Dear Colleagues and Friends, No. 4| June, 2015 My assignment to FES New York comes to an end this month. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our partners and friends for their co-operation, support and friendship during my time at the FES UN office since May 2013. I deeply value the goodwill, trust and support you so kindly extended to me and my team during the last two years. It has allowed us to jointly work for strengthening and enhancing just economic and social development, peace and security, and the reform of global governance. It has not only been an honor but a privilege and a pleasure to work with the wonderful staff at FES New York. I hope all of you will continue to extend your support to them and to my successor, Bettina Luise Rürup. My next assignment will be as Head of the Department of Western Europe and North America, based in Berlin which is truly a fascinating and challenging post to work and to live in but I will deeply miss the Big Apple. Please apologize that I will not have time to say goodbye to each and every one in person. With best wishes, Michèle Auga Director Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung- New York Office Upcoming Event:"Inclusive Sustainable Growth: The Transformative Approach of the Post-2015 Agenda for Sustainable Development" July 6, By invitation only

The New York Office of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung(FES) will host a luncheon on the occasion of the visit of Rita Schwarzelühr-Sutter, Parliamentary State Secretary in the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety to New York. Ms. Schwarzelühr-Suttern will participate in the Ministerial Segment of the UN High-Level Political Forum(HLPF), the body with ultimate responsibility for coordinating a plan of action for sustainable development. In the context of the upcoming United Nations 70th Anniversary Summit and the preparations for the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals of the Post-2015 development agenda, it is crucial to promote discussions on the mutually-reinforcing relation between economic inequality and environmental degradation. This luncheon will provide such a platform for UN Member States, key members of the UN Sustainability Secretariat and Civil Society as well as representatives from the New York City Mayor's Office of Sustainability. New Publication:"Ban Ki-Moon Successor- A Democratic UN Starts With a Democratic Election of its Leader" Volker Lehmann, FES Perspective June 2015 Historically, the selection of the UN Secretary-General(SG) has been dominated by the Permanent Five Members of the Security Council using their veto power to determine a lowest common denominator compromise candidate. This publication explains how the search for Ban Ki-moon's successor has become a global call for a substantial overhaul of this outdated and undemocratic process. The author discusses reform propositions and explains why UN Member States should throw their weight behind this movement for democratizing the UN: First, a successful overhaul of the SG selection process would benefit their reputation as constructive UN actors. And second, it would increase credibility and effectiveness of the global organization. Download Recent Event:"What do Malians Think of the Prospects for Peace? Findings from the Mali-Mètre Opinion Poll" June 18 In 2012, after the outbreak of an armed conflict in the north of Mali in January, the Mali office of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung(FES) launched Mali Mètre, a series of nationwide opinion surveys envisioned as an instrument of sociopolitical analysis. For the sixth issue of Mali Mètre, surveying began immediately after the signature of a peace agreement between the Malian government and some armed groups signed last May. The survey focuses on the perception of Malians of and the proposed institutional reforms, as well as the challenges for the international community to support the peace process. The diffusion and discussion of the findings of Mali Mètre are specially crucial as we approach the revision of the mandate of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali(MINUSMA) by the Security Council. In this context, the New York Office of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung organized a luncheon to present and examine

these findings with members of the Security Council and MINUSMA troop contributing countries, as well as experts from the Civil Society. Program Past Event:"The Notion of Progress in the Diversity of World Cultures" May 31- June 2 In September 2015 heads of governments around the globe will gather in New York for the 70th General Assembly of the United Nations. The UNGA 70 marks the 70th anniversary of the organization and the expiration of the Millennium Development Goals(MDGs), and it will also be the opening of the Summit for the Adoption of the Post-2015 Development Agenda. Thus, a new standard in the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs) will be inaugurated. As world leaders evaluate the current politics of development, and the policies and programs that international institutions such as the United Nations spearhead and promote, they will have to address the shortcomings and failures resulting from insufficient understanding of the cultures of the peoples these institutions claim to serve. This conference provided a platform for analyzing and debating the concept of progress, its evolution in time and its ambivalence across cultures. Day 1 featured: Jan Eliasson UN Deputy Secretary General gives the opening address; Yves Coppens ("Progress in 3 Million Years of Human History") Agnes Heller("Progress and Human Rights"), Marc Augé("The Ambivalence of Progress"), Klaus Töpfer("The Ambivalence of Progress"), Avital Ronell("The Notion of Progress and Women"), Ervin László("A Sciencebased Notion"), Michael Sandel("The Limits of Homo Oeconomicus"). Day 2 featured: Wole Soyinka("Development and Progress as a Political Reality in Africa"), John Mbiti ("Progress in the Cosmological and Religious Traditions of Africa"), Vladimir Kantor("The History of Ideas: A Russian Perspective"), Karan Singh("Progress and Development in India"), Ashis Nandy("Two Hundred Years of Silence"), Tu Weiming("Progress in Chinese Civilization"), Urs Schoettli("Japan, China and India in Cross-Cultural Perspective with Western Traditions"). Visit Our Website: www.fes-globalization.org/new_york Forward this email fes.associate@fesny.org|

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