United Nations 70: Partnering for people’s development – A festival celebrating the 70th anniversary of the United Nations
On the occasion of the United Nations’ 70th anniversary, the United Nations’ System in Pakistan is hosting a festival “United Nations 70: Partnering for people’s development”, to raise awareness of the work of its 19 agencies, funds and programs and its partners in the country. The festival offers an unprecedented opportunity to highlight the role of the many stakeholders involved in development and humanitarian work in Pakistan, including the Government of Pakistan, Member States, donor agencies, civil society and the media. The festival also provides a platform to promote the values of the United Nations among the general public and to reach out to Pakistani youth by involving them in a number of educational projects. The “United Nations 70: Partnering for people’s development” festival includes 17 events held between 12-22 October 2015 in several locations across Islamabad and Lahore.
Opening event
On 12 October, at Lok Virsa in Islamabad, high-level Government representatives as well as representatives from the diplomatic corps and the United Nations will attend the launch. The opening event will include the unveiling of a photo exhibition at Lok Virsa documenting the work of the UN System in Pakistan, entitled “Pakistani People and the United Nations”. The exhibition also includes a selection of historical photos from the “We the peoples” official collection. A musical performance by the Envoy’s Band, along with other performances, will be part of the program of the opening event.
Youth
In the following weeks, the festival will open its doors to the Pakistani youth. Young people from school children to university students will be engaged in two ad-hoc forums, one focused on the key values of the United Nations and on the UN Wall campaign and the other on climate change. The youth forums will include workshops, quiz sessions, painting competitions, storytelling sessions and documentary screenings focused on the areas of work of the UN System. A group of young people will showcase flags from Member States represented in Pakistan on 14 October: the Youth of the World Flags Parade will take place ahead of the Hanbok Fashion Show Gala Dinner organized by the Republic of Korea.
Panel discussions
A series of interactive panel discussions featuring UN experts, representatives from Member States, Government of Pakistan, academia and civil society are also planned. They will be open to the public, who will be able to participate in Q&A sessions, and will focus on several themes, including peacekeeping, regional cooperation, entrepreneurship, trading, refugees, economic development, food security and communications for development.
Climate change
The role of Pakistan in the global conversation on climate change will be highlighted at the Forum “Pakistan Sey Paris: On the road to the 2015 Paris Climate Conference”, which aims at establishing a solid partnership between civil society, federal and local government, and the corporate sector to implement solutions to mitigate the impact of climate change.
Partners
The “United Nations 70: Partnering for people’s development” is organized by the UN System in Pakistan in close collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Information and several embassies. Financial support is provided by the embassies and high commissions of Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Republic of Korea and the European Union. Serena Hotels, as a member of the UN Global Compact, is providing in-kind support.
For details : Click here