WFWP INTERNATIONAL SELECTED TO PARTICIPATE IN UNITED NATIONS “INNOVATION FAIR” IN GENEVA - PART ONE

Entry to the Palais de Nationes, Geneva, Switzerland

Women's Federation for World Peace, International was one of twenty-seven nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) chosen to participate in a special United Nations-sponsored event in Geneva, Switzerland, from July 2-5, 2007, dubbed the first annual "Innovation Fair" for the UN ECOSOC (Economic and Social Council). Selected organizations were asked to set up displays profiling their success stories in alleviating world poverty and hunger.

This Fair was held at the same time as a regular annual meeting of ECOSOC in the beautiful Palais des Nationes, the historic home of the United Nations in Geneva. Called the "city of peace," Geneva was the birthplace of the Red Cross Movement and the location of the forging of the Geneva Conventions (the "rules of war"). Originally built to house the failed League of Nations, the Palais des Nationes was transferred to the United Nations in 1946.

The theme of this year's ECOSOC meeting was, "Strengthening efforts to eradicate poverty and hunger, including through the global partnership for development." The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, visited the Civil Society Pavilion where WFWPI and other groups had set up their information booths and personally spoke to representatives of each group. When he came to the WFWPI booth, a Swiss woman who happens to speak Korean was manning the booth. He was quite surprised to hear her address him in his native language, and they engaged in an enthusiastic conversation about WFWPI activities.

A video of their encounter is on the web at www.amrif.blogspot.com. The website video showing all the encounters with the Secretary-General is over 30 minutes long, but the WFWPI encounter is at the 6:00 minute mark and goes to approximately the 6:55 mark.

Three WFWPI programs were profiled with literature and graphic displays at this fair:

• WFWP International Service Projects

• WFWP Kenya project eliminating Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)

• WFWP UK support of Indian orphans.

Mrs. Sugiyama, center, with UN Deputy Chief of NGO Section (arm in sling), and three WFWPI representatives.

Accredited by the UN ECOSOC in 1997, WFWPI is committed to being a good partner to the United Nations by focusing on peace-building worldwide. In 2000, the United Nations adopted eight Millennium Development Goals, or MDGs, with target achievements by 2015.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has stated that the Millennium Development Goals are a framework for worldwide development and a means for poorer countries to work together with partners in pursuit of a shared future for all people of the world.

Following are the eight United Nations Millennium Development Goals, along with some of the targets to be achieved by 2015:

MDG 1: Eradicate extreme poverty & hunger

• Reduce by half the proportion of people living on less than a dollar a day.

  • Currently 1.3 billion people live on less than $1 a day; 70% of them are female.

• Reduce by half the proportion of people who suffer from hunger.

  • More than 850 million people are living in starvation conditions, every seventh person alive today.

MDG 2: Achieve universal primary education

• Ensure that all boys and girls complete a full course of primary schooling

  • More than 12.1 million children of primary-school age are not in school; the majority of them are girls.

MDG 3: Promote gender equality and empower women

• Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education preferably by 2005, and at all levels by 2015.

  • 800 million adults cannot read; two-thirds are women.

MDG 4: Reduce child mortality

• Reduce by two-thirds the mortality rate among children under five.

  • Thirty-thousand children under five die every DAY.

MDG 5: Improve maternal health

• Reduce by three-quarters the maternal mortality rate

MDG 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases

• Halt and begin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS

  • 93% of people who need anti-retroviral therapy do not have access to it.

• Halt and begin to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases

MDG 7: Ensure environmental sustainability

• Reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water.

  • One billion people do not have access to safe drinking water.

• Achieve significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by 2020.

MDG 8: Develop a global partnership for development

• In cooperation with developing countries, develop and implement strategies for decent and productive work for youth.

• In cooperation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies, especially information and communication.

Since the Millennium Development Goals were introduced in 2000, the primary focus of WFWPI has been the achievement of Goal 1. The International Service Projects (ISPs) are also impacting the achievement of Goals 2, 3, 6, and 7.

Mrs. Sugiyama and Carolyn Handschin, Director of WFWPI UN Office in Switzerland