Message from UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs

After careful review, the temporary restrictions limiting civil society access to the United Nations Headquarters Complex (UNHQ) due to the COVID-19 pandemic are being gradually lifted.

Effective immediately, civil society representatives are invited to participate in ad-hoc meetings and events in-person with the issuance of Special Events Tickets. Access to such meetings and events, and the issuance of the Special Event Tickets, will be determined on a case-by-case basis by the event organizers and the relevant intergovernmental bodies. Details of participation and the processes necessary to gain access to each meeting and event will be communicated upon registration.

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Today is the SDG Moment! (8am - 5pm EDT)

Today is the SDG Moment for 2021. Many world leaders, international institutions and civil society will be sharing their hopes and demands for reaching Agenda 2030, and recovering from the effects of the pandemic. 

The SDG Moment was mandated by the General Assembly resolution 74/4, calling on the Secretary-General “to organize an annual moment in the context of the General Debate of the General Assembly to highlight inspiring SDG Action”. The first SDG Moment took place last year, on 18 September 2020. 

For more information, and the programme, please visit the official website of the SDG Moment 2021: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sdg-moment/

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Save the Date/Register: IAEG-SDGs Open Virtual Meeting, 22 September 2021 at 8:00 am EDT

The United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) is pleased to announce an open virtual meeting of the Inter-agency and Expert Group on the Sustainable Development Goal Indicators (IAEG-SDGs):

The meeting is open to all countries, international and regional agencies and entities, and other stakeholders.

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Gorillas: take on savage ODA cuts

There are around 1000 mountain gorillas in the world, of which 459 were living in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda at the time of the last census. They rely on the villagers who live in the remote areas high in the mountains around Bwindi. Commat applied for funding to help the women in one of these villages, Nkuringo, by providing water tanks (as they have to walk 2 hours each way down the mountain to fetch water in the dry season, keeping their children out of school to help) and sewing machines and pigs for income-generation. While the project was short-listed, the funding (£50,000 ($61,000) over 2 years) was lost as part of the UK official development assistance (ODA) cuts.

The gorillas have, therefore, decided to help in raising awareness of the needs of the women in Nkuringo, while telling something about themselves. They have therefore started the Gorilla gazette and invite you to learn more about them and the women in Nkuringo. Kabukojo, a very handsome silverback male, has written the first two issues.

MGoS Official Session - HLPF 2021 - Friday, 9 July 2021 at 3pm - posting 2

A gentle reminder that the HLPF official session titled, Vision and priorities of civil society, the private sector and other major groups and stakeholders: realizing the SDGs during the COVID-19 recovery will be taking place tomorrow Friday, 9 July 2021 at 3pm. The session is organised in collaboration with the major groups and other stakeholders and will be available to watch via UN Web TV.

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Fourth Local and Regional Governments Forum on the 2030 Agenda

​On 12 and 13 July 2021, from 8:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. EDT, the Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments, UNDESA, UN-Habitat, UNDP and Local 2030 will co-organize the Fourth Local and Regional Governments Forum (LRGF) on the 2030 Agenda.  

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High-level Political Forum (HLPF 2021), 6 – 15 July 2021 - posting 1

HLPF 2021

The High-level Political Forum (HLPF 2021) will be held from Tuesday, 6 July to Thursday 15 July 2021, under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). It includes the three-day ministerial meeting of the forum from Tuesday 13 July to Thursday 15 July, as part of the high-level segment of the Council.  

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UN World Data Forum 2021 - ANNOUNCEMENT - Two new calls for inputs launched

The United Nations Word Data Forum is back to planning for a hybrid event to take place in Bern, Switzerland between 3 and 6 October 2021.

The Programme Committee is pleased to invite you to participate in two new calls:

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Invitation to UN World Data Forum webinar: Innovations in measuring hard-to-count populations | 24th June 2021 | 9:00 AM New York (EDT)

The United Nations World Data Forum (UNWDF) team is pleased to invite you to the upcoming webinar on “Innovations in measuring hard-to-count populations”.

The webinars are open to all. Feel free to share with anyone who might be interested.

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Will you please help women and children in Nkuringo, Uganda…

The Commonwealth Medical Trust (Commat), a charity no 1054835 in England and Wales, is committed to helping  the women and children of the remote village of Nkuringo, which is close to the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, home to half the gorillas in the world in western Uganda. 

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