UNDP Administrator Ms Clark visits Finland and speaks at the University of Helsinki

Press release 101/2012
2 May 2012

UNDP Administrator Ms Clark visits Finland and speaks at the University of Helsinki

Ms Helen Clark, administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) will visit Helsinki on May 7. During her trip Ms Clark will meet the former president of Finland, Ms Tarja Halonen, Minister for Foreign Affairs Erkki Tuomioja and Minister for International Development Heidi Hautala. Discussions are likely to touch upon the close cooperation between Finland and the UNDP, as well as the up-coming Rio+20 Summit to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from June 20 to 22 this year. Administrator Clark will also meet representatives of the Environment Committee, the Foreign Affairs Committee, the Parliament and non-governmental organisations.

Ms Clark and former president Halonen will act as keynote speakers at the University of Helsinki in the Kapuscinski Lecture Series, named after the Polish writer Ryszard Kapuscinski. The event bears the title "Resetting the global development agenda at the Rio+20 summit." The Kapuscinski Lecture Series on Development Issues is organised by the European Commission and the UNDP. Lectures are held regularly at major universities across Europe. The lecture on May 7 will be followed by a press conference at 12 o'clock in the Teachers' Reading Room at the University of Helsinki.

The UNDP is a central operational agent of the United Nations. It concentrates mainly on poverty reduction and the advancement of the Millennium Development Goals. The UNDP operates in 177 countries globally and focuses on democracy and good governance; prevention of environmental threats and climate change; support in conflict prevention; and post-conflict recovery work. It is one of Finland's most important collaborative partners in multilateral development work.

Ms Clark was appointed as administrator of the UNDP in 2009, following her career as a prime minister of New Zealand. She visited Finland previously in October 2009.

More information: Councellor Tapio Wallenius, tel. +358 40 536 2422, email: Tapio.Wallenius@formin.fi or Intern Pieta Näsänen-Gilmore, tel. +358 40 526 9587, email: Pieta.Nasanen-Gilmore@formin.fi

Lecture registration: https://elomake.helsinki.fi/lomakkeet/34948/lomake.html