Leyla Aliyeva visits UN Environment Program headquarters in Nairobi
By Nigar Orujova
Leyla Aliyeva, the Founder and Director of the International Dialogue for Environmental Action (IDEA) global initiative, visited the headquarters of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) in Nairobi, Kenya.
Vice-president of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation was informed about the activities of the UNEP, an agency of the UN that coordinates its environmental activities and assists the developing countries in implementing environmentally sound policies and practices.
It was founded as a result of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in June 1972.
The UNEP also has six regional offices and various country offices. Its activities cover a wide range of issues regarding the atmosphere, marine and terrestrial ecosystems, environmental governance, and green economy.
The UNEP has also been active in funding and implementing environment-related development projects. World Environment Day is run by the United Nations Environment Program.
Aliyeva met UNEP Executive Director and Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Achim Steiner, who hailed the IDEA's activities to protect the environment.
He noted that the UNEP was interested in close cooperation with the Azerbaijani government and non-governmental organizations.
Steiner said the UNEP had implemented a number of large-scaled projects in the field of environment, and stressed the necessity of expanding mutual activities with youths on this front.
Aliyeva highlighted the Heydar Aliyev Foundation`s projects in the country and abroad, and also talked about the Azerbaijani government`s environmental policy.
The Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation briefed Steiner on the work carried out by the IDEA campaign, which was launched in 2011.
"The IDEA is based on the principles of dialogue, action, leadership, and education - all essential ingredients for equipping a generation to create positive and sustainable environmental change," she said.
Aliyeva also stressed the importance of the Green Week project co-organized by the Azerbaijani government, the IDEA and the UNEP in Baku in 2012 and also invited the UNEP Executive Director to visit Baku.
Following the meeting, Leyla Aliyeva spoke to journalists to provide an insight into the activities of the IDEA campaign and its futures plans.
The IDEA campaign is mainly focusing on the power of youth and considers it an important tool in changing the way we behave and consume our surrounding natural world.