Second Central Asian Research Forum on Sustainable Development and Innovation took place in the UK at Loughborough University on 18 March and in Nur-Sultan at the Astana International Financial Centre on 4 April 2019

On 18th March 2019, the first stage of the Second Central Asian Research Forum on Sustainable Development and Innovation was held at Loughborough University, one of the UK’s leading research universities. Young Kazakh scientists presented their scientific projects aimed at ensuring the sustainable development of the entire Central Asian region.

The forum was organized by the Kazakhstan PhD Association in the UK (Research Committee) with the support of the Administration of the President of Kazakhstan, Embassy of Kazakhstan in the United Kingdom, The British-Kazakh Society and other companies.

Alen Kuspanov, UN Volunteer at UNDP Kazakhstan, made his contribution in presenting the results of the project “Derisking Renewable Energy Investment” and the value of young volunteers in local environment-oriented development. The objective of the project is to promote private sector investment in renewable energy in Kazakhstan to achieve Kazakhstan’s 2030 and 2050 targets for renewable energy, scaling-up the share deployment of renewable energy sources in electricity generation, from a 0.77% share of renewable energy to a 10% share by 2030.

The participation of the UN Volunteer in the forum was made possible due to the UNV learning allowance, which is great opportunity for UN Volunteers to increase knowledge and show presentable skills.

On 4th April 2019, the second stage of the Forum took place in Nur-Sultan at the Astana International Financial Centre. The Forum brought together PhD Candidates, early career researchers, academics, executive and senior managers in Investment, Enterprise, Business and Industry, public sector, and the STEAM education community.

Mr. Norimasa Shimomura, UN Resident Coordinator in for Kazakhstan, spoke at the Forum about SDGs and sustainable development. Firuz Ibrohimov, Chief Technical Advisor at UNDP office in Kazakhstan spoke on the topic “Mind Your Step! –An experimental Gender Tool for ABS value chains in Kazakhstan”.

More information is provided at the website of the Kazakhstan PhD Association in the UK – https://www.kpauk.org/

Launch of the Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2019

4 April 2019

On 4 April 2019, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) launched the Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2019. The official presentation took place in Hong Kong at 10:00 am (Hong Kong time), and the presentation in Almaty took place at 10:00 on the same day.

ESCAP shares the following materials:
1. The press release in English and Russian;
2. The executive summary of the Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2019 in English
and Russian;
3. The link on the ESCAP’s website where the Survey has been published:
https://www.unescap.org/publications/economic-and-social-survey-asia-and-pacific-2019-ambitions-beyond-growth

THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
—
MESSAGE ON WORLD HEALTH DAY
7 April 2019

This World Health Day focuses on universal health coverage and the crucial role primary health care plays in making such coverage a reality.

Half the world’s population is still unable to obtain the essential health services they need. Universal Health Coverage is about changing this and ensuring equitable access to health services for all, without people experiencing financial hardship as a result.

This is central to building healthy societies and economies and to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. And it is not just about improving health services. It is about policies and action across many sectors. We need to address the broader determinants of health, including social, economic and environmental factors.

And we must invest in people. We need highly trained and skilled health workers who can educate and advocate for their patients. We need empowered individuals who know how to take care of their health and that of their families. And we need communities to have access to health care when and where they need it. We must also highlight the importance of mental health, so often stigmatized and forgotten.

Primary health care is the key to achieving these goals and universal health coverage. Last year’s Astana Declaration has paved the way for the world to prioritize the investments we need. Now it is time to implement the commitments made.

Health is a human right. Political commitment and partnerships will be crucial in bringing it to life. Let us show the world that we are ready to bridge the gaps in health coverage worldwide and deliver health for all.

The 2019 SDGs in Action Film Festival is now open! Coordinated by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs’ Division for SDGs, the Festival seeks short films that highlight how people and organizations around the world are taking action for the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

The Festival was launched in 2018 in connection with the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development that takes place each July at UN Headquarters in New York. The competition offers amateur and professional filmmakers around the globe the chance to submit animated or live-action films up to 20 minutes long that showcase a person or project working on tangible solutions to the world’s biggest threats and making the SDGs our reality.

Entries will be accepted in the following categories for 2019:

Protecting our planet
Reducing inequalities
Building peace
Ensuring quality education and jobs
Young Filmmaker (24 years old or younger)
SDGs in Virtual Reality/360 degrees (films 2 minutes or less)

The top video in each category will be shown at the SDGs in Action Film Festival in July 2019 at or near UN Headquarters in New York, with the filmmakers invited to attend and participate in Festival-related activities. Entries will be accepted here through 26 April: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/hlpf/2019/filmfestival

United Nations in Kazakhstan

is joining the

Earth Hour

For a better life on our Planet and For the Future We Want       

that can be achieved through the Sustainable Development Goals

Show your support to the global efforts to save the environment

by

joining us and all the concerned people living on our planet Earth and                

switch off the lights in solidarity with global efforts to secure nature and our home

Saturday, 30 March 2019, 20:30-21:30

TOGETHER, LET’S CONNECT TO EARTH

“Earth Hour’s greatest strength is the power of people.”

THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
—
MESSAGE ON THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF SOLIDARITY
WITH DETAINED AND MISSING STAFF MEMBERS

25 March 2019

Day in and day out, deed by deed, United Nations personnel work unwaveringly to help the most vulnerable, protect the planet and build a better future for all.

Sadly, fulfilling this vital mission often entails great perils.

In 2018, 16 UN staff members were kidnapped or abducted, and one thus far in 2019. Thankfully, all have been released. As of today, there are 21 UN staff members under arrest or in detention — five of whom are being held without any known charges. We will continue to do everything within our means to secure our colleagues’ release.

On this International Day of Solidarity with Detained and Missing Staff Members, I call on all countries to support the 1994 Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel as well as its 2005 Optional Protocol. To date, only 95 countries are party to the Convention and only 33 to the Optional Protocol.

Whether in their home countries or abroad, United Nations staff members have an admirable commitment to service. Their safety must be our priority. On this International Day of Solidarity, I call on the Member States and the international community to strengthen resolve to give them the protection they need to continue their work for peace and prosperity for all.

Press announcement

Dear journalists,

Do you know that:
in the world every fifth girl is married or enters informal marriage before achievement of the eighteen-anniversary?
in Kazakhstan in 2017 from all women who married 11% of women married aged till 19?

The Turkestan region is included into the five of areas with the highest percentage share of girls of 15-19 years consisting in official or informal marriage (9.3%)?
Marriage in which one or both spouses – minors, are called children’s marriage.

We invite you to the Round table during which we will share with you results of implementation of the “Expansion of the Rights of Girls in the Turkestan Region” project which is carried out by UNFPA together with British Embassy in Astana.

What you learn on the Round table:
• We will tell about implementation of the project

• Share results of carrying out training among teachers and pupils of schools in the updated valeology course with the new heads devoted to family values, equality of men and women, prevention of violence and early and compulsory marriages.

• Provide the special video about gender stereotypes shot in Turkestan

When: March 27, 2019 at 14:00

Where: The international Kazakh-Turkish university of Hodzhi Ahmed Yasavi – MKTU of H.A. Yasavi, the Senate Hall. Address: Turkestan, B. Sattarkhanova Ave., 29

For accreditation we ask to contact the public relations specialist Dina Teltayeva by ph. 696 538 or by email:teltayeva@unfpa.org

THE SECRETARY- GENERAL
—
MESSAGE ON WORLD WATER DAY
22 March 2019

Water is vital for survival and, alongside sanitation, helps protect public and environmental health. Our bodies, our cities and our industries, our agriculture and our ecosystems all depend on it.

Water is a human right. Nobody should be denied access. This World Water Day is about upholding this right for all, leaving no one behind.

Today, 2.1 billion people live without safe water due to factors such as economic status, gender, ethnicity, religion and age. Growing demands, coupled with poor management, have increased water stress in many parts of the world. Climate change is adding dramatically to the pressure. By 2030, an estimated 700 million people worldwide could be displaced by intense water scarcity.

We must encourage cooperation to tackle the global water crisis and strengthen our resilience to the effects of climate change to ensure access to water for all, especially for the most vulnerable. These are vital steps towards a more peaceful and prosperous future. As we strive to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, we must value water resources and ensure their inclusive management if we are to protect and use this vital resource sustainably for the benefit of all people.

THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
—
MESSAGE ON INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR
THE ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION
21 March 2019

The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is an occasion for all of us to renew our promise to end racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim hatred. The recent massacre at two mosques in New Zealand is the latest tragedy rooted in such poison.

No country or community is immune from racial and religious hatred and the terrorism of bigots. I am deeply alarmed by the current rise of xenophobia, racism and intolerance. Hate speech is entering the mainstream, spreading like wildfire through social media and radio. It is spreading in liberal democracies and authoritarian States alike.

These dark forces menace democratic values, social stability and peace. When people are attacked, physically, verbally or on social media because of their race, religion or ethnicity, all of society is diminished. It is crucial for us all to join hands, stand up and defend the principles of equality and human dignity.

We must all work harder to repair the fissures and polarization that are so prevalent in our societies today. We must nurture mutual understanding and invest in making diversity a success. And we must counter and reject political figures who exploit differences for electoral gain.

We must also ask why so many people feel excluded and tempted by messages of intolerance against others. We need to engage everyone in dismantling the harmful and specious notion of racial superiority. Even today, decades after the pseudo-science of the Nazis contributed to the Holocaust, the world is seeing the persistence – and even a surge – of neo-Nazi thinking and white supremacy. We must bury such lies once and for all.

Today let us all resolve to fight racism and discrimination wherever it occurs. Let us reflect on how we can promote non-discrimination in every country and at every level. We are all connected by our humanity. We are all equal. We should all be looking out for each other’s welfare.

Applications to 2019 Reham Al-Farra Memorial Journalism Fellowship now open

The Department of Global Communications (DGC) is accepting applications for the 2019 Reham Al-Farra (RAF) Memorial Journalism Fellowship, which will be held at UN Headquarters in New York from 15 September to 5 October 2019.

The Fellowship will bring a select group of young journalists from around the world to United Nations Headquarters to cover the General Assembly, interview senior officials, and attend special briefings and workshops.

The Fellowship is open to full-time journalists between the ages of 22 and 35 from countries with developing and transitioning economies. A full list of eligible countries is available at https://outreach.un.org/raf/eligibility ( Kazakhstan included)

The Fellowship covers the cost of round-trip air travel to New York and provides a daily subsistence allowance.

Applications must be submitted online at https://outreach.un.org/raf/apply. The application deadline is 15 April 2019.