DEC 4th, 7pm
Mardi Gras: Made in China”A Screening and Discussion with Filmmaker David Redmon
Saturday, Fusion Arts Museum
How are Mardi Gras beads connected to the American invasion of Iraq, escapist consumption, and China's entry into the WTO?

“Mardi Gras: Made in China” (66 minutes, 2004) explores the production, consumption, and disposal of Mardi Gras beads, following the “bead trail” backwards from the bacchanalia at Mardi Gras to the sweatshops of Fuzhou and the oil fields of the Middle East. Along the way, we are introduced to teenage factory workers toiling in inhuman conditions, drunken revelers exchanging beads for sexual acts, greedy factory bosses, an artist who works with discarded beads, and new movements fighting for global justice.

Join us for a screening and discussion of “Mardi Gras: Made in China” with filmmaker David Redmon. View the trailer online: http://www.mardigrasmadeinchina.com/

Fusion Arts: 57 Stanton Street, NYC. Just South of Houston, between Allen and Eldridge Streets. F or V train to 2nd Avenue.
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Following up on my email last week from the economist on the High Level Panel, you are invited to a discussion featuring two of the High Level Panel members, Dr. Gro Brundtland and Gareth Evans, which will take place on the day of the release of the report, December 2 from 6-8 pm.

As chair of the Committee on International Security Affairs of the New York City Bar, I will be moderating the event.

Nicole Deller
Program Advisor
World Federalist Movement-Institute for Global Policy
- please note change of address and telephone extension-
708 Third Avenue, 24th Floor
New York, NY 10017
(212) 599-2542 x. 28
deller@wfm.org; www.wfm.org/protect

The Center for Genetics and Society
Graduate Center CUNY
Nation Institute, Demos, and New York Open Center invite you to
The Next Four Years, the Biotech Agenda, and the Human Future:
What Direction for Liberals and Progressives
A Post-Election Symposium
Thursday, December 9 7:00 - 9:30 pm
The Graduate Center City University of New York
365 Fifth Avenue at 34th Street>New York City Admission Free
To register, and for more information: call 212-817-8215, or
goto http://www.genetics-and-society.org/nextfouryears

November 20th is the Day Commemorating the passage of the Convention on the Rights of the Child at the UN General Assembly in 1989. The NGO Committee on Children's Rights has collaborated this year with other CONGO Committees and UNICEF Working Groups to organize an appropriate and significant event. We were unable this time to secure the DPI Briefing on the November date for this event. Thus we have organized it on the first Thursday when Labouisse Hall was available at UNICEF House, i.e. Thursday December 2nd, from 12:30 to 5:15pm.
[See details below in separate posting]

November 18, CONGO Committee meeting,
Spirituality, Values and Global Concerns at noon in UN Church Center.
(Martha Gallahue)

'Unlearning Intolerance': Secretary-General to open seminar on Confronting Islamophobia at Headquarters, 7 December 2004
Secretary-General Kofi Annan will open a seminar on "Confronting Islamophobia: Education for Tolerance and Understanding" at United Nations Headquarters in New York on 7 December. The seminar will be the second in a series entitled "Unlearning Intolerance", organized by the Educational Outreach Section of the United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI). The series aims to examine different manifestations of intolerance and explore ways to promote respect and understanding among peoples. As its name suggests, the "Unlearning Intolerance" series offers opportunities to discuss how intolerance, wherever it exists and for whatever reason, can be "unlearned" through education, inclusion and example.

All are invited to attend the World Council of Churches "International Affairs and Advocacy Week," 15-19 November, at the Church Center for the UN, organized by Laurence Bropleh, UN Representative, Commission of the Churches on International Affairs, World Council of Churches.

NGO briefing (Thursday 18 November)
Topic: Women, Violence and HIV/AIDS (In observance of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women) Speakers:Ms. Marijke Velzeboer-Salcedo, Chief,Latin America and the Caribbean Section, United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)Ms. Kyung-wha KangChair, Commission on the Status on Women; Minister Counsellor, PermanentMission of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations, Ms. Charlotte Bunch, Executive Director, Center for Women's Global Leadership

Attached, please find a pdf copy of an invitation to an ILO briefing and discussion of the book 'Philosophical and Spiritual Perspectives on Decent Work', to be held on 19 November 2004 from 1:15 to 3:00 pm, at the Church Center for the United Nations, 777 UN Plaza, New York.>

If you plan to attend, it would be very much appreciated if you could respond promptly, in order that a copy of the publication can be mailed quickly. You may respond to Zenaida Chichioco of ILO-New York by email chichioco@ilo.org or telephone - 212.697.0150 ext. 107 before the end of this week.

E-Discussions on Upcoming Review of Beijing Platform for Action

Gendernet and Womenwatch are conducting a series of e-discussions to provide feedback and recommendations to the Commission on the Status of Women, which will convene in New York from 28 February to 11 March 2005. The UN Task Force on the 10-year Review of the Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA) will coordinate the discussions, twelve in all, covering each of the areas of concern contained in the BFPA. UNIFEM will moderate the discussion on violence against women. For more information and to join the discussions, visit WomenWatch.

In advance of the MDG summit in 2005, here is the advanced, unedited version of the Report of the Secretary-General on the modalities, format and organization of the high-level plenary meeting of the 60th session of the United Nations General Assembly, which is a follow-up to the outcome of the Millennium Summit. The report can be viewed online at:
http://www.un.org/News/ossg/sg/report10-final.pdf . In Resolution A/RES/58/291, the General Assembly decided to convene in New York, in 2005, a summit to review the implementation of the Millennium Declaration, and the integrated follow-up to the major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic, social and related fields.