New York/USA — Between June 30 and July 3, 2008, the UN headquarters, in New York City, hosted the High-Level Segment Meeting of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

Under the theme "Implementing the internationally agreed goals and commitments in regard to sustainable development”, the meeting gathered Heads of State, Ministerial Councils, High Commissioners and International Agencies of the United Nations. Organizations of the civil society with consultative status at the ECOSOC were also invited to participate in the meeting and in the round table debates of the Development Cooperation Forum (DCF) and the Annual Ministerial Review (AMR).

The Legion of Good Will (LGW), with general consultative status at the ECOSOC since 1999, was invited to participate with the objective of contributing to the theme. During these days, the Organization organized an exhibition of the topics discussed during the 2nd Forum of the Solidary Society Network Innovation Fair, held in several parts of South America in the beginning of this year, on Sustainable Development.

Art on Canvas

Art is also an important way to promote Sustainable Development. Invited by the Legion of Good Will, renowned Brazilian plastic artists got together in an itinerant art exhibition.

The paintings were made during the 2nd Forum of the Solidary Society Network Innovation Fair, a series of multistakeholder events promoted by the LGW in Latin America in March, 2008, in contribution to the 2008 ECOSOC High Level Segment. Three of these paintings were exhibited at the United Nations headquarters during the event. The selected paintings were:


Title: Global Warming
Artist: Donizete Garcia
Technique: Mixed
Theme: Warm up the hearts and not the Planet

Title: Pandora
Artist: Patrícia de Kaiser
Technique: Mixed
Theme: Hope survives

Title: Arc of Time
Artist: Tão Fercaj
Technique: Acrylic on canvas
Theme: Civilization should expand itself integrated to the Environment with the understanding that Nature is the center of our survival. Awareness is the key.


Breakfast about Education

Besides the participation in the High Level Segment Meeting, the LGW was designated by the ECOSOC, among the three thousand entities with consultative status, to represent the civil society in the field of education, due to the relevant work it develops for almost 60 years forming Brains and Hearts, during a breakfast with a ministerial round table carried out by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), that occurred on July 1, 2008, at 8:30 a.m.

On the opportunity, the Legion of Good Will made an exhibition about the Ecumenical Citizen Pedagogy, an educational line proposed by the educator Paiva Netto, which is successfully applied in the socioeducational centers of the Organization in Brazil and abroad, as a contribution towards the educational policies of the countries.

Brazilian awareness in relation to the Environment


On July 3, 2008, at 10 a.m., the Legion of Good Will, in the ECOSOC High Level Segment, promoted a panel with the theme From Awareness to Action: Brazilian strategies to protect the Environment and the Amazon.


On the opportunity, the event focused on the following topics: Environmental Education; Ecological Stations and Areas of Environmental Protection, in the lecture given by Senator Ideli Salvatti; and Renewable Energies and food security, given by the Federal Deputy Beto Albuquerque.


Translation: Jéssica Botelho
Revision: Rosana Bertolin