Int'l conference on U.N. development goals to open

SEOUL, May 3 (Yonhap) -- An international conference on how civic groups and
universities can help the world meet the U.N. development goals and other global
agendas will open here this week, the event's organizing committee said Sunday.
Jointly organized by the U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs and Kyung
Hee University of South Korea, the four-day conference will bring together around
2,000 delegates from international organizations, universities, industry
representatives and activists from Tuesday to Friday.
Entitled "Building Our Humanitarian Planet," the conference aims to provide a
platform to address development goals agreed by international organizations,
including the U.N. Millennium Development Goals.
"Governments acknowledge that they cannot act alone," said Sha Zukang, U.N.
Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs in a message for the
conference.
"Our ability as a global community to achieve the Millennium Development Goals
and advance the capacities of individuals, institutions and society to improve
the lives of billions of people worldwide will ultimately depend on whether or
not we can engage civil society proactively in implementing the global
development agenda," he said.
In 2001, heads of U.N. member states agreed to reach the eight international
Millennium Development Goals by 2015. The goals include reducing extreme poverty,
fighting epidemic diseases and ensuring environmental sustainability.
But such goals for poor countries are looking increasingly elusive due to a lack
of funding, particularly because of the impact of the global economic crisis.
"The World Civic Forum 2009 calls for the attention of the global society to the
ever-glaring aporia facing humanity in the 21st century," said Chou In-won,
president of Kyung Hee University.
"It is our hope that the university community and international society will join
in the spirit of global consensus and agreement and together search for a better
future for humanity and the planet Earth," he said.
On Tuesday, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will address the conference via
video.
The conference's three key themes are: civic values for social justice, civic
engagement in public and global governance, and civic action for the global
agenda, including climate change.
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