ARS representatives take front row at September 9 session on Strategies to Overcome MDG Obstacles
NEW YORK (ARS)–More than 27 members of the Armenian Relief Society (ARS) from throughout the United States–Canada–and Lebanon–participated in the 57th Annual United Nations DPI/NGO (Department of Public Information/Non-Governmental Organizations) Conference held at United Nations Headquarters in New York–September 8 -10. The three-day conference–Millenium Development Goals: Civil Society Takes Action–attracted more than 2,700 representatives from 90 countries to discuss issues relating to millennium development goals.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan opened the conference in the General Assembly Hall. In addition to five plenary panels and 30 mid-day NGO Interactive Workshops–the Conference featured speakers including Executive Coordinator of UN Millennium Development Goals Campaign Eveline Herfkins–Jeffrey Sachs–Special Advisor to the Secretary-General on the Millennium Development Goals–and Mark Malloch Brown–Administrator of the UN Development Program (UNDP)–among others.
At the Millennium Summit in 2000–189 member states adopted a Declaration that synthesized the priorities of the international agenda and reflected those commitmen’s painstakingly negotiated during the previous decade of world conferences. The Millennium Declaration–and the eight goals it identified–have become a road map for tackling poverty–instability–HIV/AIDS–gender inequality–and violence in virtually all parts of the world.
The ARS–Inc.–along with two other NGOs–Committee on Child’s Rights and the NGO Committee on HIV/AIDS–sponsored the workshop–"Interactive Workshop on HIV/AIDS Education–Prevention and Care; an Emphasis on Engaging Boys and Men as Full Partners of Women and Children."
More than 160 participants discussed HIV/AIDS education models and means to address obstacles such as denial–stigmatization–and the undue burden women and children face in most societies. Carol Bova–Assistant Professor–Graduate School of Nursing–University of Massachusetts–spoke of the AIDS crisis in Armenia and her work educating the population about the disease. ARS–Inc. sponsors and assists Dr. Bova in her endeavors.
For more information–visit www.undpingoconference.org