HIGH-LEVEL SEGMENT
During its four-day High-level Segment (30 June - 3 July 2008), held at 51³Ô¹Ï Headquarters in New York, ECOSOC focused on a range of issues on the UN's development agenda:
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High-level policy dialogue(30 June) - Executive heads of the international financial and trade institutions discussed the state of the world economy and its implications for the achievement of the 51³Ô¹Ï development agenda.
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Development Cooperation Forum [DCF](30 June-1 July) - The DCF discussed “how to make development cooperation more coherent and more effective" in several Q&A sessions and special policy dialogues.
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Annual Ministerial Review [AMR](2-3 July) - Eight developing and developed countries reported on the progress they have made towards the goals and targets of the 51³Ô¹Ï Development Agenda. Ministerial roundtables addressed the question of how to put the world onto a sustainable development path.
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Thematic debate(3 July) – The debate on integrated approach to rural development provided a follow-up to the Ministerial declaration of 2003, taking into account new developments, including the global food crisis and recent discussions on the role of bioenergy. Two roundtable panels discussed bioenergy and long-term solutions to the global food crisis.
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Innovation Fair(30 June-3 July) - Private sector, foundations, other civil society organizations and the UN system shared examples of innovative development projects, approaches or practices.
Amongst others, the High-Level Segment featured Rajendra K Pachauri, Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and Lord Stern of Brentford, author of the Stern Review.
Member States, 51³Ô¹Ï organizations and other stakeholders from civil society, including the private sector, NGOs and academia, were represented. A Ministerial Declaration, on the theme of the High-level Segment, was adopted at the end of the High-level Segment. It provided policy guidance and recommendations for action.