58th Annual DPI/NGO Conference: 'it's the right time for change'.

• Author: Bolton, Sally

In the week preceding the historic 2005 World Summit, an equally diverse group of delegates assembled at UN Headquarters in New York. Like the Summit participants, they met to discuss progress on the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), as well as on issues put forward by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan in his report titled "In Larger Freedom: Towards Development, Security and Human Rights for All".

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The 58th Annual DPI/NGO Conference, held from 7 to 9 September 2005, saw almost 700 civil society organizations from 86 countries represented, with more than 2,000 participants using strength in numbers to make their collective voice heard. The UN Department of Public Information (DPI), which organized the Conference, emphasized that the event was far from a "business-as-usual" meeting. Not only was it the last chance for civil society to present their expectations of the World Summit outcome, it was also the first time that Member States and parliamentarians engaged in round-table discussions with representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

The DPI/NGO Conference, titled "Our Challenge: Voices for Peace, Partnerships and Renewal", focused on the increasing importance of strategic partnerships between the United Nations and NGOs to achieve the world Organization's vision. Conference participants repeatedly emphasized the UN shift in approach to external relations, actively looking to reach out to civil society. Bruce Jenks, Director of the United Nations Development Programme's Bureau for Resources and Strategic Partnerships, stressed that the idea of partnership and outreach to achieve the United Nations objectives "goes very deep-it is not a matter of pure rhetoric". He cited the MDGs as a clear example of the significance of partnerships, stating that "you simply can't have such an agenda without NGOs".

Other speakers were quick to add that there was still a long way to go before the United Nations was in a position to fully utilize the participation of civil society. Victoria Tauli-Corpaz, Executive Director of the Philippine-based Tebtebba Foundation, acknowledged that while "it is very fashionable to talk about partnerships as the way to the future, it is very difficult to imagine how equal partnerships can be developed in this hugely unequal world".

The Conference used the idea of multilateral cooperation as a springboard to discuss the broad themes of poverty...