PRESS BRIEFING BY MONICA VILLELA GRAYLEY, SPOKESPERSON FOR GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT ABDULLA SHAHID
Good afternoon. It is good to be back and to see some colleagues here, who are new here, or let me get that right: I am the new one here but is very nice meeting you!
I will deliver a short briefing today and after that take your questions.
Please bear with us as we are still having some technical challenges to upload on our website.
The theme for this 76th Session is: ¡°Building resilience through hope ¨C to recover from COVID-19, rebuild sustainably, respond to the needs of the planet, respect the rights of people and revitalise the United Nations¡±
A Presidency of Hope delivering for People, Planet and Prosperity
As you know Mr. Abdulla Shahid brings a Presidency of Hope delivering for people, planet and prosperity. This is our theme for this session.
In his opening remarks at the GA Hall after taking his oath of office, on 14 September, President Shahid spoke about his Five Rays of Hope including his first priority which is recovering from the pandemic with vaccine for all.
The PGA will convene a meeting with Heads of State and Government, representatives of the academia, civil society, the private sector by early next year to produce a concrete plan to get vaccines for all.
He also mentioned that this 76th session is a ¡°super session for nature¡± as we will have several events such as the COP-26 in Glasgow, the Conference on the Convention of Biodiversity, and next year, Portugal will host the Conference on Oceans.
PGA¡¯s Agenda
I would like to share with you the PGA¡¯s agenda for today:? Mr. Shahid met the Executive Director of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵICEF, Ms. Henrietta Fore, earlier this morning. He also had a meeting with the General Director of FAO, Mr. Qu Dongyu.
As we speak, he is meeting with Permanent Observers to the United Nations in his Office. In the afternoon, there will be a meeting with Mr. ?scar Fern¨¢ndez Tarranco, ASG for Peacebuilding Support. Later this afternoon, the PGA will meet with H.E. Mr. Adonia Ayebare, the Ambassador of Uganda to the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ.
We will have all readouts for you.
PGA¡¯s Youth Fellowship
Earlier today, in his meeting with Henrietta Fore, they talked about the priorities of the Presidency of Hope. They discussed cooperation for vaccines, climate action and the impact of climate change for children in the world. PGA Shahid talked of his Youth Fellowship which I will brief you about this after the High-Level Week.
It is about bringing young foreign officers to New York for a year to learn more about the work of the General Assembly. This will be for candidates from the developing countries.
In his meeting with FAO, Ms. Shahid has accepted an invitation to take part in the World Food Forum in October, which is jointly organised by the SG¡¯s special envoy on Youth.
Finally, I would like to share with some of the events for next week.
General Debate and other events
The General Debate will be opened on 21 September. The High-Level Meeting to Commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the Adoption of the Durban Declaration and the Programme of Action, on 23 September.
The High-Level Plenary Meeting to Commemorate and Promote the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.
The High-Level Meeting on the Global Plan of Action on Trafficking in Persons.
The other mandated High-Level meetings will not take place until next year.
Last but not least: I hope you have the List of Speakers, if not, please send me an email and I will share it with you.
This is all from us. Do you have any questions?
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