Updates and Minutes

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Dear NGO Partners,

I am honoured to write to you this first letter as the new elected Chairperson as we begin the 2022-2024 mandate of the NGO-UNESCO Liaison Committee, after a very productive International Conference of NGOs in official partnership with UNESCO (ICNGO) in December last. 

It was wonderful to see so many NGO representatives attending the ICNGO, and to have had such a broad and diverse representation online. There was lively debate, helpful input, interesting reflection and discussion, and opportunities to establish priorities for our two-year mandate. I am grateful to everyone who took part for their energy, frank contributions, and constructive engagement to future work.

Immediately after the ICNGO, the newly-elected Liaison Committee held an informal gathering, to meet each other and agree some working modalities together. I am pleased to say that, as the previous ones, this Committee is full of energy and excitement and is looking forward to building a qualitative cooperation as we proceed.

The first official meeting of the Liaison Committee will take place at the end of January, and this will include agreeing on the roles within the Committee, finalize the Recommendations from the 2022 ICNGO and start reflection on the workplan of the Committee. I will be pleased to write to you all after this meeting with an update!

I take the opportunity to invite you to visit the Liaison Committee website, where you will find information regarding the 2022 ICNGO, including the full recordings of all three days, in English and French. After our meeting in January, the website will be updated with additional information on the Liaison Committee. Please find the link here: https://ngo-unesco.net/icngo-2022 or in French: https://ngo-unesco-fr.net/ciong-2022 

Throughout the two-year mandate, I will strive to ensure that our communications are as clear, open, and in-advance as possible. As we negotiate the processes of cooperation with multiple stakeholders, we will always do our best to get information to you, our community, at the earliest opportunity. 

I will count on your support to start our new mandate with the same enthusiasm and energy that the Committee holds, and come forward with your ideas, your suggestions, and your questions. 

I can be contacted at comite.liaison.ong@unesco.org.

Thank you again for the trust you have placed in myself and all of our Committee members. I would like to pay tribute to our previous Chairperson, Mr Davide Grosso, and to our colleagues on the Committee whose work was accomplished in December last – they have served all of us with dedication and hard work.

Please accept my very best wishes for the coming year, may it be full of good health, success and happiness,

Nick Newland

President of the NGO-UNESCO Liaison Committee