Washington Grand Hyatt, Constitution Hall 17 February 2000 2:00 – 4:00 PM

The United Nations System-wide Special Initiative on Africa (UNSIA) will host a panel discussion on efforts to bring about enhanced coherence and better coordination in some of the UN’s work in Africa. UNSIA was launched in March 1996 by the UN Secretary General and the Executive Heads of UN system agencies including the President of the World Bank to support the positive political and economic trend in a number of African countries. It was designed to give practical meaning to the commitments made to Africa in the context of past global conferences and provide support to the operationalisation of Africa's own vision and development priorities. It is also intended to make development partnerships more effective, efficient and participatory, particularly with regard to Africa’s business and civil society and the creation of goal-directed country programs in various sectors.

The group of panelists including representatives of the World Bank, United Nations Development Program (UNDP), UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), UN Office of the Special Coordinator for Least Developed Countries (OSCAL), International Labour Organization, and UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) will share their experiences on working collaboratively for synergy and enhanced coherence in their development activities in Africa within the framework of the United Nations System-wide Special Initiative on Africa. The panelists will specifically provide highlights of their collaborative work in selected Africa-determined priority areas where significant advances have been made including Education, Health, Information Technology, Communication and Outreach, Governance, and Poverty Reduction through the Promotion of the Informal Sector and Employment Generating Opportunities. In addition to strengthening their working relationship with each other, the UN System agencies are also making efforts to strengthen their partnerships with bilateral donors, international and national Non-Governmental Organizations, private sector entities and other civil society organizations.

While emphasis continues on country focused and country-level driven activities, the UN System agencies are to also use the UNSIA as a framework for coordinating their work at the regional level.

National Summit participants are invited to take active part in this session which promises to be informative on the UN System’s work in Africa, and have the opportunity to exchange ideas and explore ways of working together with UN agencies in the areas of mutual interest and competence.

List of Participants:

                       Senior Communication Adviser

                       ECA

                       Mr. V. P. Diejomaoh

                       Director, Multi-disciplinary Team for East Africa

                       ILO

                      Principal Economic Affairs Officer

                       UN DESA/OSCAL