News from Winner---Devnet to showcase decades of advancing international development cooperation at Shanghai World Expo 2010

Through history-changing events across the world, an international non-government organization has stayed the course of helping transform traditions into new values of technical and economic cooperation that impact the lives of those most in need in developing countries.

This contribution to the development cooperation arena will be highlighted at a pavilion, occupying over 3000 sq. meters of exhibition area at the Shanghai World Expo 2010, by Devnet International, an international non-government organization with Consultative Status Category 1 granted by the United Nations Economic and Social Council in 1985.

Devnet Director General Daniel Barrios, speaking before an audience of 650 mayors and local government officials of 250 cities of China, unveiled plans to use as platform next year’s World Expo to showcase the development initiatives of Devnet in the economic and human development arena. On the same occasion, he drew attention to “the extraordinary opportunity for developing countries, international and regional organizations as well as private and state-owned enterprises to exchange experiences and explore new approaches to urban development, improvement of human habitat, conditions at the workplace and quality lifestyle of people.”

“The theme touches on the concept of environmentally--sustainable cities that serve as epicenter of growth and prosperity. More than that, it is about the challenge of ending poverty and hunger, promoting universal education and health, championing gender equality and access to new technologies, and effective economic assistance based on mutual benefit and respect as well as building a new human-centered harmonious society,” he stressed.

“Devnet International, an executing agency of the United Nations Development Programme for numerous pioneering development cooperation initiatives, takes pride in having been selected as one of the participating organizations to be featured with its own pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo 2010. This is a great opportunity to stress Devnet’s commitment to sustainable economic development in the context of the United Nations Millenium Development Goals,” he added.

At the same meeting, Director General Barrios further announced that September 8, 2010 will be a special Devnet’s Day, as approved by the Bureau of Coordination of the Shanghai World Expo. This celebration coincides with the tenth anniversary of the launching of the United Nations MDGs. To mark this important day, an international forum on the theme “Towards a New Global Architecture Governance and Sustainable Cities” will be held along with parallel thematic conferences and special events.

“For China, the World Expo is an excellent opportunity for showing to the rest of the world its economic resiliency and how its Chinese economic development model has weathered global crises and how it has improved its people’s economic well-being. More importantly, it is a timely occasion to demonstrate how its policy measures and decisions have made China’s economy healthy and strong, growing by at least 6.5 percent this year, despite the global economic downturn in the western economies and the rest of the world.”

Source: http://www.devnet-shanghai.org/en/news_detail.asp?myid=67