged this afternoon not to grow discouraged in the face of so many seemingly intractable problems because their individual actions combined to make a big difference in the world.

BONN, 5 September – If the movement towards sustainable societies was to advance, civil society must encourage people to realize that their local concerns were also global concerns, speakers said during this morning’s fourth and final round-table discussion of the sixty-fourth annual DPI/NGO Conference in Bonn.

BONN, 5 September — Kiyo Akasaka, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, addressed a press conference today on the final day of the sixty-fourth annual Department of Public Information/Non-Governmental Organization (DPI/NGO) Conference.

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message to the sixty-fourth annual Department of Public Information/Non-Governmental Organization (DPI/NGO) Conference in Bonn, 3-5 September:

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s video message to the sixty-fourth annual Department of Public Information (DPI)/Non-Governmental organization (NGO) Conference in Bonn on 3 September: