The series will address the following questions, among others: What does it mean to Bonn to be the German city of the United Nations? How does the work of the United Nations affect urban society, Bonn citizens, and organizations and businesses based here? How are the United Nations and the city connected? Who works with whom and how? What networks and interfaces exist? What impulses do scientists from Bonn provide for international discourses, for example on sustainability, disaster prevention or biodiversity? What does it mean for international non-governmental organizations to operate from Bonn? How do Bonn citizens contribute to the implementation of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations?
Kick-off event on May 5
The series will kick off on Wednesday, May 5, 2021, from 5 to 7 p.m. with an event titled "Engage Locally - Impact Globally," which will take place on the Zoom platform.
Millions of people around the world are committed to the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Many of them do so on a voluntary basis. Within the United Nations, the Bonn-based Volunteers Program coordinates volunteer engagement at the global level. What volunteering means for societies both globally and locally is visible here in Bonn as well - not only in the environment of major conferences, but especially through the commitment of Bonn's volunteers.
After the opening by Bonn's Deputy Mayor Melanie Grabowy, the Executive Coordinator of the Bonn-based United Nations Volunteers Program and the Secretary-General of the German Commission for UNESCO will speak.
The event will present organizations and opportunities to get involved in Bonn or abroad in an interactive format and aims to encourage dialogue and engagement. Registration for the kick-off event is now open at www.eveeno.com/318510903 (opens in a new tab). Registered participants will also receive their access data via the portal.
Further events in the series will be held at the end of May, in June, September and October. Information can be found on the anniversary pages of the city of Bonn at www.bonn.de/uno-bonn25 (German) and https://international.bonn.de/un-bonn25 (English).
The planned topics:
Team-up - Together for the SDGs
To implement the 17 major Sustainable Development Goals, not only achievable "steps" are needed, but also "teams". When people tackle things together, things happen. And everyone can join in: Small and large, young and old, in the private sphere or even at work. The event presents teams from Bonn that are working together to achieve a good future.
Global action - local interaction
The work of the BINGOs, Bonn's international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), will also be addressed in the series. Alongside the United Nations, they are what make Bonn an important hub for global issues. All of them are pursuing the SDGs, and their topics and focus of work are diverse. They range from sustainable urban development to Paralympic sports. Quite a few BINGOs are looking at how production and trade can function according to social and ecological criteria, especially in agriculture and forestry. The Fair Trade movement, for example, has its global headquarters in Bonn. Others deal with renewable energies, because wind, sun, water, biomass and co are the energy sources on which the future is built. Most BINGOs use their location in Bonn to act hand in hand with the UN secretariats in Bonn, organizations under international law such as the International Renewable Energy Agency and many other organizations based here.
At the event, interested parties will learn more about the work of some of these exciting organizations and how the BINGOS are networked locally in Bonn. The event language is English.
Listen to science made in Bonn
In another part of the series, scientists from Bonn report on their work with and for the United Nations. Bonn is home to numerous excellent research institutions. Some of them work closely with and for the UN organizations based here. Why does the UN need science? How can research promote global debates? What scientific services are provided for the UN in Bonn? And how does cooperation with the UN system work?
#UNBonn25 Quiz - Test your knowledge about the UN City of Bonn
You can also test your knowledge about the UN City of Bonn during an entertaining quiz evening. A #UNBonn25 quiz in English will additionally be offered in cooperation with the event series BonnExpat.
Background 25 years UN City Bonn
The cornerstone for Bonn's development into a German city of the United Nations was laid in 1996 with the settlement of the Volunteers Program (UNV); the Climate Secretariat (UNFCCC) followed a little later. Twenty-five years later, the UN is represented in Bonn by more than 20 institutions and about 1,000 employees and has become the center for sustainability within the United Nations, surrounded by a growing network of governmental, scientific, economic and civil society actors. A diverse program is planned for the anniversary year, as soon as the pandemic situation allows.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)