January 2004

UNESCAP geared to meet challenges in 2004
Mr. Kim Hak-Su, the Executive Secretary of UNESCAP, has committed the organization's efforts to enhancing the impact of its work programmes in 2004. In his New Year’s message, Mr. Kim also called for greater partnerships with other UN agencies and regional bodies like the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). "Under my leadership over the past three years UNESCAP has worked hard to revitalize its work programmes,"he said. "The recent restructuring of the organization under the themes of Managing Globalization, Reducing Poverty and Emerging Social Issues has resulted in focused, needs-based and cost-effective projects aimed at improving the quality of life for the almost 3.9 billion people living in the Asia-Pacific region.... In 2004, I will focus the organization's efforts on consolidating the structural changes and enhancing the impact of UNESCAP programmes at the grassroots level." Priorities for 2004 include: reducing poverty and threats to human security in the Asia-Pacific region, sustaining the movement toward a multilateral trading system and bridging the digital divide. 2004 will also see the 60th UNESCAP Commission Session open in Shanghai, China in April, and will present the organization with "the perfect opportunity" to build regional cooperation, according to Mr. Kim.

Empowering youth to fight HIV/AIDS in Nepal
A HIV prevention training course for young people will be held in Kathmandu, Nepal between 15 and 20 January. Sponsored by the Government of Japan, the course aims to strengthen young people's ability to protect themselves from infection while engaging them as a positive force in fighting HIV/AIDS. The National Course on Life Skills-based Peer Education Training for HIV Prevention Among Young People will engage 20 young people from all over Nepal to learn how to make informed and responsible choices about their health, and how to impart these skills to their peers. Following the training, they are expected to reach 600 young people vulnerable to HIV infection. The course is jointly organized by UNESCAP and the Oxygen Research and Development Forum (ORDF), a Nepal-based NGO, under an ongoing project to build national capacity for integration of youth health concerns into non-formal education.

Innovation sought in disaster management
The Information, Communication and Space Technology Division (ICSTD) of UNESCAP with the European Space Agency (ESA) will hold a Regional Workshop on the Use of Space Technology Applications for Disaster Management in Southeast Asia between 27 and 30 January. The Workshop, to be held at the National University of Singapore, is the latest in a series of similar initiatives held in Beijing and Bangkok since 2002. Disaster management and space applications experts from 15 regional countries plus France will attend the forum, allowing for an exchange of information on current innovations in disaster management using space technology applications with a particular emphasis on managing floods. Regional and international projects, like the International Charter on Space and Major Disasters and its operational mechanism for pending natural disasters, will also be discussed with the overall aim of establishing a pilot disaster management project proposal for possible implementation at the sub-regional level. The Workshop falls under UNESCAP's Capacity Building for Disaster Management in Asia and the Pacific project, created to enhance the capacity of member countries to prepare for, and respond to natural disasters.