Practical Information for Participants

36th session of the General Conference

LEADERS FORUM

26-27 October 2011

1. The three sessions of the Leaders’ Forum will take place on Wednesday 26 October from 9.30 am to 1 pm and to 3 pm to 6 pm and on Thursday, 27 October 2011, from 10 am to 1 pm, at UNESCO Headquarters – 7, Place de Fontenoy, 75007 Paris – in conference room I (ground floor).

2. Ministers and Heads of delegations as well as other members of delegations can have access to Room I with their registration badge for the General Conference. No special registration is foreseen for the Leaders Forum. In Room I, each delegation will have four seats, clearly indicated by the plates with the country names.

3. Additional country representatives, members of the Secretariat and the Press can follow a live transmission of the debate in Room II. The Forum will also be accessible through a live webcast on the Internet.

4. The three sessions will be devoted to the following theme:

• “How does UNESCO contribute to building a culture of peace and to sustainable development?”

A background document has been prepared by the Secretariat and is accessible in English and French on the website of the General Conference.

5. The Forum will be opened at 9.30 am by the President of the General Conference, the Chairperson of the Executive Board and the Director-General of UNESCO. Participants are requested to be seated in the conference room by 9.15 am to await the arrival of the Heads of State or Government.

6. Each of the three sessions will start with keynote addresses from Heads of State or Government. (with a maximum of 15 minutes each) to introduce the debate, which will be guided by a moderator in an open and lively manner.

7. The sessions will be moderated by Ms Zeinab Badawi, Presenter of World News Today on both BBC Four and BBC World News and Mr Stephen Cole, Senior Presenter Al Jazeera English, Doha and London.

8. After the keynote addresses, each participant intervening in the debate will be given 3 minutes to speak, with the possibility to take the floor several times during the debate, at the discretion of the moderator. Ministers will be given priority by the moderators, while deputy ministers and other officials are also welcome to intervene.

9. The moderators will open a list of speakers at the beginning of each session and update it, with the assistance of the Secretariat, throughout the session.

10. Ministers wishing to circulate a longer statement or a written contribution are welcome to send their text to the Secretariat (c.descombris@unesco.org) and such material will be posted on the Forum’s website.

11. The address of the website is http://www.unesco.org/bsp
Participants are kindly requested to bring their own copies of the background document as well as other documents issued for the 36th session; in order to avoid unnecessary paper wastage.