The First International Conference and Exhibition on Women and Trade kicked off in Tehran today, Tuesday 13 July. Organized by the Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Mines, the Conference brought togethera number of Iranian decision makers, international organizations, women entrepreneurs and a number of foreign missions based in Iran.  

The sixth anniversary of the inscription of Bam and its cultural landscape was celebrated in Bam on Wednesday 7 July 2010 among the elite and officials of the City. The event was organized by the Governor of Bam, Mr. Hossein Shahyeq. The UN Resident Coordinator in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ms. Consuelo Vidal made a speech in this ceremony. Recalling the inscription of the City of Bam and its cultural landscape on the World Cultural Heritage list by UNESCO in 2004, Ms. Vidal stressed that Bam represented an exceptional historical testimony to the development of trade in the desert environment of the Central Asian region. She referred to the outstanding role of the ancient city that had developed at the crossroads of important trade routes and served as an outstanding example of intercultural interaction cetruries ago. The UN Resident Coordinator also mentioned the significance of Qanats in this area next to which an outstanding example...

“By investing in the MDGs, we invest in global economic growth. By focusing on the needs of the most vulnerable, we lay the foundation for a more sustainable and prosperous tomorrow,” quoted the UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ms. Consuelo Vidal in the opening of a media conference on Sunday 27 June, on the occasion of the release of the annual assessment report on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by the UN Secretary General (SG), Mr. Ban Ki-moon in New York on 23 June. Ms. Vidal highlighted further excerpts of the SG’s message and stated, ‘The world has made huge strides in reducing extreme poverty, tackling HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, and boosting access to clean drinking water’. ‘However’, she stressed, ‘there is still a lot to be done in other critical areas, such as improving maternal health’. The UN Resident Coordinator...

Picture This: We Can End Poverty is a global photo contest seeking to show— in a positive way— what people around the world are doing to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), eight goals agreed on by world leaders to halve extreme poverty by 2015. The eight Goals are: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger Achieve universal primary education Promote gender equality and empower women Reduce child mortality Improve maternal health Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases Ensure environmental sustainability Develop a Global Partnership for Development Contestants must enter either as professionals or amateurs, not both. The 2010 contest will include a People's Choice Award where the public will vote for their favourite photo online through this website. Click here to vote. The winning photos will be exhibited during the UN MDG Summit and UN General Assembly in September, 2010 in New York, when...

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) launched, on Thursday 17 June 2010, an extensive assessment of what must be done to advance sustainable development and reduce global poverty.  The report, titled What Will It Take To Achieve The Millennium Development Goals? An International Assessment, identifies a concrete action agenda to inform the outcome of the World leaders’ MDG Summit in New York, this September. “For the many people living in poverty, the Millennium Development Goals are not abstract and aspirational targets; they offer a means to a better life, and overall a more just and peaceful world,” said UNDP Administrator Helen Clark at the launch. “Our hope is that this evidence of tried and tested policies, and this agenda for accelerating the pace of success, informs a positive outcome at the world leaders summit on the MDGs in September", Helen Clark added. The MDGs are eight internationally-agreed...