Governments, business leaders and civil society to advance action for Small Island Developing States at UN global gathering in Apia, Samoa- September 2014

WHAT
The Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States
Facing a range of challenges, small island developing states (SIDS) are counting on a crucial September United Nations conference to present their case to the international community in order to seek collaborative and innovative ways to improve their situation.

World leaders, CEOs, United Nations and civil society representatives attending the meeting will seek to galvanize renewed action for SIDS and articulate small island priorities for the next 20 years. This includes identifying how small island nations will transition to a more sustainable development path, including adapting to climate change, preserving the oceans and developing renewable energy sources. Partnerships to achieve these objectives will be at the heart of the conference and over 200 new partnerships are expected to be part of the conference outcome.

Major new commitments and initiatives on a range of issues expected to be announced will also have measurable impacts in advancing the economic, social, and environmental well-being of SIDS. The conference will thus provide a crucial opportunity to mobilize all sectors of society to promote equitable growth, social well-being, and a low-carbon economy, while at the same time preserving the environment on which many SIDS are dependent.

The meeting is the last high-level UN event before the Secretary-General's late September Climate Summit, and will be an important input into General Assembly discussions in New York.

WHO
World leaders, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Conference Secretary-General Wu Hongbo will be joined by business CEOs, parliamentarians, mayors, non-governmental organizations, academics, senior UN officials and representatives of many other non-state actors.

WHEN AND WHERE
The conference will be held from 1 to 4 September 2014 at the Faleata Sports Complex in Apia, Samoa. The Faleata Golf Course, which is adjacent to the conference site, will serve as a venue for pre-conference activities from 28–31 August, and for side events from 1–4 September.

Key Media Events

The latest listing of key events to take place during conference can be found at http://www.sids2014.org.

Plenary meetings:  The conference will consist of an opening and a closing ceremony and a total of six plenary meetings to be held from Monday, 1 September to Thursday, 4 September. The conference will also include six multi-stakeholder partnership dialogues on:

· Sustainable Economic Development (1 September, afternoon)
· Climate change and Disaster Risk management (2 September, morning)
· Social development in SIDS, health and non-communicable diseases, youth and women (2 September, afternoon)
· Sustainable Energy (3 September, morning)
· Oceans, Seas and Biodiversity (3 September, afternoon)
· Water and sanitation, food security and waste management (4 September, morning)

Pre-Conference Events:  As the host of the 3rd SIDS Conference, Samoa attaches great importance to pre-conference events to complement and reinforce the purpose and outcomes of the conference and partnership dialogues.

28 August: SIDS Youth Forum - Towards a Legacy of Achievement, Versatility, Opportunity through Partnership and Unity. The Forum will focus on identifying opportunities for young people from Small Island Developing States.
29 August: Major Groups and other Stakeholders Forum - The goal of this Forum is to focus on identifying durable partnerships through which the sustainable development of SIDS can be promoted.
30 August: Renewable Energy Forum - Renewable energy has the potential to play a key role in enhancing energy security in SIDS and assisting them to achieve their sustainable development objectives. This forum will identify ways for transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy resources.
30-31 August:  Private Sector Forum - This forum will provide a platform upon which ‘effective, innovative and concrete partnerships’ can be developed, strengthened and announced to support the implementation efforts of SIDS sustainable development priorities.

Side events: A final programme of side events is posted on
http://www.sids2014.org/sideevents and http://www.sids2014.org/parallel.