UN and business unveil new project to open Jo'burg Summit to the world

Virtually global - the recently launched virtual exhibit will open the World Summit on Sustainable Development to a wide global constituency

New York, 3 April 2002 - A new initiative between business and the United Nations has been hailed as an opportunity for people all over the world to participate in the upcoming World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg.

Officiating at today's launch of Virtual Exhibition (www.virtualexhibit.net) WSSD Secretary General, Nitin Desai said the initiative would open the summit to as wide a global constituency as possible.

"The Virtual Exhibition is all about making the summit accessible and open," he said. "We are inviting people from all over the world to tell us what they have achieved in the last ten years since (the first Earth Summit in) Rio, tell us what lessons they have learnt and share with us the experience they have had pursuing sustainable development objectives."

Virtual Exhibition is a joint project of BASD - Business Action for Sustainable Development - and UNDP - the United Nations Development Programme.

Billed as "a multi-media showcase of sustainable development initiatives", Virtual Exhibition will use web technology to profile sustainable development projects from all over the world. It will also provide a worldwide webcast of proceedings during the Johannesburg conference and encourage participation in the summit via a series of online exchanges.

As BASD Chair, Sir Mark Moody-Stuart explained at the launch:
"By visiting the Virtual Exhibition website at any time during the two weeks of the summit, you can see what is happening in Johannesburg or get a taste of what is happening in the wider world - all via a webcast tailor-made to suit your computer and its technical specifications."

Sir Mark said encouraging online interaction between summit delegates and the wider world would be one of Virtual Exhibition's main features.

"We will be helping people from all over the world participate in the summit by allowing them to communicate with delegates," he said. "The aim is to open up the summit to anyone with a modem and an opinion."

Mr Desai said this component of Virtual Exhibition would make the WSSD the first "truly interactive world summit".

"We hope to bring the world to Johannesburg," he said. "We want to make the 60,000 summit delegates aware that there are people in the field doing innovative things in the pursuit of sustainable development and give those people a chance to participate in the summit process."

On the ground in Johannesburg, Virtual Exhibition will have a prominent presence, Sir Mark explained.

"The Virtual Exhibition will be broadcast on large screens throughout the various summit venues in Johannesburg, keeping conference delegates informed of real initiatives being pursued in the real world - and serving as a reminder to delegates that the world is watching," he said.

UNDP Administrator, Mark Malloch Brown described the initiative as "innovative on two fronts".

"Virtual Exhibition represents an innovative partnership with the private sector and an innovative partnership with information technology," he said. "For Johannesburg to be a success, it must be more than just another conference of intergovernmental delegates - it must seek to involve a much wider constituency - and this is where Virtual Exhibit is so timely"

South African government representative Adi Paterson used the New York launch event to pledge the full support of his government to the Virtual Exhibition project, describing it as a venture of enormous importance to his country.

The Virtual Exhibition website went live on the internet immediately after the launch, at www.virtualexhibit.net.

Both the United Nations and BASD used today's launch to call for submissions of projects to be featured in the Virtual Exhibition, saying all projects should be submitted via the online application form on the website.

BASD is a joint initiative of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)