Media Advisory Innovative Solutions, Cutting Edge Partnerships Take Centre Stage As UNEP Prepares to Host Global Development Expo:

Media Advisory Innovative Solutions, Cutting Edge Partnerships Take Centre Stage As UNEP Prepares to Host Global Development Expo:

Opening on 28 October, 10:00 a.m., UN Complex

Nairobi, 14 October 2013 – This month, Nairobi will open its doors to the world’s preeminent forum for sharing ideas and launching partnerships across the developing world. The 2013 Global South-South Development Expo will be hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) from 28 October to 1 November under the timely theme “Building Inclusive Green Economies: South-South Cooperation for Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication”. It will bring together high-level policy makers and both solution providers and seekers, including businesses, organizations and citizens. Exciting events are scheduled throughout the week, including: •    Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations Jan Eliasson, UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner and others will speak at the High Level Opening Ceremony (28 October) •    President Kenyatta will inaugurate the Expo’s exhibits pavilion with a ribbon cutting ceremony (28 October) •    International football superstar Yaya Touré will be unveiled as the newest UNEP Goodwill Ambassador (29 October) •    An evening reception will showcase winners of the SEED awards, which honor social and environmental start-up enterprises in emerging economies, developing and least developed countries. (31 October) •    A closing press conference will announce new partnerships and communicate the outcomes of the Expo (1 November) The Expo exhibits pavilion will showcase more than 70 Southern development solutions in interactive booths throughout the week. UNEP will be providing the media with detailed daily highlights every morning throughout the Expo. Notes to Editors: For a compilation of South South success stories – including the ones listed below – please visit http://www.unep.org/south-south-cooperation/case/caselist.aspx •    SCRAP: The Pacific Region Scrap Metal and Plastic Recycling Program: A partnership across public, private and civil sectors in the Pacific islands, which has resulted in a tailored “can do” island-by-island approach to removing scrap metal and plastic. •    MedPAN: The Network of Managers of Marine Protected Areas in the Mediterranean: A partnership among more than 40 members that coordinates training events, practitioner/ peer networks, field visits and study tours, network expertise interaction and exchanges in support of marine protected areas. •    “Cogen in Africa” at the James Finlay Kenya Ltd Tea Estate: A programme operated through a cohort of international organizations and a Kenyan NGO, which has supported the installation of an 800 kW biomass-fired cogeneration facility to provide process heat and reduce the electricity consumption from the grid. •    The West African Regional Integrated Production and Pest Management (IPPM) Programme: A regional initiative to reduce the reliance on pesticide use in West Africa through a number of smaller projects in Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso and Benin.