We are pleased to invite you to attend the 15th International Forum of NGOs in official partnership with UNESCO on “Transforming Mentalities”, which will take place at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris on 24 and 25 January 2024. The event will be held in person and online.

The Forum will seek to gather examples of good practices in challenging the stagnant discriminations and inequalities within societies and build concrete recommendations for action at various levels. It will build on the work undertaken by UNESCO through its Social and Human Sciences Sector on the Transforming MEN’talities initiative, which aims at fighting harmful stereotypes based on gender and promoting positive social norms, as well as on the Roadmap against Racism and Discrimination and its yearly Global Forum.

Organized by the NGO-UNESCO Liaison Committee in cooperation with UNESCO in accordance with the Directives concerning UNESCO’s partnership with non-governmental organizations, this Forum is intended primarily for NGOs in official partnership with the Organization, but is open to other NGOs and institutions, as well as to representatives of Member States. A strong presence of youth representatives will be particularly welcome.

If, as we hope, your organization is in a position to participate in this Forum, we should be grateful if you would kindly register your representatives at indico.un.org/event/1009103/ by 22 January 2024 at the latest. Please note that upon registration you will receive an automatic acknowledgement and will receive further communications to the email address specified in your registration. Kindly also note that, as customary, the travel and living expenses of representatives must be borne by the organization they represent.

We are very much counting on your presence in Paris and active participation in this Forum, and we invite you to disseminate this information to any other organizations and partners which may be interested to join this event. Yours sincerely,

Nick Newland – President of the NGO-UNESCO Liaison Committee

Gabriela Ramos – Assistant Director-General, Social and Human Sciences Sector, UNESCO