IN GENEVA

World Forum for Civic Society

From 14 to 19 July, at the International Congress Center in Geneva, the first World Forum for Civic Society took place. The initiative for organizing the World Forum for Civic Society comes from the United Nations Millennium Forum, which took place in May 2000 in New York, and it is an expression of the UN desire to work in cooperation with the civic sector and the NGO.

The aim of the Forum was to strengthen the international cooperation, especially the cooperation among civic society organizations and the UN system, including the specialized agencies and other international organizations, to promote the cooperation among the NGOs from different geographical regions, as well as the NGOs working in various sectors and to make room for dialogue of the international scene factors, such as the civic society organizations, international organizations and the private sector.

Delegates from the NGOs, research centers, UN agencies and other international organizations were present. The most numerous were those from Africa and Asia, and less numerous were the representatives from Eastern Europe, especially from the Balkans.

At the working part of the Forum, several plenary sessions, work groups, informative discussions, workshops and round tables were held on different topics, such as the environment, sustainable development, gender relations, human rights, health, freedom of information, information society, peace and disarming, cooperation between the civic society and the private sector.

The Forum was followed by a number of manifestations which had started several days before it began. So, trainings for journalists, for managing development projects and training for human rights were organized. Also, a youth Forum was organized and youth organizations from all over the world had a chance to participate and discuss on various subjects. Tents were placed in front of the Center where the Forum took place. There was the exhibition part where the organizations could present there work and the country where they come from through advertising material. There was a chance to smell and taste traditional cuisines from different countries, attend a film festival, theater shows, musical concerts and exhibition of photographs presenting cultures from all over the world.

S. Sazdanovska