Dear Focal Points,

Welcome to the 11^th issue of the UN-Business Focal Point newsletter!

Young people are a powerful resource for democratic transformation and are critical actors in the realization of the Millennium Development Goals. At the same time, young people in Ukraine encounter a mix of uncertainties and impediments that reinforce their social exclusion and prevent them from fully participating in development and decision-making processes..

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) have signed a partnership agreement aimed at tackling corruption in the corporate sector, and are publishing the first ever ‘Global Compendium of Good Practices’ in the field of corporate anti-corruption policies and measures...

Sports provide children with the opportunity to gain both self-confidence and the respect of others, simply by nurturing their natural abilities. For refugee youth, many of whom are subject to psycho-social problems, sports have wide ranging benefits, instilling positive values of self-assurance and comradeship...

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Microsoft Corp signed a memorandum of understanding to work together on leveraging information and communication technology (ICT) solutions to help address today's complex environmental challenges...

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria announced that it has signed a pilot partnership agreement with Standard Bank, Africa’s largest banking group in terms of assets, geographic spread and market capitalization, to offer pro bono support to Global Fund grant recipients in selected African countries...

A new step in the development of telemedicine has been taken by UNDP within the framework of the international UN Global Compact initiative. The Minsk district has become the first pilot region of Belarus where cellular communication technologies were integrated into telemedicine practice...

IOM’s focus on developing new partnerships remains on understanding and appreciating what the private sector has to bring to the table. IOM seeks to forge partnerships with private sector actors in areas and subjects of mutual interest and shared values with full respect for each other's resources, expertise, knowledge and skills...

Some additional new partnerships with short summaries and links to further information...

On 29 January 2009 in a speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged business leaders worldwide to embrace “global cooperation and partnership on a scale never before seen”...

The Equator Prize 2008 was awarded on October 6^th 2008 at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Barcelona, Spain. Among the twenty-five winners in 2008, the Artisan’s Association of Arbolsol and Huaca de Barro of the Mórrope District in Peru stands out as a noteworthy community-based, integrated business model...

In early March 2009, the United Nations Global Compact and the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) convened Advancing Women in the Global Marketplace, a consultation to explore the role of business in improving the status of women around the world...

The electrical and electronics industry is the world’s largest and fastest growing manufacturing industry.  Scrap and waste from electrical and electronic equipment, so called e-waste, comprises a multitude of different products with varying impacts on the environment, from toxic pollution to emissions that cause global warming and ozone layer depletion...

On 3 February 2009, UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé met for the first time with John Tedstrom, President of the Global Business Coalition on AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GBC). At the meeting, Mr. Sidibé explained his vision and priorities for UNAIDS and the business rationale for further engaging the private sector in scaling up universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. They also discussed some specific ways to strengthen the on-going partnership between UNAIDS and the GBC...

On 5th February 2009, Malawi's National Anti Corruption Day, His Excellency the State President, Bingu wa Mutharika launched the National Anti Corruption Strategy under the theme "Fighting Corruption: Responsibility for All". This strategy is a follow-up to the Declaration on Zero Tolerance on Corruption signed by the Government of Malawi two years ago...

Promoting health among the world's poorest populations brought leaders from various nations, the global health community, biopharmaceutical companies, the media and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) together on 23 February 2009, highlighting the power of partnerships in advancing the global public health agenda...

A baseline analysis of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) conducted in 2007 observed that the direct involvement of Governments in promoting CSR across the new European Union (EU) member states and candidate countries was diverse. The report, put together by UNDP in Lithuania, was conducted in order to identify actors and assess their engagement in promoting CSR; the level of business engagement in CSR; collect examples of good practices, tools and recommendations for CSR in the region; and to promote national and local capacity building for implementing CSR...

Ms. Lindita Daija is the project manager for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and the UN Global Compact Network at UNDP Kosovo in Prishtine as well as the project manager for the office’s Economic Development and Employment Programme...

Building a 21st century educational system as well as a functioning and active civil society in countries like Ukraine is as important as it is difficult. However, a number of educational and training initiatives are currently underway in Ukraine, with many of them being organized in partnership with businesses. One of these businesses is Intel, where Tatiana Nanaieva, Corporate Affairs Manager at Intel Ukraine, has been working on educational partnerships for over six years...

For some time, there has been news of a website the UN is building to facilitate partnerships with the private sector. After a substantial legal process, the contract has now been signed (see photo) and all UN Private Sector Focal Points will shortly be called upon for their input into the new site...

The International Trade Forum is the magazine of the International Trade Centre (ITC). It focuses on trade promotion and export development, as part of ITC’s technical cooperation program with developing countries and economies in transition...

The names and contact information of new colleagues and other personnel changes...