For information only - not an official document

UNIS/OUS/143
3 May 2012

Re-issued as received

UNIDO to be honoured with high international award

VIENNA, 3 May (United Nations Industrial Development Organization) - The Director-General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Kandeh K. Yumkella, will receive the prestigious Global Leadership Award.

The award, presented annually by the United Nations Foundation and the United Nations Association of the USA, salutes leaders from a variety of sectors for their global leadership and support for the United Nations. This year's Global Leadership awardees also include the Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu; Variety, the entertainment industry magazine; and Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, Special Rapporteur on Syria and a leading UN independent human rights expert.

Past Honorees include, among others, U.S. President Bill Clinton and Prime Minister of Norway Jens Stoltenberg.

UNIDO's Yumkella is being honouredfor his work on a variety of global issues, including his promotion of the Sustainable Energy for All Initiative, and his contribution to poverty reduction, climate change mitigation and the advancement of the Millennium Development Goals.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Sustainable Energy for All Initiative sets three inter-linked and complimentary goals to be achieved by 2030: ensuring universal access to modern energy services, doubling the global rate of improvement of energy efficiency, and doubling the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix. Ban has appointed a high-level group of distinguished leaders in business, finance, government and civil society, which is co-chaired by Director-General Yumkella, and the Chairman of Bank of America, Charles O. Holliday.

"I am honoured to receive this award, and view it an appreciation of the work of UNIDO in general. More than any other multilateral organization, UNIDO has been at the forefront of the industry and environment nexus for many years now", said Yumkella. "Our assistance to countries in tackling poverty through productive activities, or implementing the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, and the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, is clear evidence of that."

The UNIDO Director-General added, "The Rio+20 Conference will bring environmental sustainability together with social and economic development, and is expected to form a blueprint for future global development goals. In the run-up to Rio+20, there is growing agreement that in a resource- and carbon-constrained world, the next phase of globalization should be as green as possible. However, such a shift to a "green economy" must not happen at the expense of the developmental priorities of developing countries, and any definition of "green economy" must provide diverse opportunities for both economic development and strategies for poverty reduction."

UN Foundation Founder and Chairman, Ted Turner, UN Foundation President, Timothy E. Wirth, and UNA-USA Executive Director, Patrick Madden, will take part in the Global Leadership Awards Dinner in New York in October.

"This year's honorees demonstrate that individuals and organizations from all corners of the globe can elevate the UN's work and help the world," said Madden. "American communities applaud the work of these distinguished awardees as they help educate and advocate on behalf of the UN every day."

For over 50 years, the Global Leadership Awards Dinner has called attention to the vital role the UN plays in helping the global community advance peace, prosperity and justice, and recognizes individuals and organizations for their outstanding leadership in furthering the purposes of the United Nations Charter and advancing UN causes-from global health and economic development, to human rights and environmental sustainability.

Named one of "New York's Top 100 Events 2012," the Global Leadership Awards Dinner brings together a distinguished audience of nearly 500 policymakers, diplomats, UN supporters, business leaders, celebrities, and members of the media, as well as UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, UN Goodwill Ambassadors and Messengers of Peace, and representatives from the US Mission to the UN.

For more information on the awards ceremony, please visit www.unausa.org/annualdinner

 

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For more information on UNIDO, please contact:

Mikhail Evstafyev
UNIDO Advocacy and Communications Coordinator
Telephone: (+43-1) 26026-5021
Mobile: (+43-699) 1459-7329
Email: M.Evstafyev[at]unido.org