| MIO-ECSDE Secretariat News
i) International Conference: “Environment
and Society: Education and Public Awareness for Sustainability”, Thessaloniki, Greece,
8-12 December 1997
A particularly important International
Conference on “Environment and Society: Education and Public Awareness for
Sustainability” is being organised from 8 to 12 December 1997 in Thessaloniki (Greece),
Europe’s Cultural Capital for 1997. The Conference is being organised by UNESCO and the
Government of Greece with the support of the University of Athens and responsibility for
the Secretariat by the Mediterranean Information Office for Environment, Culture and
Sustainable Development (MIO-ECSDE). The Conference’s theme stems from a new vision of
the role of education and public awareness in achieving the principle of sustainability.
According to this principle, the present generation in fulfilling its needs has to respect
the needs of the future generations, i.e. to ensure that the natural resources which will
secure a sound natural environment and a good living standard for the future generations
are not depleted.
The Objectives of the Conference are to:
- highlight the critical role of education and public awareness
in achieving sustainability;
- consider the important contribution of environmental
education;
- provide elements for the further development of the work
programme of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development;
- mobilise action at international, national and local levels so
that the principle of sustainability is implemented as widely as possible.
The Conference’s information leaflet and
relevant information have been sent, by post-mail, to all MIO-ECSDE Member-Organizations.
ii) “Twin” Mediterranean NGO
Workshop in Thessaloniki, Greece, 6-7 December 1997
The “Twin” Mediterranean NGO
Workshop, will be organised by MIO-ECSDE, in Thessaloniki, 6-7 December 1997. The content
of the Workshop will be:
- Part I “Public Awareness and Environmental Education: a Tool
Leading to Sustainability” (Saturday 6 December) and
- Part II “Religion, Values and the Environment: Consideration
from the Point of View of the Environmental NGOs” (Sunday 7 December).
The outcomes of the Workshop, which will be
held prior to the International UNESCO Conference, will be presented there.
MIO-ECSDE’s Member-Organisations will be
soon receiving, by post-mail, the programme. You are kindly requested to inform the
Secretariat if your Organisation is interested in participating.
iii) MIO-ECSDE’s Annual General Meeting
Combined with the two Meetings mentioned
above, MIO-ECSDE will hold its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on the 5th of December, in the
afternoon, in Thessaloniki. Additonal information on travel and accommodation and the AGM
Agenda will be provided in due time. The presence of all Member-Organisations will greatly
help productive discussions and decision making.
iv) Desertification Meetings and the NGO
Forum
The 1st Meeting of the ICCD, Conference
of Parties is takeing place in Rome, between 29/9 and 10/10/1997. The NGOs who were
represented in the 10th resumed session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for
Desertification, in Geneva, 18-22 August 1997 are working on a draft document that will be
presented there.
The Geneva meeting has not concluded on any
of the important issues. The budget has not been decided, neither the exact nature of the
Global Mechanism and its housing organisation (IFAD or UNDP) or the seat of the
Secretariat (Canada, Germany or Spain). MIO-ECSDE was represented in the meeting by Prof.
Scoullos who also had an official seat as an NGO in the Greek delegation. In Geneva for
the first time the Mediterranean (Annex IV) countries became officially more active and
visible and adopted similar positions.
In Rome the discussions during the first week
were continued in the same spirit. It is noteworthy that a complication was presented on
who will take the second non occupied seat of the East European Block, in the Bureau. An
interesting informal consultation took place between delegates from various countries and
NGO groups to examine the expected priorities of the Scientific Committee. MIO-ECSDE was
very active in it and emphasised the need for a bottom-up research. It made also the
concrete recommendation that the Expert Rostrum should be opened to experts designated by
NGOs, too.
A parallel NGO Forum is also being organised
in Rome on the 6th October (Central Building of FAO). The purpose of this
meeting is for NGOs to have direct contact with the Contracting Parties and to be informed
on the expectations and aspirations of the Parties as well as on the implementation
methods they plan to use.
360 NGOs have been accredited to the
Convention. NGOs will also be invited to participate in an evening session of the
Conference, as was discussed in Geneva. NGOs will also have the opportunity to participate
in the Conference of the Parties during the discussion of the Agenda item “ Building
Partnership” .
Prior to the NGO Forum a Press Conference was
held on the 27th of September at the SIOI Conference Room in Rome. (For more
information about the NGO Forum: COCIS, Mr. Fulvio Gioanetto, tel 0039 6 2424198, fax
2424177, e-mail cocis.roma@iol.it)
v) UNEP/MAP Meetings and Workshops:
A number of Workshops were organised in
the framework of the MAP/UNEP activities in September while others are planned for
October. Namely the following:
A. September
1. Meeting of experts on common criteria for the preparation
on inventories of marine and coastal biodiversity in the Mediterranean Region, organised
by SPA/RAC, Athens, 8-10 / 9 / 97.
2. Workshop on Water Management, organised by Blue Plan in
collaboration with the relevant work group of the MCSD, Frejus, France, 12-13 / 9 / 97.
3. International Workshop on Integrated and Sustainable
Management of Coastal Zones, organised by PAP/RAC and the NGO EcoMediterrania in the
framework of the relevant MCSD workgroup, Benidorm, Spain, 21-23 / 9 / 97.
B. October
1. 2nd Meeting of Government-designated Experts to examine a
Strategic Action Programme to Address Pollution from Land-based Activities, Athens, 13-16
/ 10 / 97. This meeting will examine and possibly approve, a new revised version of the
Strategic Action Programme which was prepared on the basis of the results of the 1st
Meeting in Ischia , 15-18 June 1997.
2. 3rd Meeting of the Mediterranean Commission on Sustainable
Development (MCSD), Sophia Antipolis, France, 28-30 / 10 /97.
vi) Children and Sustainable Development in the
Mediterranean, Tunis, 28-30 / 8 / 1997
Between the 28th and 30th
of August 1997, an interesting Conference for children from all over the Mediterranean
took place in Tunis, under the title “ The Mediterranean in the Hands of its Children”
. A large number of children, of 10-12 years old, accompanied by tutors from most of the
Mediterranean countries, met and expressed in their own words their aspirations and
suggestions for a sustainable Mediterranean. Dressed in national customs, they worked and
played together and they confirmed their wish to make the Mediterranean a peaceful and
clean sea for all those who surround it. MIO-ECSDE was represented by its Chairman who
also played an active role helping all the English spoken children to put and present
ideas together.
vii) Updating MIO-ECSDE’s address database
The Secretariat is presently updating
MIO-ECSDE’s Members database. You are kindly requested to inform us about changes of
your Organisation’s address, tel., fax and/or e-mail, whenever they occur.
Members’
Activities News
Women for
Sustainable Development, WFSD (Tunisia)
The objective of WFSD is to emphasise the role
and intervention specificities of women in supporting the implementation of National and
International Programmes of Sustainable Development, at national, regional and local
level.
Its actions focus on:
Members’
Activities News
Women for
Sustainable Development, WFSD (Tunisia)
Members’
Activities News
Women for
Sustainable Development, WFSD (Tunisia)
The objective of WFSD is to emphasise the role
and intervention specificities of women in supporting the implementation of National and
International Programmes of Sustainable Development, at national, regional and local
level.
Its actions focus on:
Members’
Activities News
Women for
Sustainable Development, WFSD (Tunisia)
The objective of WFSD is to emphasise the role
and intervention specificities of women in supporting the implementation of National and
International Programmes of Sustainable Development, at national, regional and local
level.
Its actions focus on:
The objective of WFSD is to emphasise the role
and intervention specificities of women in supporting the implementation of National and
International Programmes of Sustainable Development, at national, regional and local
level.
Its actions focus on:
- Dissemination of the concepts and the components of Sustainable
Development (SD) to the different groups of the Civil Society.
Identification of influential women and establishment
of SD activities with them.
Fund raising for these activities.
Evaluation of these activities.
Expansion to other areas.
WFSD is in the process of preparing
the organisation of an International Workshop on Women’s Role Specificities and
Sustainable Development Implements.
It is also in the process of
developing a project on “Promoting rural women’s involvement in preventing and
controlling deforestation by the use of covered bread cookers”.
EcoPeace (Middle East NGO Forum):
In December 1997, EcoPeace,
through funding from the European Commission will implement a project entitled “European
Volunteers for the Middle East Environment”. The objective of the project is to
strengthen the relationships between European Youth and Local youth, as well as to enhance
knowledge about existing environmental problems in the region.
The project’s duration will be from December 1997 to December 1998 and concerns 10
volunteers from European Community countries. The volunteers will participate in a one
week training course, covering subjects such as: introduction to the Middle East people
and culture, domestic and regional environmental issues, Middle East politics, language,
getting around and security concerns, office procedures and work programs. Then they will
be incorporated into the activities of the Aqaba Task Force and of member NGOs. Namely the
hosting organisations will be: The Arava Institute, Jordan Royal Ecological Diving
Society, The Egyptian Youth for Development and Environment, EcoPeace head Office,
Children for the Protection of Nature, Palestine Hydrology Group, Life & Environment,
Egyptian Steering Committee, Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature.
Volunteers will participate in all
tours and activities organised for them by EcoPeace or hosting Organisations, learn at
their choice Arabic or Hebrew. They will stay in furnished apartments and will receive a
monthly allowance to cover running costs, food etc. (Information: EcoPeace, tel: +972 2
6260841/3, fax: 6260840, e-mail: ecopeace@netvision.net.il).
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