The Civil Society Forum will take place in León, Spain on 5 November. The meeting is convened and hosted by the Institute for the Elderly and Social Services (IMSERSO) of the Spanish Ministry for Work and Social Affairs. The forum co-ordinator is Mr Dirk Jarre.

The UNECE secretariat is working closely with NGOs in preparation for the Ministerial Conference. NGO representatives participated in the meeting of the Preparatory Committee (link to the meeting page) and are contributing to the drafting process of the ministerial declaration (link to the declaration comments page). There will be a specific Civil Society Forum but it should be noted that the main conference is an intergovernmental one and that due to space constraints it is likely that only a limited number of NGO representatives will be able to follow the proceedings in the conference room. Overflow rooms will be provided with an audio-video link to the conference hall.

Modalities for registration of NGO representatives

All non-governmental organizations having consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, or having been accredited to the second World Assembly on Ageing and active in the UNECE region, are automatically accredited to the UNECE Ministerial Conference. The only requirement is to register through a completed registration form.

Other NGOs active in the UNECE region and interested in the field of ageing will have to seek accreditation with the UNECE according to the arrangements established by ECOSOC resolution 96/31. These NGOs should submit a completed registration form and one page of A4 containing a statement on the purpose of the organization they are representing.

Completed application forms and requests for accreditation have to be submitted to the UNECE Secretariat by 15 October 2007.

To register, please mail or fax the completed registration form to:

Population Activities Unit (PAU)
UNECE
Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10
Telephone: + 41 22 917 2468
Telefax: + 41 22 917 0107

Or send an Email to ageing@unece.org indicating "NGO Registration for Len Ministerial Conference" as subject matter.

For further information please consult:

• The draft rules of procedure
• The ECOSOC guidelines for NGO accreditation