World NGO Day 2014 Forum is due to be held at Scandic Marina Congress Centre in Helsinki, Finland on 27th -28th February. Among the speakers will be Ms Britt Bohlin, the Secretary General of the Secretariat to the Nordic Council, Mr Jan Mattsson the Executive Director of UNOPS and Mr Eric Falt the Assistant Director-General of UNESCO. Ms Helen Clark, Administrator of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Former Prime Minister of New Zealand, will be addressing all delegates via video.
It is the first time that the Forum has been set in Finland and on this occasion it will be addressing “Universal Education – NGOs and Private Enterprises”, “Health and Social Welfare”, “Children and Youth Empowerment – A Multi-Sectoral Approach” and “Society Empowerment via Gender Equality.”
Minister for International Development, Mr. Pekka Haavisto, recently elected as chairman of the International Dialogue on Peace building and State building (IDPS, an international forum promoting the development of fragile states, focusing on countries suffering from conflicts and instability), stated that in fragile countries, the activities of civil society can be very difficult, even paralyzed. That attention must be paid to the position of women, education and the basic pillars of democracy. The treatment of minority groups, for instance the situation of people with disabilities, may be very poor. The international community must also support the implementation of civil rights.
Some of the expected participants will include BRAC International, the largest NGO in the world and Turkey’s Country Director of International Medical Corps, whom are providing medical assistance to many of the Syrian refugees on the Turkish borders. This years NGO Day is sponsored by Finland’s Slot Machine Association (RAY). All NGOs interested in attending to attend should register via http://yourngoday.com
Mr Marcis Liors Skadmanis is initiator of World NGO Day and he has been leading this international initiative for the last 3 years, after first coming up with the initial idea for this international day, during his Master in International Law. By establishing several NGOs, including the Latvian British Chamber of Commerce in the UK, Mr. Skadmanis comprehended some of the problems NGOs face on a daily basis – locally, nationally and internationally. This led him to create the World NGO Day initiative.
More information about the event and the World NGO Day initiative:Phone: +44 (0) 20 73872185
