The 21^st General Assembly of the Conference of NGOs was held 6-8 November 2000 on the topic "UN/NGO Dynamics in the 21st Century: Together for Social Justice, Equality and Peace". It was the first time the triennial gathering which normally meets in New York or Geneva convened in Vienna.

Mr. Harri Holkeri, President of the 55^th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, was the keynote speaker and the first GA President ever to address the CONGO General Assembly. In his address, he called upon NGOs to participate in a dialogue with the United Nations to develop the relationship between the UN and civil society, stressed the importance of participation of NGOs from the South and pledged his cooperation and support for initiatives developed by civil society.

In a similar spirit, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan in his message to the assembly, called upon NGOs to be the "guardians of the public interest..." and added that "...we at the UN believe that the way forward is through partnerships between the Organization and civil society."

Out-going president Afaf Mahfouz chronicled the gains CONGO has made during the last three years and the challenges that lay ahead for both the association and for the NGO community. In her Report of the President to the General Assembly, she highlighted major events, including NGO conferences in Kampala and Seoul, CONGO's Fiftieth Anniversary, support of NGO participation in five-year reviews and efforts to deal with the increasingly complex issue of NGO access to the United Nations.

During the 3-day meeting, members of the association elected their new president and members of the Board.

Renate Bloem of the World Federation of Methodist and Uniting Church Women was elected CONGO President for 2000-2003. In her acceptance remarks, Ms. Bloem focused on outreach, dialogue and training as strategies to help build diversity and enhance NGO effectiveness in dealing with the development issues of our time.

The meeting included the adoption of a series of resolutions by the Assembly.

Roundtables on the overall theme of UN/NGO dynamics me on three areas of concern: UN/NGO Relations, Racism & Related Intolerance and Poverty Eradication. The resulting series of recommendations from those discussions may be found in the Report of the General Rapporteur.

The 20^th General Assembly of the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations was held in Geneva, Switzerland in November 1997. The theme of the Assembly was "Defining the Future," and member organizations considered the challenges the United Nations and NGOs face heading into the 21^st Century. The Report of the Debate on this theme illustrates these challenges and some of the strategies NGOs are developing to meet them.

Many of the decisions taken at the Assembly have important implications for the future of CONGO and NGOs with respect to the United Nations system. The 20^th General Assembly passed resolutions on each of the following topics:

• Defining the Future 
• The Forum of the Millenium 
• NGOs and the UN General Assembly 
• Human Rights 
• Eradication of Poverty