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For more information on Mr. Dossal’s presentations, click:

PPP in Post-Conflict Situations Annual Meeting of Romanian Diplomats

United Nations Under-Secretary General Mr. Amir Dossal, Executive Director of the United Nations Office of Partnerships and the UN Democracy Fund is in Bucharest for a series of meetings and events on 1-2 September 2010. At the invitation of the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Dossal will be addressing the Annual Meeting of Romanian Diplomats on 1 September at a panel on multilateralism in the new geo political context and then on 2 September on Public Private Partnerships in Post-Crises Situations. During his stay in Bucharest, Mr. Dossal will also meet with representatives of Romania’s dynamic civil society in areas of democratization and with the business sector.  “Friends of the UN” is a select group of Romanians who have distinguished success in private sector and business in the country and will share with Mr. Dossal and the UN country team in Romania their insights on local, national, regional and international issues facing Romania.

The Department for Interethnic Relations, with support from UNDP and the National Democratic Institute, is organizing during 30 August - 5 September a summerschool intitled "Youth and the development of multicultural towns". The summerschool will take place in Tulcea and will gather youth leaders from different ethnic groups in Romania. The aim of this project is to support youth engagegement in ethnic communities and offer the neccessary competences for youngsters to develop their own initiatives. The summerschool will comprise of trainings on topics such as multiculturalism, project management, personal development (public speaking, personal branding, s.o.), visits to authorities, private companies and local NGOs as well as a working visit to the community of lipovean russions.

Persons interested to apply are invitated to fill in the application form available here and send it by email to the Department for Interethnic Relations by 20 August 2010.

On 18 December 2009, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the resolution A/RES/64/134 proclaiming the year commencing on 12 August 2010 as the International Year of Youth (IYY): Dialogue and Mutual Understanding. The Year will coincide with the 25th anniversary of the first International Youth Year celebrated in 1985 on the theme Participation, Development and Peace.

The United Nations system’s approach for the International Year of Youth: Dialogue and Mutual Understanding (12 August 2010 – 11 August 2011) aims to provide a concrete framework for collective efforts during the Year. The UN system’s approach for this focuses on the three key areas:

• Create awareness (increase commitment and investment in youth)
• Mobilize and engage (increase youth participation and partnerships)
• Connect and build bridges (increase intercultural understanding among youth)

The International Year of Youth can generate a much needed attention for youth engagement and youth development and can provide an impetus to partnerships among youth organizations in Romania.
The initiative to organize an official launch event belongs to the Education Directorate of the Bucharest City Hall. The United Nations in Romania will join the efforts, hosting the round table: “Youth involvement in education for development (examples of successful projects)” at the UN House. Among participants at the round table, youth organizations and initiatives are well represented (see the agenda enclosed).

During the second part of the day, the seminar “Youth and fight against discrimination” will be hosted by the Information Office of the Council of Europe, also involving youth representatives in the debate. The launch of the exhibition: “Education for Development - Youth Involvement in sustainable development” put together by students and graduates of National University of Arts - Faculty of Fine Arts will end the day.
 

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has organized a round table discussion on energy efficiency in buildings and fuel poverty on July 13, 2010, within the framework of the preparatory phase of the project Improving Energy Efficiency in Low-Income Households and Regions of Romania. The project will be financed by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and will be implemented as of 2011, in partnership with the Ministry of Regional Development and Tourism, Romanian Agency Regulatory Authority,  the Association of Energy Auditors for Buildings and the Romanian Green Building Council. 

The meeting brought together stakeholders in the energy sector (government, private sector and civil society), who have discussed around priority issues of concern in the field of energy and climate change to which UNDP can respond. The discussions during the meeting have revolved  around issues such as: institutional and policy framework in the field of energy, energy efficiency in buildings, energy tariffs dynamic and its social impact, particularly on low income households and regions, fuel poverty, social assistance for heating, financial availability for energy efficiency initiatives. The consultation and participation of the interested stakeholders in the implementation of UNDP initiatives are of paramount importance, highlighting  the value of partnership and national ownership.

The general focus of this UNDP intervention is on reducing the energy consumption and the level of greenhouse gas emissions in buildings, through energy efficiency measures that will lower the energy bill and alleviate fuel poverty in areas with low or medium level of poverty. Climate change and the financial crisis are two of the greatest global challenges, to which this initiative will respond at the national level, more so within the current national context of the inevitable rise in energy prices and subsequent significant social impact. At regional level in SEE countries, even though there are quite a few energy efficiency interventions, none of them are simultaneously addressing the alleviation of fuel poverty. In this regard the initiative in Romania has a very high replication potential in the region.

 The presentations of national and international experts can be downloaded here. 

The League of Romanian Students Abroad, supported by the UN System in Romania under the umbrella of the Alliance of Civilizations Initiative, is inviting Romanian students and graduates from all over the world to submit applications for the Conference “Sustainable Development at the Black Sea”. The event will bring together exceptional students enrolled in the two competitions, as well as representatives of the diplomatic community and business environment, in order to facilitate the exchange of ideas and best practice related to sustainable development in the Black Sea region. Further information about this initiative is available in the conference press release ( English / Romanian).

Individuals interested to participate are kindly invited to consult the Call for Applications available in En and Ro. The call is open until 17 July 2010.

The biennial World Business and Development Awards acknowledge the contribution of the private sector to help achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) through their core business. The MDGs, endorsed by 189 countries, are eight goals that promote poverty reduction, education, maternal health, gender equality, and aim at combating child mortality, AIDS and other diseases.

The United Nations has devoted the year 2010 to build a renewed momentum around the MDGs, including special attention for the role of business in development through an initiative known as the Business Call to Action. The 2010 World Business and Development Awards is one of the central events this year that will recognize the key contributions of the private sector to development.

Interested business organizations from arround the world are encouraged to register in the contest by 15 July 2010. Further in formation on the award nomination procedures is availabe here.

WBDF is jointly organized since 2004 by the International Chamber of Commerce, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF). The true spirit of the awards lies in the pursuit of productive and innovative business-driven solutions to sustainable development. Award recipients receive worldwide recognition as leading examples of how business can contribute to the MDGs. They will be profiled in the publications and on the official websites of ICC, UNDP, and IBLF.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and United Nations Development Programme officially launch on Monday, 28 June 2010, a set of masters programmes in international development studies, as part of the SNIECODA project.  The launch ceremony will take place at the Romanian Diplomatic Institute in Bucharest, starting with 13.00.

Starting with the 2010-2011 academic year five Romanian institutions of higher education will implement such programs, in four different university centers in the country: Academy of Economic Studies - Faculty of International Economic Relations, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi - Faculty of Philosophy and Social-Political Sciences, Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj Napoca - Faculty of Political Sciences, Administration and Communication, University of Bucharest - Faculty of Philosophy and West University of Timisoara - Faculty of Political Sciences, Philosophy and Communication.

Further information on these programmes will be made available on the Romanian Official Development Assistance website, as well as at the participant universities.
 

Representatives of the Agency for the Implementation of Projects and Programmes for SMEs, UNDP and and local authorities will attend on Friday, 11 June, the launch of the Targu Mures Business Incubator. The incubator, built within the Mures Industrial Park, was co-financed by the Mures County Council, AIPPSMEs and the United Nations Development Programme, and represents the fourth incubator set up within the 'Establishment and Development of Business Incubators' Project.

As a next step, 20 firms will be selected through a process organized by the administrator for the business incubator, to enter an incubation period of 3 years.

Further information on this project as well as the official launch event are available on the project website as well as the Targu Mures business incubator website. 

UN Electoral Assistance Division, together with UNDP Romania and the Permanent Electoral Authority of Romania organized on June 7-8 a workshop on Out of Country Voting in Bucharest.

The event aimed at offering a forum for practitioners and experts to share their experiences with Out-of-Country Voting (OCV), examine the full range of approaches and methods for OCV and reflect on the challenges involved in organizing external voting. Discussions were structured in six sessions touching on topics such as: Overview of OCV practice and issues, Eligibility and Registration of External Voters, Outreach to potential external voters and turnout, Host country co-operation, E-voting and Advantages and Disadvantages of OCV methods. The workshop was also conceived as an opportunity to promote dialogue and enhance cooperation between electoral authorities.

Full agenda of the event available for download here.

 

In light of the important events in the field of gender equality and women empowerment taking place on the international arena in 2010 creating both the incentive and the context to re-introduce the issue of national targets on Millennium Development Goal (MDG) no. 3 on Gender Equality on the political agenda, the United Nations System in Romania in partnership with the National Agency for Equal Opportunities organize a round table event with a final objective of establishing the national MDG target and indicators on women representation in Parliament and a road map of how to achieve it.

As an EU member state, Romania has met most of the MDG targets and has a remarkable track record of development. MDG Goal 3, Target 3.3 (Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments) is the only internationally agreed target that Romania has not adopted into its national targets.

The round table will take place on June 3, 14:00 hrs at the UN House. For further information on this event and its proceedings, kindly contact Ms. Anca Stoica at anca.stoica@undp.org or at phone no. 021-2017821.