UNCTAD meets every four years at the ministerial level to address emerging issues in trade and development and to review the organization’s mandate. At UNCTAD X, held in 2000, the Bangkok Declaration called for "an open dialogue and full engagement" with civil society. It states that "UNCTAD’s work can serve to address the challenges and opportunities of globalization and inform an open and systematic debate on diverse development-related issues of global interest among partners in the development process, including the private sector, NGOs, academia and parliamentarians".

Building on the hearings, the conference will be preceded by a plenary session of the Civil Society Forum on 11-12 June. CSOs will use the Plenary of the Forum to exchange information, build consensus and finalize the preparation of their positions for advocacy work at the conference. A final document will be adopted and will then be presented to the conference. As part of the official conference programme, the Civil Society Forum will continue throughout the event. It will provide an opportunity for civil society organizations (CSOs) to discuss priority issues relevant to the overall theme, the subthemes and the topics of the conference; to exchange views; and to raise public awareness about the issues at stake.

At the Conference Centre, CSOs will be provided with meeting space and will organize a programme of workshops, discussions and side meetings on particular issues of concern. Daily briefings will be arranged to keep representatives up to date on the state of negotiations. CSOs will also be working to attract public attention to the event and to raise international public awareness about the issues being discussed at the conference. Details regarding the programme of the Forum will be posted soon.

The following is the contact information for the local CSO coordinating committee:

Maira Junqueira
Secretaria Executiva/Executive Secretariat
Fórum da Sociedade Civil/Civil Society Forum - Abong/Rebrip
T.: (+55) 11 32372122
E.: forumsociedadecivil@uol.com.br

Website: www.forumsociedadecivil.org.br