Statement to the World Civil Society Forum by Sébastien Ziegler

Geneva, 14 July 2002—World Civil Society Forum

Audio

We are very pleased to welcome you here, in Geneva, to this World Civil Society Forum.

At a time when we face a lot of major problems around the world, be it environmental problems such as desertification and climatic changes, or poverty, AIDS, malaria, as well as other huge and increasing problems, we need to join our efforts. We hope this Forum will provide an opportunity to bring together organizations both from civil society and the UN, working in different fields of activity and different regions of the World, in order to strengthen their links of cooperation.

Civil society and UN organizations have a lot in common and much to share. They all work for a better world and try to solve problems with limited resources. Civil society usually bring their field-based expertise to the UN agencies. They root decisions taken at the international level. They also contribute to implement those policies adopted at the international level. On the other hand, the UN offers a rich variety of opportunities to civil society organizations, including the possibility to define common and international policies that can be implemented on a universal basis.

We hope this Forum will provide an opportunity for you to meet other organizations, to share knowledge, experiences, eventually to develop joined projects or initiatives, and to learn from one another.

Finally, I want to thank all those who made this Forum possible. First of all, You, who came here to Geneva. We know that for some of you it was not easy, especially for those coming from developing countries. We thank you for joining us.

I also thank:

• all the volunteers who have worked and will continue to work during this week;
• the two hundred organizations that contribute to the programme, providing panellists, expertise and sharing their experiences;
• the organising team;
• the Steering Committee;
• the International Conference Centre of Geneva;
• the UN agencies and other international organizations that have supported our efforts and contribute to the programme of this Forum;
• and the financial partners among which are the Swiss and Geneva authorities and foundations.

Be welcome and have a fruitful conference. Now, I am pleased to give the floor to the Mayor of Geneva, Monsieur André Hédiger.

Thank you.