NAIROBI, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Kenya will next week host the United Nations Civil Society Conference in the capital, Nairobi, to be attended by over 2,000 participants drawn from governments, multilateral institutions, industry, academia and thinks tanks.
The May 9-10 event will be the first UN Civil Society Conference to be held in the Global South, which also serves as a lead-up to the Sept. 22-23 Summit of the Future at the UN headquarters in New York.
Kenyan President William Ruto and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres are among the dignitaries expected at the meeting, with the theme of "Shaping a Future of Global and Sustainable Progress," according to a statement from the United Nations Office in Nairobi released on Saturday.
"The Nairobi conference aims to promote civil society's insights and initiatives to bolster the Member State-led Summit of the Future process and its outcome document, the Pact for the Future, alongside a Global Digital Compact and Declaration on Future Generations," the UN office said.
The conference in Nairobi is expected to generate momentum and influence discussions about the Pact for the Future, which will be endorsed at the September Summit of the Future, it said.
Delegates are expected to rally behind the objectives of the September summit, which aim to unite a diverse range of stakeholders toward restoring trust and fostering multilateralism.
Other themes expected at the Nairobi conference will include accelerating progress toward attaining sustainable development goals, financing for development, fostering global peace and security, science, technology, innovation, digital cooperation and transforming global governance, the statement said. ■