The ECPD Eighth International Conference on "Reconciliation, Tolerance and Human Security in the Balkans - New Balkans in a Changing World with a Changing Europe" was held at the City Hall in Belgrade, Serbia, on 20 October 2012. It was chaired by Ambassador Takehiro Togo, Chairman of the ECPD Academic Council, and opened with a special message from Former UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros Ghali who is President of the ECPD Honorary Council.

IEF board member Peter Adriance, who is the Representative for Sustainable Development of the Baha'is of the United States, has just had another piece published in the Huffington Post on The Power of Interfaith Collaboration: Linking Energy Conservation and Faith Communities.

The United Nations has created a new web site as its Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform: http://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/index.html. The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) website includes resources describing inter-governmental processes, the UN system and major groups as well as resources on sustainable development in action.

Three IEF members, Sylvia Karlsson-Vinkhuyzen, Nigel Jolands and Lawrence Staudt, have just published their paper "Global governance for sustainable energy: The contribution of a global public goods approach" in the journal Ecological Economics, volume 83, pages 11-18, November 2012. The abstract is available on line at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800912003254, where the full article can be purchased, or send a request to one of the authors. The IEF is mentioned in the acknowledgments as the origin of their collaboration.

The International Environment Forum and the European Baha'i Business Forum were again partners in the Global Ethics Forum (http://globalethicsforum.org) held at the International Conference Centre Geneva on 28-29 June 2012, on the topic "Seeds for Successful Transformation: The Value of Values in Responsible Business", with 80 speakers and panelists from all over the world. The report of the forum with recommendations will eventually be published. The following are a few highlights from the forum of interest to IEF and EBBF.

The Governing Board of the International Environment Forum has issued five statements for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in Rio de Janeiro in June 2012

Preparing for Environmental Migration
Principles and Indicators for a Green Economy
Ethical Support to Policy Making
Science and Technology for Community Empowerment
Youth Need Reasons to Hope from Rio+20

The International Environment Forum held its 16th General Assembly in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 18 June 2012, during the events surrounding the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20). The General Assembly met at the Pousada Mansao Riocentro hotel, Camorim - Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. See the 16th General Assembly report.

The Government of Brazil is convening a Dialogue series with the aim of bringing together civil society, the scientific community and academia to contribute ideas and suggestions on sustainable development. Conclusions and recommendations from the Dialogues will be conveyed directly to the heads of State and Government gathering for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development taking place in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil on June 20-22. The public is now invited to vote on its preferences from 100 proposals drawn from 10,000 contributions. The third proposal under "Unemployment, Decent Work and Migrations" about managing enviromental migrations came from an IEF submission.