U.S. on the road to Bali:
Finalizing commitments at PrepCom IV

A US Citizens Consultative Meeting for the
World Summit on Sustainable Development

Thursday, May 16, 2002
9:30 am to 12:30

Location:
National Wildlife Federation
5th Floor Conference Room
1400 16th Street NW
Washington, DC

Please RSVP to info@citnet.org and/or 301-770-6375.

Those not in the Beltway area can participate via conference call.

THE FOURTH AND FINAL PREPCOM

From May 24 to June 7 several thousand delegates from governments, NGOs, industry, trade unions, the media, and the major groups will converge on the island of Bali in southern Indonesia to participate in the last of the global preparatory meetings for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD).

For those wishing to "influence the agenda," the official statements of national commitment for implementing sustainable development and Agenda 21, this will be the place. The revised Chair's paper is now out (see
www.johannesburgsummit.org ). According to the organizers, Bali will be the last chance to shape the Chair's Implementation Paper, the Political Ministerial Declaration, and other "Type I" outcomes to be signed by Heads of State in Johannesburg next August.

It will also be the place where, at the beginning, the major groups will help set the tone through their position statements and comments in the Multi-Stakeholder Dialogues, as well as engage the broader community of NGOs at the Indonesian People's Forum .

As to the U.S. on the road to Bali, three major questions being asked around the world:

* In what ways will the US government help move forward or block world efforts to achieve sustainability?
* In what ways will US NGOs actively promote global sustainability efforts as well as address their domestic needs and responsibilities?
* Will the American people pay any attention to the event and critical issues of the World Summit?

CITIZENS CONSULTATION

The US Country Report is now out and most of us are now a lot more familiar with the issues, strategies and what's at stake. Join us this Thursday to ask the US delegation to Bali about their preparations and positions and find out what your fellow citizens are planning. Let them know what you think is important. For those groups going to Bali, what message do you want them to bring?

AGENDA

9:30 am - NGO discussion and strategy. What do your fellow NGOs have on the table? What are the issues and strategies that have emerged over the past months? What's still possible?

10:45 am - Briefing and discussion of US preparations and positions. With Jonathan Margolies of the State Department and other members of the US Delegation to the WSSD.

Again, please RSVP to info@citnet.org and/or call 301-770-6375.

For more information about the World Summit, visit the Citizens Guide to the World Summit:at http://www.citnet.org/worldsummit/

If you are not on the USCPC-News listserver and would like to be added for US-oriented news about the World Summit, please let us know at info@citnet.org.

Organized by the Citizens Preparatory Committee for the World Summit on Sustainable Development.

Special thanks to the National Wildlife Federation, the Citizens Network for Sustainable Development, and the Integrative Strategies Forum.