This year, Melbourne is hosting the 63rd Annual UN DPI/NGO Conference, titled “Advance Global Health – Achieve the MDGs”. The conference will be held from Monday, 30 August , to Wednesday, 1 September , 2010 and will take place at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre . The Conference is being organized in partnership between the United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI), the NGO/DPI Executive Committee and the Government of Australia.
The Conference will highlight effective ways in which civil society, in partnership with other actors, can contribute to fostering global health: not just managing disease. Global health encompasses multifaceted challenges of transnational health issues, determinants, and solutions. It involves many disciplines, within and, beyond the health sciences, and promotes interdisciplinary collaboration. The Conference sessions will emphasize the need for more integration of health programs, methods to generate outcome data, cost effective delivery, sustainability, and emphasize prevention, to achieve equity in global health.
The Conference will provide:
- A valuable network-building opportunity.
- Opportunities to exchange ideas and experiences between NGOs, diverse experts, and organizations, working on global health issues.
- Approaches to enhance activities through participation in:
- Roundtable panel discussions
- Interactive dialogues
- Workshops
- Exhibits
The conference is specifically for NGOs, with its major aim to strengthen engagement between the UN and Non-Governmental Organizations, particularly in Australia, the Pacific and Asia. In order to foster long-term engagement, the UN is looking to associate with NGOs in the region.