Members of the Diplomatic Council have the opportunity to take part in the 27th session of the UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development. This will take place from April 15 to 19 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

This year there are two priority topics:

Theme 1: How to harness digitalization to advance human development,

Theme 2: Global cooperation in science, technology and innovation for development.

Members who are interested in attending should register in advance. The DC General Secretariat will review this and then register the member as a delegate of the Diplomatic Council at the UN. Information on the further procedure will be sent after registration.  A point of honor: If you register, you go.

Official DC delegations to the UN

One of the advantages of membership of the Diplomatic Council, among many other benefits, is the opportunity to take part in UN conferences all over the world as part of an official DC delegation. Most of these are face-to-face conferences, but some can also be attended online. Participation is sometimes subject to certain requirements, such as demonstrable expertise in the respective field. In any case, approval is required from both the General Secretariat of the Diplomatic Council and those responsible for the relevant UN conference.

Advisors to the United Nations

The opportunity to participate in conferences results from the UN Consultative Status of the Diplomatic Council at the United Nations. This is the highest recognition at global level that a civil society organization such as the Diplomatic Council can achieve. This is also the reason why DC members can call themselves "Consultants to the United Nations".

Advice can be provided not only through participation in conferences, but also, for example, through written submissions to the UN or the organization of DC sessions within the framework of UN conferences. For example, as part of the UN Water Conference 2023, the Diplomatic Council presented the book "Battle for Water" in a session, which was written by DC Business Consul Claude Piel and published by the Diplomatic Council. The Diplomatic Council was represented with delegations at four UN conferences in 2023. These included the Social Forum of the Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva, the UN Commission on Science and Technology in Lisbon and the Geneva Peace Week.

Global networking

Participation in UN conferences is of great interest for several reasons. Many DC members have something to say to the world with a strong sense of mission - no framework is better suited to this than getting involved at the United Nations. In addition, networking at UN events is characterized by a particularly high international level. Current and former heads of government, ministers, secretaries of state, CEOs and board members of well-known companies can be met on site in droves. And, of course, the global themed conferences are ideal for keeping up to date on a global scale.

To clarify: UN conferences are sober and characterized by strongly content-oriented working sessions. Participation is therefore only advisable if you are significantly involved in the topic in question.