More than 60 representatives working in international forums will meet this week to discuss how to improve the participation of the public in their processes. The two-day workshop, "Involving the public in international forums dealing with the matters related to the environment" opens at the Palais des Nations, in Geneva, Switzerland, on 20 June 2007.
The workshop will be jointly chaired by Hanne Inger Bjurstrom, Chair of the Parties to the Aarhus Convention, and Professor Marc Pallemaerts, former Chair of the Parties.
Professor Michel Prieur (University of Limoges, France) will present a report on the state of the art on issues raised by public participation in international forums. The study was commissed by France especially for the workshop.
The event is being organized by United Nations Economic Commission under the auspices of the Aarhus Convention's Task Force on Public Participation in International Forums.
Experts from a diverse range of organizations, including the European Bank for Recontruction and Development, the World Bank and the European ECO Forum, are also expected to participate.
