Beirut, 5 June 2012 (ESCWA Communication and Information Unit) – The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) is marking the World Environment Day (WED) 2012, which turns 40 this year. Since 1972, WED is celebrated annually on 5 June to raise awareness on prevailing environmental issues and encourage global action. The WED 2012 theme is “Green Economy: Does it include you?” WED bears a special importance this year, as it will be hosted in Brazil, only two weeks prior to Rio+20.

Beirut, 15 June 2012 (ESCWA Communication and Information Unit)– Under the umbrella of ESCWA and the League of Arab States (LAS), the Secretariat for the Arab Internet Governance Forum (Arab IGF) will hold its first Meeting of the Arab Multistakeholder Advisory Group (MAG) during 18-19 June 2012, at Fairmont Heliopolis and Towers Hotel in Cairo, Egypt.

Under the umbrella of ESCWA and the League of Arab States (LAS), the first meeting of the Multistakeholder Advisory Group (MAG) of the Arab Internet Governance Forum (Arab IGF) was held on 18-19 June 2012 in Cairo, Egypt. The meeting was convened by the Arab IGF secretariat, represented by the National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (NTRA) of Egypt, in collaboration with the Arab Administrative Development Organization (ARADO), and was sponsored by the Kuwait Information Technology Society (KITS) and CISCO Systems.

Tuesday, 26 June 2012 (ESCWA Communication and Information Unit)-- The water and energy sectors are both facing challenges related to climate change, energy security, increasing water scarcity, as well as issues associated with the population accessing each of these commodities. Due to this water-energy nexus, water and energy issues cannot be addressed separately when it comes to formulating strategies related to energy, water and the environment.