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By Abimbola Akosile

The annual joint conference of the United Nations and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) concluded  in Bonn, Germany,  has called on  civil society to encourage people to realise that their local concerns were connected to the larger global issues.

Delegates to the three-day 64th annual conference of the UN and NGOs, organised by the Department of Public Information (DPI), in partnership with the DPI/NGO Executive Committee, Germany and the UN Volunteers (UNV) programme, stressed the need to “connect the dots” between civil society groups dealing with various issues for greater impact on global problems.

The theme of this year's conference was ‘Sustainable Societies Responsive Citizens’ and was an opportunity for NGOs and civil society to interact as they prepare for next year's UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in Brazil, according to a UN release.

The UN Under-Secretary for Communications and Public Information, Kiyo Akasaka, told the conference's final news conference that the gathering was an important step in dialogue and cooperation between the UN and non-governmental organisations. The final declaration would be sent to organisers of the Rio+20 meeting, he said.

The Executive Coordinator of the UN Volunteers Programme, Flavia Pansieri, said that the goal of “connecting the dots” between sustainable communities and public engagement had been realised.

Ms. Pansieri expressed her appreciation for the constant and strong support of the partners with whom they had worked to organise the conference.

According to the Chair of the 64th DPI/NGO Conference, Felix Dodds, Germany was playing a major leadership role in the global discussions on environmental matters, noting that the conference was the first of three major environmental meetings the country would host in the coming months.

Dodds said the final declaration was rich in knowledge, information and ideas and encouraged organisations to use the document to trigger debate.