This conference will examine the current state of cryospheric research and will also provide a forum to discuss ongoing research efforts and international cooperation, to explore future research projects and to define a general strategy for cryosphere studies and management. This conference is an ideal opportunity to broaden communication among researchers and to highlight important research results, especially across central Asia. <br/>The cryosphere is that part of the Earth System consisting of all snow, ice and frozen ground on and beneath the surface of the Earth and ocean. It includes ice sheets, glaciers, ice caps, icebergs, sea ice, snow cover, permafrost and seasonally frozen ground, as well as lake- and river-ice. The cryosphere is a sensitive component of the climate system, and provides key indicators of climate change. Changes to components of the cryosphere may impact sea level, water resources, ecological status, the frequency of glacier lake outbursts and other natural hazards in mountainous regions, and thus have environmental and engineering significance. Changes in the cryosphere over Central Asia and the Eurasian continent would affect the livelihoods, security and potential survival of about two billion people. <br />Sponsors of the conference include the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); the National Nature Science Foundation of China (NSFC); the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China (MOST) and a variety of other international organizations and national agencies.<br /><br />The local organisers welcome contributions related to relevant cryospheric research subjects, particularly:<br />1. Climate change in cold and arid regions<br />2. Observed changes in cryosphere (including remote sensing of cryospheric changes) <br />3. Climatic and environmental record in the cryosphere<br />4. Cryosphere and sea level<br />5. Cryosphere and water resources<br />6. Cryosphere and ecology<br />7. Cryospheric simulation and projection<br />8. Cryospheric hazards<br />9. Adaptation of cryospherc changes and regional sustainable development<br />10. Cold regions engineering<br /><br />The local organisers cordially invite scientists, engineers, managers, and students as well as representatives of governmental agencies, media and the general public, who are interested in these topics to attend the conference. The official language of the conference will be English.

Education For All is a global partnership that calls for commitments and efforts by all the Member States, international organizations, bilateral agencies, civil society and the private sector. The Dakar Framework for Action adopted at the World Education Forum (Senegal, 26 – 28 April 2000) mandated UNESCO to co-ordinate this collective momentum while serving as the Secretariat, and its Director-General to convene annually a small and flexible group to monitor progress and mobilize additional support.<br/>The main purpose of the GEM will be to critically assess progress towards EFA based on the Global Monitoring Report and regional and national reports, and to agree on tangible actions for follow-up. The outcomes of the GEM will guide the agenda of the High Level Forum (HLF).

Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria and Pakistan are the nine most highly-populated countries of the South (E-9). Between them they represent more than 60 per cent of the world's population, over two-thirds of the world's illiterate adults and over half of the world's out-of-school children. <br/>At the 2012 Ministerial Review meeting, the E-9 countries will report on progress on specific actions since the last E-9 meeting in 2010 with ongoing monitoring to 2015. <br /><br />India will host the ninth E-9 Ministerial Review Meeting in New Delhi in 2012 and assume the chair of the E-9 Secretariat from 2012-2014. <br />

The main objective of the IITE-2012 (Institute for Information Technologies in Education) International Conference is to provide a space for reflection on strategies, policies and best practices of ICT applications in education, as well as of development and implementation of innovative pedagogy methods for achieving high-quality education for all (EFA) goals in the Member States.<br/>For this biannual conference, IITE-2010 brought together more than 100 participants from 25 countries. This time, it is expected that the number of participants will be doubled. The IITE Governing Board has recommended that IITE - 2012 should focus on policy dialogue on ICT use in education at all levels, mainstreaming “new pedagogy” for ICT-enhanced education.<br />The conference will be attended by policy and decision-makers of different levels, heads of leading universities, academic institutions and teacher training institutions, professionals and practitioners in the field of ICTs in education and innovative teachers, coordinators of UNESCO networks, representatives of NGOs, IGOs and private IT companies and vendors.

From 25 February 25 to 1 March 2013, governments and civil society representatives of Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay will continue the capacity-building programme which was launched in October 2012 with the generous support of the UNESCO/Japan Funds-in-Trust. This time, an intensive training will be delivered on drawing up inventories of intangible cultural heritage. Again, Mónica Lacarrieu and Francisco López Morales will be in charge of this training which will emphasize the key role that the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage grants to communities in the identification and definition of their heritage.<br />These sessions aim to equip participants with the fundamental knowledge and techniques to design and facilitate an inventorying process with the participation of communities and tailored to their particular circumstances. They will lay the groundwork for the field exercise that the tango community in Buenos Aires will carry out during five months.

Development objectives:<br /><br />• Enable the beneficiary countries to safeguard their intangible cultural heritage through effective implementation of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, thereby contributing to sustainable development.<br />• Promote better visibility of intangible cultural heritage, awareness of its significance and function in society, and mutual respect for the heritage of others, thereby fostering cultural diversity, intercultural dialogue and a culture of peace.<br /><br />Immediate objectives:<br /><br />• To assist beneficiary countries to ratify the Convention and meet their national obligations under the Convention, in particular with regards to safeguarding measures. <br />• To increase their possibilities to benefit from the mechanisms of international cooperation established by the Convention, including International Assistance from the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund.<br />• To build up a critical mass of national capacity, both in government institutions and in civil society, so that the beneficiary countries will have a sustainable framework for safeguarding intangible heritage and implementing the Convention.<br />Activities of technical assistance for the beneficiary countries will take place, especially with the National Commissions for UNESCO and the National Committees for the Safeguarding of the intangible heritage.<br /><br />The strategy for this training activity will be focused on inventorying.<br /> <br />Participants: Representatives of cultural institutions, university students, journalists, culture specialists, bearers and community members and the members of the National Committee for Safeguarding the Intangible Heritage.