The festival is being organized to raise awareness about the work of its 19 agencies, funds and programs and its partners in the country.
It offers an unprecedented opportunity for highlighting the role of the many stakeholders involved in the development and humanitarian work in Pakistan, including the Government of Pakistan, Member States, donor agencies, civil society and the media.
The festival also provides a platform to promote the values of the United Nations among the general public and to enhance outreach to the Pakistani youth by involving them in a number of educational projects.
The “United Nations 70: partnering for people’s development” festival includes over 15 events that will be held 12-22 October, 2015 in several locations across Islamabad and Lahore.
The opening event planned on 12 October at Lok Virsa will mark the opening of a photo exhibition entitled “Pakistani People and the United Nations” documenting the work of the UN System, in Pakistan. The exhibition will also include a selection of historical photos from the “We the peoples” official collection. High-level Government representatives as well as representatives from the diplomatic corps and the United Nations are expected to participate. A special musical performance by the Envoy’s Band and other musician are also scheduled to be a part of the festivities of the opening event. Ms. Sidra Iqbal has kindly accepted to anchor the event on a pro-bono basis.
In the following weeks, the festival will open its doors to the Pakistani youth, from school children to university students: they will be engaged in two ad-hoc forums, one focused on the key values of the United Nations and on the UN Wall campaign and the other on climate change. The youth forums will include workshops, quiz sessions, painting competitions, storytelling sessions and documentary screenings focused on the areas of work of the UN System.
A series of interactive panel discussions featuring UN experts, representatives from Member States, Government of Pakistan, academia and civil society are also planned. They will be open to the public, who will be engaged through Q&A sessions and will focus on several themes, including peacekeeping, regional cooperation, entrepreneurship, trading, refugees, economic development, food security, communications for development and climate change.
The role of Pakistan in the global conversation on climate change will be highlighted at the Forum “Pakistan Sey Paris: On the road to the 2015 Paris Climate Conference”, which aims at establishing a solid partnership between, civil society, federal and local governments and the corporate sector to implement solutions to mitigate the effects of climate change.
Pakistan will also join the global UN campaign called “Turn the World UN Blue Campaign” which aims at lighting important monuments, buildings, bridges, landscapes, and other iconic landmarks around the world in blue to mark the 70th anniversary of the world body.
Addressing the Press Conference, Vittorio Cammarota, Director United Nations Information Centre said that there has been a great effort by all stakeholders to bring together series of events that will help feature Pakistan prominently in the global campaign in celebrating the 70th anniversary of the United Nations.
“It is a great opportunity for the UN to reach out to the general public and for them to engage and learn about various tailored thematic events that highlights the positive work of the UN in Pakistan” said Cammarota.
The “United Nations 70: partnering for people’s development” is organised by the UN System in Pakistan in close collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Information and several embassies.
Ambassador of Argentina Rodolfo Martin Saravia said in his capacity as the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps He extends his deepest support for the purposes and principles that inspired the creation of the UN, both in terms of an organisation that actively participates in the promotion of peace as well as improves the development of mankind, social and economic development.
