PRESIDENT’S INTRODUCTION |

I have three distinct messages for the CoNGO Membership in this month’s E-Newsletter.
A. This is the last CoNGO E-Newsletter that will be done by Taeyoung Kim, our intern from Kyung Hee University, Korea. He leaves us next week after a very productive six months in Geneva, and will pursue further studies. I express deep appreciation to Taeyoung for his competence, readiness to help in all areas and circumstances, and for very usefully covering a variety of UN and NGO meetings so that the CoNGO office could be well informed of developments and opportunities. Best wishes for your future, Taeyoung !

The Conference of Non Governmental Organizations in consultative relationship with the United Nations (CoNGO)is an independent, international, non-profit membership association of non-governmental organizations (NGOs). It facilitates the participation of NGOs in United Nations debates and decision-making. CONGO is most active at the major UN centres of New York, Geneva and Vienna but its work stretches out to all regions of the world. CONGO was founded in 1948. Since then it has relentlessly worked to ensure that NGO voices be heard throughout the international arena. CONGO’s role in mobilizing NGOs to form the first worldwide NGO forum on human rights in 1968, its role in conceiving forms of NGO participation in UN world conferences and its advocacy on behalf of NGOs at UN Headquarters highlight CONGO’s chief objectives: to ensure that NGOs be present when governments discuss issues of global concern at the United Nations and to facilitate NGO discussions on such issues.