At the United Nations Civil Society Conference held in Nairobi on May 9 – 10, IFSW was represented by former African Regional President and Global Vice President Charles Mbugua, of the IFSW United Nations Commission.
The event was a precursor to the UN Summit of the Future to be held in September 2024 in New York which will bring together world leaders to forge a new international consensus on how to “deliver a better present and safeguard the future”.
The Nairobi Civil Society Conference which was attended by over 3,000 delegates from all over the world discussed and gave their inputs to the five key areas of the Pack for the Future, namely; sustainable development and financing for development, international peace and security; science, technology and innovation, and digital cooperation; youth and future generations; and transforming global governance.
Among others, the civil society groups recommended the following;
- Transformation towards an eco-social world.
- Financing that addresses governance issues.
- Prioritising of financing around renewable and recyclable energy.
- Further discussion on why politics has been unable to deal with the inherent problems devastating humanity
Charles Mbugua, IFSW Representative to the UN in Nairobi, signing the “Pack for the Future” amongst thousands of other participants.
The conference was closed by UN Secretary-General António Guterres who called for actions on de-escalating global conflicts and renewed his call for the international community to support actions on the climate crisis and the civil strife undermining the quest for stability and sustainable peace in Africa.
Leader of the IFSW UN Commission, Priska Fleischlin thanked Charles for his representation of IFSW. She said, “For many years Charles has actively represented IFSW at the UN Headquarters in Nairobi. He continues contributing vital social work messages on many issues. This conference summarises the civil society voice on ‘the Pact of the Future’, a document the United Nations will discuss in September 2024 during the ‘Summit of the Future’, examining a process of global agreement of change for the future. The IFSW UN Commission will continue to be actively engaged, promoting the profession’s learnt experience of what works and the People’s Charter for a New Eco-Social World People’s Charter for a New Eco-Social World”.