Tag Archive for: UN

WEEC Network is granted consultative status at the UN

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Have you heard the incredible news?! WEEC Network has officially been granted ECOSOC (Economic and Social Council) Consultative Status with the United Nations!

 

From now on WEEC Network has the special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council at the UN. The consultative status is the core of a formal relationship between the UN and social organizations, which is also a key approach for social organizations to take initiatives and to be engaged in activities of the UN and international communities.

As a member of the WEEC Network, you can also take part in the initiatives: keep reading to find out more.

Become a representative at ECOSOC!

As NGO with ECOSOC status, WEEC Network can choose delegates to be represented by in the various occasions. If you are interested, apply to be a delegate, representing one of the most worldwide organizations in environmental education.

Contact us on secretariat@weecnetwork.org

The Economic and Social Council of the UN (ECOSOC)

Article 71 of the United Nations Charter, which established the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), states the following:

The Economic and Social Council may make suit able arrangements for consultation with non-governmental organizations which are concerned with matters within its competence. Such arrangements may be made with international organizations and, where appropriate, with national organizations after consultation with the Member of the United Nations concerned.

— United Nations Charter, Chapter X, Article 71

One of the six principal organs of the UN, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is the central UN forum for international economic and social issues. The Council coordinates the economic and social work of the UN system, which engages 70 percent of the system’s human and financial resources. All of the UN specialized agencies (e.g., the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization), as well as all of the UN programs and funds (e.g., UNICEF and the World Food Program), report to ECOSOC.

The ECOSOC Council has eight functional Commissions:

  1. Commission on the Status of Women
  2. Commission for Social Development
  3. Commission on Population and Development
  4. Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice
  5. Commission on Narcotic Drugs
  6. Commission con Science and Technology for Development
  7. Statical Commission
  8. United Nations Forum on Forests

ECOSOC Regional Commissions:

➤ Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)

➤ Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)

➤ Economic Commission for Europe (ECE)

➤ Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)

➤ Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA)

Other bodies:

  • Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
  • Sessional and standing committees
  • Expert, ad hoc, and related bodies

 

What we gained as NGO in consultative status

The ECOSOC Resolution 1996/31 specifies the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Consultative Status are entitled to:

  • Attend international conferences and events.
  • Make written and oral statements at these events.
  • Organize side events.
  • Enter United Nations premises.
  • Have opportunities to network and lobby.

NGOs that are accredited with ECOSOC can participate in a number of events, including, but not limited to, the sessions/meetings of ECOSOC, its functional commissions and its other subsidiary bodies. At these events, NGO may:

  • Attend official meetings
  • Submit written statements prior to sessions
  • Make oral statements
  • Meet official government delegations and other NGO representatives
  • Organize and attend parallel events that take place during the session; and
  • Participate in debates, interactive dialogues, panel discussions and informal meetings.

Click Here to learn more about what ECOSOC is

Click Here to learn about ECOSOC 2021 goals:
https://www.un.org/ecosoc/en/events/2021/ecosoc-high-level-segment-including-three-day-ministerial-segment-hlpf-convened-under

SDG Accord Report 2019: Progress towards the Global Goals in the Universities and Colleges

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The Annual SDG Accord Report 2019, titled Progress towards the Global Goals in the University and College sector was launched some days ago in New York at the UN High Level Political Forum. The SDG Accord – says Iain Patton CEO, EAUC-The Alliance for Sustainability Leadership in Education – is a high profile international initiative that the Global Alliance developed to allow the tertiary education sector to demonstrate its commitment to playing its part in meeting the SDGs, and sharing best practice. This is a partnership initiative, endorsed by the UN’s HESI and many other global partners. It was launched in 2017, at 9WEEC in Canada, and it currently has official commitment to its tenets from 110 institutions, 103 support organisations and 817 individuals – all spread across 85 countries.

from the left: Iain Patton EAUC-The Alliance for Sustainability Leadership in Education and Mario Salomone WEEC Secretary General at 9WEEC Vancouver (Canada) 2017

The SDG Accord provides a platform to come together in a movement, to inspire, celebrate and advance the critical role that education has in delivering the SDGs, and presents this in a coherent Annual Report for use by the UN, governments, business and wider society. While the sustainability journey of each institution will reflect its unique context, it is clear that connecting them together through the SDG Accord offers the opportunity for scaling of impact. Signatories of the SDG Accord commit to embedding the SDGs into their education, research, leadership, operations, administration and engagement activities.

«The SDG Accord brings institutions together, giving them a platform to share best practice and empowers them to be more aspirational on this agenda – says Sam Barratt Chief, Education and Youth for UN Environment and Chair of the Higher Education Sustainability Initiative – . The report shows that acting on climate change and education are the stand-out priorities, but positive action is being taken on all of the SDGs with real change taking place, just one year on since the last report. As ever, there is always more to do and certainly the UN and partners in the Higher Education Sustainability Initiative will look at the recommendations outlined in this report which will inform our thinking for the months ahead. We look forward to seeing institutions tackle these global challenges with the fierce determination and smart innovation of which they are so capable, with our door wide open to help in any way that we can».

Here you can read the Accord, full text  

The Accord can be signed on four levels.

  1. Leaders of institutions sign to make a corporate commitment – this must be the highest authority such as Vice Chancellor, Principal, President etc.
  2. Leaders of related university and college support organisations sign to make a corporate commitment to supporting the sector
  3. Leaders of student associations ie Students’ Unions or Student Guilds – this must be the president.
  4. Individual students, researchers, academics and operational staff can sign to make a personal and professional commitment to playing their part in advancing sector performance

Sign up here

 

Air crash: environmentalism cries its victims

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A great tragedy has hit the world of environmentalism. The Ethiopian Airlines aircraft crashed yesterday after take-off near Addis Ababa, caused the death of 157 people who were on board, including passengers and crew members.

Among the victims there are also many delegates who were directed to the Fourth Assembly of the United Nations on Environment in Nairobi.

The WEEC Permanent Secretariat gathers around the relatives of the victims. Mario Salomone, WEEC General Secretary recalls that everyone’s commitment is important for the future of the planet. «The pain for the loss of so many people actively involved in the protection of the environment – he said – must make us continue their meritorious work and must remind us that their life had a common and highly meritorious goal».

The assembly opens today (Monday, 11th) in silence to remember the victims of the plane crash. The goal of the forum is to understand how to save the planet from climate change and resource over-exploitation, and in this context until 15 March, heads of state and environment ministers, with NGOs, activists and multinational administrators will meet to discuss and make commitments, with a view to a global environmental pact.

The people on board had 32 different nationalities: 8 Italians, 32 Kenyans, 18 Canadians, 9 Ethiopians, 8 Chinese, 8 Americans, 7 French, 7 British, 6 Egyptian, 5 Dutch, 4 people with UN passports, 4 Indians, then citizens of Austria, Switzerland, Russia, Morocco, Spain, Israel, Belgium, Indonesia, Uganda, Yemen, Sudan, Serbia, Togo, Mozambique, Rwanda, Somalia, Norway, Ireland.
The many peoples fraternized by a tragic destiny are a symbol of the unity of humanity beyond borders, languages and cultures.

Last minute opportunity at the Oxford Spring School in Ecological Enonomics

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One extra place is available at the Oxford Spring School in Ecological Economics to take place 24 – 30 March 2019, the deadline has been extended until 31 January 2019.
Mr Marco Lambertini, Director General of WWF will be giving a special talk at the School to take place at St Hilda’s College, Oxford. This year the School is devoted to Green Economy for Countries, Cities and Regions: Ecosystems, Economy, Policy. The programme includes interventions from The Club of Rome, Sustainable Europe Research Institute The Open University, Imperial College London, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Institute of Sustainable Development Strategies and Environment Europe.

DG Marco Lambertini (WWF), Prof. Joachim Spangenberg (SERI), Dr Stanislav Shmelev (Environment Europe Ltd), Prof. Herbert Girardet (The Club of Rome), Prof. Dave Elliott (The Open University), Prof. Erik Gomez-Baggethun (University of Life Sciences, Norway), Prof. Victoria Hurth (Plymouth University), Dr. Stanislava Boscovich (Imperial College London), Prof. Irina Shmeleva (Institute of Sustainable Development Strategies) have confirmed their participation in the School.

The School will take place at St Hilda’s College, Oxford and will address key elements of the green economy transformation with a particular focus on ecosystems, economy and policy, exploring the cutting edge methods and policy applications in ecological economics. With a clear sustainable development focus, it will draw on the expertise of a range of disciplines: economics, ecology, physics, environmental sciences, finance, politics, international relations, sociology, psychology, complex systems theory, etc. to address the current challenges: climate change, biodiversity loss, resource depletion, water shortages, social cohesion and achieving sustainability.
The course will be composed of theoretical and applied modules and will address the key elements of the environment-economy interaction: the foundations of ecological economics, methodological approaches of input-output analysis, multi-criteria decision aid, ecological conflicts around the world, regenerative cities, smart cities, sustainable transport, sustainable urbanism, renewable energy, urban planning, ecosystem services and case studies from around the world. The Summer School will feature interactive simulation games.
The course is designed for multiple points of entry and could be helpful for PhD students, government experts, representatives of international organizations and business. The course will give participants an opportunity to explore key methodologies for ecological-economic analysis and to apply these to various case studies.
Oxford Summer, Winter and Spring Schools in Ecological Economics organized by Environment Europe attracted participants from  53 countries, including Canada, USA, Mexico, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Argentina, UK, France, Germany, Austria, Switzeland, Spain, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Belgium, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Denmark, Sweden, Iceland, Norway, Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia, Albania, Latvia, Ghana, Nigeria, Jordan, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, China, India, Bhutan, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Philippines, and Australia, including representatives of UNEP, UNDP, IUCN, OECD, ILO, DEFRA staff, NGOs, academia and business, including Shell and Deloitte.

GUPES Green Gown Awards

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The Green Gown Awards are the most prestigious recognition of environmental and sustainability best practice within the further and higher education sectors. The Awards provide the sector with benchmarks for excellence and are respected by Government, funding councils, senior management, academics and students.
The Global Universities Partnership on Environment and Sustainability Green Gown Awards are supported by UN Environment and the Global Universities Partnership on Environment and Sustainability and are open to Global Universities Partnership on Environment and Sustainability members.
Membership to Global Universities Partnership on Environment and Sustainability is free of charge and you can join here. Each Global Universities Partnership on Environment and Sustainability region can apply for any of the below categories. There is not a limit on the number of application each institution can enter.

Important Dates
12 October 2017 – Application Deadline
13 November 2017 – Finalists announced
4 January 2018 – Case study and video deadline for Finalists
TBC – Global Universities Partnership on Environment and Sustainability Green Gown Awards Ceremony Winners announced

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