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Annual DPI-NGO Conference Opens at UN
The annual conference co-sponsored by UN Department of Public Information (DPI) and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) kicked off Monday at UN headquarters in New York with focus on diversity of the volunteer experience among NGOs.
Opening the three-day event, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan called attention to the potential role of volunteers in grappling with current challenges, including the fight against AIDS, poverty, and efforts to protect the global environment.
Addressing the opening ceremony, the U.N. chief urged those present to galvanize the world's young people in efforts to foster global progress.
"I encourage you to reach out, and to replenish your ranks with the dynamism and ideas that young people have in such abundance," he said.
Underscoring the importance of cooperation between governments and NGOs, he pledged that the U.N. to do its utmost to continue opening its doors, and to be a place where all can come together and find common ground.
The out-going President of the General Assembly, Harri Holkeri of Finland, focused on last year's adoption of the historic U.N. Millennium Summit Declaration, which sets out targets for achieving global progress in key areas.
"We in the United Nations must ensure that civil society has a sense of ownership in the Millennium follow-up process," he said. "This signifies that the activities of governments and civil society are not disconnected, but rather that they complement each other and even share the same values and goals."
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