GFDD/Funglode to Discuss the Importance of Putting People and Planet First at UN Panel Discussion

GFDD & Funglode in partnership with the NGO Committees on Financing for Development and Social Development will hold a panel discussion entitled Do we have the Courage to Put People and Planet First? The Challenges of Financing for Development during the Intergovernmental Negotiations on the Post-20I5 Development Agenda.

Invited speakers include H.E. Ambassador David Donoghue, Permanent Representative of the Permanent Mission of
Ireland to the United Nations, Ms. Bertha Santana, Manager of the GFDD ReCrearte Program, Mr. Matias Bendersky, Chief of the Partnerships and Resource Mobilization Unit at the Inter-American Development Bank and Ms. Barbara Adams, Senior Policy Advisor of Global Policy Forum who will be acting as moderator for the session.

About the event:
The world we live in has enough financial resources. The key challenge is a shortage of sustainable capital willing to invest in people and planet. According to Roberto Bissio, executive director of Social Watch, the combined sales of the top 200 corporations exceed the combined economies of 182 countries bar the 9 biggest.  This shows us where the global wealth is concentrated.

The World Meteorological Organization has indicated that 2014 was the hottest year to date globally. The more we ignore planetary boundaries, the warmer it gets and the more people are pushed into poverty. We can no longer make wrong choices for people and planet. This side event urges the Addis Ababa conference on Financing for development to set the world in the right direction, asking the question: “Do we have the courage to put people and planet first in order to
achieve the overarching goals of poverty eradication and sustainable development?”

UN Secretary General Ban-ki Moon said “Ours is the first generation that can end poverty and the last that can take steps to avoid the worst impacts of climate change”. Come join us to discuss these issues as responsible global citizens who care about our fellow human beings and our mother earth.

About the NGO Committee on Financing
for Development:
The NGO Committee on Financing for Development at the United Nations advocates for a worldwide economy that is environmentally and socially sustainable, ethical, and people-centered. Guided by the 2002 Monterrey Consensus, it urges policymakers to support development strategies that end global poverty and advance human rights. The committee seeks international financial systems that are fair and truly representative of all people. It is motivated by
the moral imperatives underlying the United Nations Charter and the missions of the organizations we represent.

About the NGO Committee for Social Development:
The NGO Committee for Social Development is dedicated to raising awareness and holding discussions on social development issues taken up by the United Nations (UN) System and in particular by the UN Commission for Social Development. The Committee also advocates on social development
issues in other forums such as the High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, the Commission on the Status of Women, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), and the General Assembly. Committee members keep one another informed and deliver group statements to the UN voicing ideas and positions on key social development issues. In addition, the Committee is focused on reviewing the outcome of the World Summit on Social Development.

When:
Friday May 22, 2015, from 1:15PM am to 2:30pm
Where: Conference Room 13, UN Headquarters Conference Room Building, New York
Questions? Contact: mjourdan@globalfoundationdd.org

More information to come!