Call for Participation

Invitation to Outreach Regarding the Sixteenth Session of the United Nations Commission for Sustainable Development

You are invited to participate in outreach activities being undertaken by Federal government officials with Canadian civil society stakeholders regarding Canadian participation for the Sixteenth Session of the United Nations Commission for Sustainable Development (CSD-16).

The outreach will take place via teleconference on February 25, 2008 from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm ET.

Please confirm your participation by February 17th by contacting Chris Robinson of Sustainable Development Division, DFAIT at (613) 944-1066 or chris.robinson@international.gc.ca. No financial support is available for participation, therefore you are encouraged to take part via teleconference and toll-free dial-in information will be provided to confirmed participants.
Your participation in the outreach activity will provide you with information on how you can contribute to a well-established international process and showcase your organization's success stories in sustainable development. 

The primary purpose of the February 25th outreach is to:

• provide an overview Canada’s national reporting submission to the CSD for this cycle;
• encourage Canadian civil society stakeholders to submit case studies;
• share information regarding Canada’s planned activities at CSD-16, which will be held in New York from May 5 – May 16, 2008; and
• encourage participation at CSD-16, including via side events and partnership activities. 

Additional Information is provided in the documents below:
CSD Components
CSD History

Background Information

The CSD was created to monitor progress in the implementation of Agenda 21 and other outcomes of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, as well as the Joint Plan of Implementation and other outcomes from the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development. It also provides policy guidance for new action to promote sustainable development around the world. Although its recommendations are not legally binding, the CSD has become a useful international forum for consensus-building on sustainable development issues. It meets annually in New York and its discussions usually focus on a selected number of key themes.

Since 2003, the CSD has operated in two-year implementation cycles, each composed of a Review Year/Session in the first year and a Policy Year/Session in the second. Each cycle deals with a cluster of issues.  As the Review Session of the third implementation cycle, CSD-16 will focus on the following thematic issues: Agriculture, Rural development, Land, Drought, Desertification and Africa.