Global Human Development Forum kicks off in Istanbul

PanARMENIAN.Net - Social justice and environmental protection are equally urgent and intrinsically linked universal goals, with coordinated global action needed on both fronts at the UN’s ‘Rio+20’ Conference on Sustainable Development in June, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a message to an audience of development experts, civil society leaders and government officials at the first Global Human Development Forum on Thursday, March 22.

“The world stands at a crossroads,” the Secretary-General said in his message to the Istanbul Forum, convened by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Government of Turkey. “We need everyone government ministers and policymakers, business and civil society leaders, and young people to work together to transform our economies, to place our societies on a more just and equitable footing, and to protect the resources and ecosystems on which our shared future depends.”

UNDP’s 2011 Human Development Report “Sustainability and Equity: A Better Future for All,” which argued that social inequalities and environmental hazards must be combated together for the sake of future generations provided the framework for the two-day Istanbul dialogue. The event was organized to examine the critical social, economic and environmental challenges facing the world today, including better approaches to assessing national and global progress.

UNDP Associate Administrator Rebeca Grynspan and Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan of Turkey opened the Forum by stressing the importance of collective global action at the “Rio + 20” conference three months from now.

The Global Human Development Forum will culminate Friday with an “Istanbul Declaration” articulating the participants’ jointly proposed goals and priorities for the “Rio+20” summit.

Forum discussion topics also include: “A New Deal on Sustainable Development”; “Innovative Financing for Sustainable Future”; “Assessing Human Progress”; and “Building Coalitions for Change”. The Forum will feature the launch Friday of a major new report by the U.N. Economic Commission for Europe: “From Transition to Transformation: Sustainable and Inclusive Development in Europe and Central Asia”.

Other leading government officials and development experts participating in the Istanbul discussions include Kandeh K. Yumkella, Director-General, United Nations Industrial Development Organization;Thakur Singh Powdyel, Minister for Education of Bhutan; Brian Atwood, Chair, Development Assistance Committee, the OECD; Gunilla Carlsson, Minister for Development Cooperation, Sweden; Wycliffe Ambetsa Oparanya, Minister of Planning, Kenya; and Senator Cristovam Buarque of Brazil.

The Global Human Development Forum was organized jointly by UNDP’s Human Development Report Office and Bureau of Development Policy, with support from the Turkish Ministry of Development and the Government of Denmark.