Πέμπτη 9 Ιουνίου 2011

Legitimacy and Development

UNU Legitimacy Series

Legitimacy and Development     


  


Date: Monday, 13 June 2011 
Time: 1.15 - 2.45pm (EST) 
Venue: Conference Room 7, North Lawn Building
United Nations Headquarters, New York

Registration

Event Registration
Event Summary
Due to overwhelming response for the UNU Legitimacy Series, we have added one more seminar: Legitimacy and Development. We hope you'll join us! 

This seminar considers the opportunities and challenges of United Nations development activities. The UN takes part in many development initiatives around the world aimed at addressing economic, social, political and environmental challenges. How effective are the UN's development initiatives? Is the work under-taken by the UN considered to be legitimate and helpful by the communities it is meant to serve? What does the lack of comprehensive progress in the Millennium Development Goals mean for developing countries and what more needs to be done to address this? This seminar considers the opportunities and challenges of UN development activities.

The seminar is part of the UNU Legitimacy Series, which provides a platform for critical discussions with academics and public intellectuals about issues of legitimacy as they arise in various aspects of the work of the United Nations.

Chairs:
  • Jean-Marc Coicaud, Director, United Nations University Office in New York.
  • Ian Hurd, Associate Professor at Northwestern University and visiting fellow at the Niehaus Center on Globalization and Governance at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University
Speakers:
  • Jomo Kwame Sundaram, Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) 
  • Other speakers to be confirmed

Τετάρτη 1 Ιουνίου 2011

Legitimacy and Peace Operations

UNU Legitimacy Series

Legitimacy and Peace Operations  

(Live Webcast)    

Date: Wednesday, 8 June 2011 
Time: 1.15 - 2.30pm (EST) 

Registration
Event Summary
Operations in defense of international peace and security are highly prominent representations of the United Nations in the world, prompting frequent questions about the legitimacy of their presence. Do UN peace and security operations reinforce or undermine the legitimacy of the organization as a whole? This session considers the connections between legitimacy and peace operations in practice, and examines the challenges and opportunities presented by these missions.

The seminar is part of the UNU Legitimacy Series, which provides a platform for critical discussions with academics and public intellectuals about issues of legitimacy as they arise in various aspects of the work of the United Nations.

Chairs:
  • Jean-Marc Coicaud, Director, United Nations University Office in New York.
  • Ian Hurd, Associate Professor at Northwestern University and visiting fellow at the Niehaus Center on Globalization and Governance at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University
Speakers:
  • Roland Paris, University Research Chair in International Security and Governance, University of Ottawa
  • Ms. Leanne Smith, Deputy Chief, Peacekeeping Best Practices Section Policy, Evaluation and Training Division

Please follow us on Twitter and Facebook for regular updates! 

Contact: Portia Gama
Email: unuony@unu.edu
Phone: (1) 212-963-4381

Δευτέρα 30 Μαΐου 2011

Environmental & Social Risk Analysis Online Course

The Environmental & Social Risk Analysis (ESRA) Online Course provides in-depth and personalised training. Tutors engage with participants online on a daily basis, providing guidance and facilitating debates. As a participant, you will be involved in a range of activities, from simulating implementation of environmental and social policies and guidelines and analysing case studies, to carrying out exercises based on your own clients’ environmental and social impacts.
Courses in 2011:
DatesLanguageTutors
14 February - 4 MarchSpanishLawrence Pratt (Costa Rica) and Edgar Rojas (Colombia)
28 February - 18 MarchEnglishLawrence Pratt (Costa Rica) and Christina Wood (South Africa)
28 March - 15 AprilFrenchIsabelle Blaes (France)
9 - 27 MaySpanishLawrence Pratt (Costa Rica) and Edgar Rojas (Colombia)
30 May - 17 JuneEnglishLawrence Pratt (Costa Rica) and Melissa Makwarimba (Mozambique)
1 - 19 AugustSpanishLawrence Pratt (Costa Rica) and Edgar Rojas (Colombia)
8 - 26 AugustEnglishLawrence Pratt (Costa Rica) and Jacylyn Shi (China)
3 - 21 OctoberFrenchIsabelle Blaes (France) and Regina Scharf (United States)
31 October - 18 NovemberSpanishLawrence Pratt (Costa Rica) and Edgar Rojas (Colombia)
7 - 25 NovemberEnglishLawrence Pratt (Costa Rica) and Mariángeles Camargo (United States)
The ESRA Online Course Partners also offer Private Editions of the courses to the staff of a single FI or of a small group of FIs. Contact us for further information on terms and conditions.
Target audience: Risk managers and analysts in commercial, corporate, investment and retail banking in or dealing with developing countries and emerging markets.
A limited number of places are also available for representatives from relevant stakeholder audiences including: supervisory/regulatory bodies, banking associations, government agencies, academic institutions, NGOs and civil society organisations involved in finance and sustainability issues.
Please note that places for non-financial institution representatives are limited. Courses will not address how to financially analyse or how to set up a business plan for an environmental/socially oriented project in search of funding. The courses teach participants how to include environmental and social variables in the traditional analysis made by financial analysts when making lending and/or investment decisions, whatever the nature of the project.
Contents: Each course is made up of five consecutive modules:
  1. Introduction to Sustainable Finance
  2. Identification of Environmental and Social Risks
  3. Categorization
  4. Evaluation of Environmental and Social Risks
  5. Administration of Environmental and Social Risks
Course contents and materials can only be accessed by participants. The course modules cannot be disaggregated.
Course Programme (PDF: 34KB)
Duration: Three weeks
Time commitment: Two hours/day on average, Monday to Friday
Timetable: Flexible, participants to set their own study times
Cost*:
Participant Profile Fee
Representatives of multinationals, multilaterals, private banks and large public FIs 750 USD
Representatives of small local banks, sme/microfinance oriented entities 600 USD
*Discounts are available for Programme Partner members or associates (e.g. UNEP FI Signatories)
Please note that course fees serve exclusively to cover the costs of running the course.
Applications: All applications should be submitted via our online form at least one week prior to the course you wish to participate in. Please consult our FAQs concerning applications.
On-line registration: English Spanish
The ESRA Online Course is a product of the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, and the INCAE Business School, with the support of the Ecobanking Project. Initially developed in Spanish in 2006 by the UNEP FI Latin American Regional Task Force, with the support of Bank of America, the English-language edition of the course was produced in 2007 thanks to the support of FMO. The French edition of the Course was produced in 2010 thanks to the support of DEG - Deutsche Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH ("DEG"), Promotion et Participation pour la Coopération économique (Proparco) and the Agence Française de Développement (AFD).

Σάββατο 21 Μαΐου 2011

Final call for applications for HREA e-learning courses -- September-December 2011

Dear Colleagues,

HREA is issuing a final call for applications for the following upcoming e-learning courses:

- The United Nations Human Rights System (23 May-3 July 2011)
- Use of ICTs and Social Media for Human Rights Work (15 June-30 August 2011)
- Armed Conflict, Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (19 September-4 December 2011)
- Child Rights Programming (14 September-29 November 2011)
- Election Observation (14 September-29 November 2011)
- Gender Mainstreaming (31 August-15 November 2011)
- Human Rights Advocacy (14 September-29 November 2011)
- Monitoring & Evaluation in the NGO Sector (14 September-29 November 2011)
- Monitoring Women's Rights (14 September-29 November 2011)
- Project Development and Management in the NGO Sector (14 September-29 November 2011)
The application deadline is 1 June 2011. Applications can be submitted online. For further information about each course please click on the course link above. For a listing of all upcoming courses, please visit www.hrea.org/courses

Best wishes,

Sandra Quintin
Distance Learning Programme, HREA
http://www.hrea.org/courses/

About HREA's Distance Learning Programme

Since 2002, over 4,000 human rights defenders, development workers, staff members of international organisations and graduate students have successfully participated in Human Rights Education Associates (HREA)'s e-learning courses.

Further information about HREA's Distance Learning Programme can be found at: http://www.hrea.org/DLP/

HREA - www.hrea.org

Human Rights Education Associates (HREA) is an international non-governmental organisation that supports human rights learning; the training of activists and professionals; the development of educational materials and programming; and community-building through on-line technologies.

Σάββατο 14 Μαΐου 2011

Legitimacy and Civil Society

UNU Legitimacy Series
 (Live Webcast) 

  


Date: Thursday, 26 May 2011

Time: 1.15-2.30pm
(EST)
Venue:
UNU Video Portal 

Registration

Webcast Registration
Event Summary
The relationship between the United Nations and its partners in the private sector and civil society involves accommodating diverse parties with competing values and priorities, and potentially contradictory notions of legitimacy. This session examines the challenges of legitimacy, focusing on key questions of the processes and politics of accountability, from the perspective of the UN's relations with various non-state actors. These include, but are not limited to, local groups that interact with UN field operations, partner groups that provide funding or operational expertise, activist NGOs that seek to influence the UN, and countless other groups and individuals with a stake in UN operations.

The seminar is part of the UNU Legitimacy Series, which provides a platform for critical discussions with academics and public intellectuals about issues of legitimacy as they arise in various aspects of the work of the United Nations.

Speaker
  • Thomas Christiano, Professor of Philosophy and Law, University of Arizona
  • Valerie Sperling, Associate Professor of Political Science, Clark University
  • Robert Skinner, Associate Director, United Nations Foundation Office in New York
Moderator
  • Jean-Marc Coicaud, Director, United Nations University Office in New York
Please follow us on Twitter and Facebook for regular updates!  

   Contact: Portia Gama
Email: unuony@unu.edu
Phone: (1) 212-963-4381 
 From Maria Em

Homo Europaeus: Where do Europeans stand in the Globalization Era?


(Live Webcast) 

  


Date: Thursday, 26 May 2011

Time: 10.00 - 11.30am
(EST)
Venue:
http://videoportal.unu.edu 

Registration

Webcast Registration
Event Summary
Where do Europeans stand in the globalization era?  
Do they form a new unified, cohesive social group, or do they remain nationalists at heart? Are they ready to play a bigger role in international affairs, or will they continue to rely on the US government? Will they be akin to artifacts in a museum compared to emerging economies, or will they seek to become major brokers of peace and stability? Will they be able to solve their debt issues before the US and Japan? Are European and American values still compatible, or are they drifting apart? The seminar will offer some insights into these questions, and also engage the audience in a dialogue on these issues.  

The seminar is part of the UNU Midday Forum Series, which offers an intimate and informal platform of discussion for the UN permanent missions, the UN Secretariat, UN agencies, academia, NGOs and the private sector to exchange ideas on important topics related to the UN.

Speaker
  • Antoine Ripoll, Chairman's Chief of Staff, European Parliament
Moderator
  • Jean-Marc Coicaud, Director, United Nations University Office in New York
  Please follow us on Twitter and Facebook for regular updates! 

   Contact: Portia Gama
Email: unuony@unu.edu
 From Maria Em

Carbon Tax vs. Carbon Trading

 
(Live Webcast) 

  


Date: Wednesday, 18 May 2011

Time: 1.15-2.30pm
(EST)
Venue:
UNU Video Portal 

Registration

Webcast Registration
Event Summary
In this seminar, Professor Charles Sampford argues that our fundamental problem is that an unsustainable, high-carbon version of the "good life" was developed in the west, and increasingly sought by the rest. The development of sustainable versions of the good life and mechanisms that put a price on carbon is essential. The speaker examines carbon trading schemes which create property rights in carbon emissions activities and allocate them to the countries which do the most environmental damage.
Professor Sampford outlines a number of arguments for the superiority of carbon taxes over carbon trading schemes and outlines a proposal for a carbon added tax (CAT) which operates like a VAT. He also indicates how the legal and ethical norms and the institutions that monitor carbon could form a 'Global Carbon Integrity System'.

The seminar is part of the UNU Midday Forum Series, which offers an intimate and informal platform of discussion for the UN permanent missions, the UN Secretariat, UN agencies, academia, NGOs and the private sector to exchange ideas on important topics related to the UN.

Speaker
  • Charles Sampford, Director, Institute for Ethics, Governance and Law; President, International Institute for Public Ethics  
  • Moderator
  • Jean-Marc Coicaud, Director, United Nations University Office in New York
  Please follow us on Twitter and Facebook for regular updates! 

   Contact: Portia Gama
Email: unuony@unu.edu
 From Maria Em

Vision for RIO+20: System Change for Green Economy and Poverty Reduction

                                                                     (Live Webcast) 

  May 6


Date: Friday, 6 May 2011

Time: 1.15-2.30pm
(EST)
Venue:
UNU Video Portal 

Registration

Webcast Registration
Event Summary
This seminar will show how changes in price structure and sustainable infrastructure can lead to poverty reduction in a green economy. The speaker argues that the transition towards a low carbon green growth can be realized without a fundamental restructuring of the price structure, by internalizing ecological prices through environmental taxes and environmental fiscal reform.  The two core features of environmental fiscal reforms, revenue neutrality and double dividend, are powerful tools for changing the price structure while stimulating economic growth.  

In terms of sustainable infrastructure, the speaker makes a case for developing countries to promote sustainable infrastructure through urban planning and design, green buildings and making the switch from private transportation to public transportation modes so that they are not locked into unsustainable consumption and production patterns.

The seminar is part of the UNU Midday Forum Series, which offers an intimate and informal platform of discussion for the UN permanent missions, the UN Secretariat, UN agencies, academia, NGOs and the private sector to exchange ideas on important topics related to the UN.

Speakers
  • Rae Kwon Chung, Director, Environment and Development Division, UNESCAP, Bangkok, Thailand 
Moderator
  • Jean-Marc Coicaud, Director, United Nations University Office in New York
  Please follow us on Twitter and Facebook for regular updates! 

   Contact: Portia Gama
Email: unuony@unu.edu
 
 From Maria Em

Sustainable Consumption and Production: Educating, Engaging and Empowering Stakeholders for Low Carbon, Inclusive Growth

              (Live Webcast) 

  


Date: Wednesday, 4 May 2011

Time: 1.15-2.45pm
(EST)
Venue:
UNU Video Portal 


Registration

Webcast Registration
Event Summary
This is a side event of the 19th UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD19) in New York organized by UNU-ONY and the Interagency Committee (IAC) for the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD).
The side event aims to highlight the role of education in promoting consumption and production systems that lead to low carbon, inclusive growth. In order to meaningfully contribute to this goal, the stakeholders of sustainable consumption and production (SCP), including children and young people, need to be engaged in empowering learning processes, leading to more sustainable practices.
Members of the Interagency Committee for the DESD will present and assess ESD (Education for Sustainable Development) actions that have the potential to reorient modern consumption and production patterns. The discussion will focus on analysis of the processes and projects that simultaneously pursue two interrelated goals: 1) engagement and empowerment of the key SCP stakeholders, including youth and children, through learning processes, and 2) facilitating consumption and production that leads to low carbon inclusive societies. By doing so, both process and results of learning and empowerment will be discussed.

Speakers
  • Kazuhiko Takemoto, Senior Fellow, United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies
  • Zinaida Fadeeva, Research Fellow, United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies
  • Mark Richmond, Director, Division of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development, UNESCO
  • Stephanie Hodge, Programme Specialist responsible for Cross-Sector Coordination, UNICEF
  • Suchitra Sugar, Consultant, UNICEF Education Section
Moderator
  • Jean-Marc Coicaud, Director, United Nations University Office in New York 
  • Please follow us on Twitter and Facebook for regular updates! 
 Contact: Portia Gama
From Maria Em
 

Sustainable Consumption and Production: Educating, Engaging and Empowering Stakeholders for Low Carbon, Inclusive Growth

(Live Webcast) 

  


Date: Wednesday, 4 May 2011

Time: 1.15-2.45pm
(EST)
Venue:
UNU Video Portal 


Registration

Webcast Registration
Event Summary
This is a side event of the 19th UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD19) in New York organized by UNU-ONY and the Interagency Committee (IAC) for the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD).
The side event aims to highlight the role of education in promoting consumption and production systems that lead to low carbon, inclusive growth. In order to meaningfully contribute to this goal, the stakeholders of sustainable consumption and production (SCP), including children and young people, need to be engaged in empowering learning processes, leading to more sustainable practices.
Members of the Interagency Committee for the DESD will present and assess ESD (Education for Sustainable Development) actions that have the potential to reorient modern consumption and production patterns. The discussion will focus on analysis of the processes and projects that simultaneously pursue two interrelated goals: 1) engagement and empowerment of the key SCP stakeholders, including youth and children, through learning processes, and 2) facilitating consumption and production that leads to low carbon inclusive societies. By doing so, both process and results of learning and empowerment will be discussed.

Speakers
  • Kazuhiko Takemoto, Senior Fellow, United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies
  • Zinaida Fadeeva, Research Fellow, United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies
  • Mark Richmond, Director, Division of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development, UNESCO
  • Stephanie Hodge, Programme Specialist responsible for Cross-Sector Coordination, UNICEF
  • Suchitra Sugar, Consultant, UNICEF Education Section
Moderator
  • Jean-Marc Coicaud, Director, United Nations University Office in New York 
  • Please follow us on Twitter and Facebook for regular updates! 
   Contact: Portia Gama
From Maria Em

Global Trends as a Challenge for Global Governanc

(Live Webcast) 

  Global trends


Date: 29 April 2011

Time: 9.00-10.15am
(EST)
Venue:
UNU Video Portal 

Registration

Webcast Registration
Event Summary

This seminar explores the far-reaching political, diplomatic and security consequences of the recent rapid changes in the Arab world, from the perspective of security studies.  It seeks answers to the following questions: How can governments and organizations - both directly and indirectly linked to the change - navigate the new global political landscape that has emerged as a result? Have the trends of globalization, such as security threats and migration, helped or hindered the ability of world governments to deal with the political and diplomatic issues that arise from these changes?

The seminar is part of the UNU Midday Forum Series, which offers an intimate and informal platform of discussion for the UN permanent missions, the UN Secretariat, UN agencies, academia, NGOs and the private sector to exchange ideas on important topics related to the UN.

Speakers
  • Álvaro de Vasconcelos, Director,European Union Institute for Security Studies
  • Luis Peral,Research Fellow, European Union Institute for Security Studies
 Moderator
  • Jean-Marc Coicaud, Director, United Nations University Office in New York

Please follow us on Twitter and Facebook for regular updates! 

   Contact: Portia Gama
Email: unuony@unu.edu
From Maria Em

Realizing the Development Potential of Diasporas

**Live Webcast** 
 Realizing the Development Potential of Diasporas 


Dev Diaspora   



Date: 13 April 2011

Time: 1.15pm-2.30pm
(EST)
Venue: http://videoportal.unu.edu  

Registration

Webcast Registration
Event Summary

The United Nations University Office at the United Nations is organizing an event as part of the UNU Midday Forum Series entitled "Realizing the Development Potential of Diasporas". 
 This event will focus on the much claimed but little studied proposition that the contribution of Diasporas to sending economies extends well beyond the remittance flows these economies receive. Particular attention is paid to the issue of Diaspora investment and entrepreneurship. There will be an analysis   of   the  financial  and  non-financial  channels  of  Diaspora contribution  and  areas  where  policies can effectively leverage diaspora capital  to  facilitate  development.  The speakers will emphasize the importance of public policies to widen the role of Diasporas in contributing to development. They will also suggest a categorization of diaspora activities and a framework for understanding diaspora diversity and its impact on development. 
 Speakers:
  • Krishnan Sharma, Economic Affairs Advisor, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations (UNDESA)
  • Paul Ladd, Advisor to UNDP on issues related to inclusive globalization, including development finance, debt sustainability, trade and migration.
  • Manuel F. Montes, Chief, Development Strategy and Policy Analysis Unit, UNDESA
Moderator:
  • Jean-Marc Coicaud, Director of the United Nations University, Office at the United Nations in New York (UNU-ONY).
Please follow us on Twitter and Facebook for regular updates! 

 Contact: Portia Gama 

"Coping with Global Environmental Change, Disasters and Security".

**Live Webcast** 
Coping with Global Environmental Change, Disasters and Security
Threats, Challenges, Vulnerabilities and Risks


  



Date: 23 March 2011

Time: 1.15pm-2.30pm
(EST)
Venue: http://videoportal.unu.edu  

Registration

Webcast Registration
Event Summary


The United Nations University Office at the United Nations is organizing an event as part of the UNU Worldwide in New York Series entitled "Coping with Global Environmental Change, Disasters and Security".

During the conference the speakers will present the recently published Global Environmental and Human Security Handbook for the Anthropocene (GEHSHA), which comprises 95 peer-reviewed chapters which were written by 164 authors, and analyzes concepts of military and political hard security and economic, social and environmental soft security. Regional focuses include the Near East, Asia, and North and Sub-Sahara Africa, as well as addressing hazards in urban centers.

The major focus of this conference will be on coping with global environmental change - climate change, desertification, water, food and health - and with hazards and strategies pertaining to social vulnerability and resilience-building. The speakers will also examine scientific and political strategies, policies and measures - such as early warning of conflicts and hazards - and discuss a political geo-ecology and a "Fourth Green Revolution."
 Speakers
  • Jean-Marc Coicaud, Director of the United Nations University, Office at the United Nations in New York (UNU-ONY).
  • H.E. Ambassador Professor Dr. Joy Ogwu, Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the United Nations, author of a foreword.
  • H.E. Ambassador Dr. Peter Wittig, Permanent Representative of Germany to the United Nations.
  • Mr. Jorge Laguna-Celis, Delegate to the Second Committee, representing thePermanent Mission of Mexico to the United Nations.
  • Hans Günter Brauch, Adj. Professor, Free University of Berlin; senior CASA fellow, UNU-EHS (Bonn); chairman of AFES-PRESS, Germany; co-editor, author.
  • Úrsula Oswald Spring, Professor, Centro Regional de Investigaciones Multidisciplinarias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (CRIM-UNAM, Cuernavaca, Mexico); first MR Chair on Social Vulnerability, UNU-EHS; co-editor, author.
 Please follow us on Twitter and Facebook for regular updates! 
 Contact: Portia Gama