A comprehensive report documenting the global impact of climate change on human society today.

The report was launched in London on 29 May 2009 by the Kofi Annan and Barbara Stocking, who was a member of the report's eminent Advisory Panel.

The Human Impact Report is the first consolidated volume specifically and exclusively focused on the adverse impacts of the climate change on human society across the world. The report is based on latest and best information on the human impact of climate change as well as inputs from world-leading scientists and climate, humanitarian and development experts.

In order to provide an idea of the order of magnitudes of the current impacts of climate change, the report also includes estimates on the numbers of deaths and casualties as a result of climate change, the economic costs of climate change, as well as making projections 20 years into the future.

The aim of the report is to fill a void in both a general public understanding of climate change as well as to senior policymakers.

Read more about this initiatives

ICSU has launched an online consultation to gather questions that will help direct the future of Earth system research. ICSU invites the scientific community—natural and social scientists—as well as technology experts, decision-makers, and the general public, to contribute. The online consultation is open until 15 August.

Read more about this initiative

The International Social Science Council ( ISSC ) is an international non-profit-making scientific organisation with headquarters at UNESCO House in Paris . It is the primary international body representing the social and behavioural sciences at a global level.

The Council's role is to advance the practice and use of the social and behavioural sciences in all parts of the world, and to ensure their global representation. This involves:

• An overview of the quality and development of the constituent sciences;
• Action to stimulate their growth; and
• Work to ensure their utilisation and relevance to the problems of humankind; such promotion includes, wherever possible, the assistance of policy development at international and national levels, and the use of high quality social science research to further economic well-being and quality of life in all parts of our globe.

• International associations or unions of subjects across the social and behavioural sciences ( including the following subjects or aspects of them: anthropology, economics, education and pedagogy, environmental studies, geography, history, international and area studies, law, linguistics, management and business studies, political science, psychology and cognitive sciences, sociology, social policy, and social statistics)
• National academies of social science (or social science sections of national academies of science)
• National social science research councils (or divisions of national science councils responsible for the social sciences)
• Regional associations of social sciences representing the major continental regions of the globe
• Other national and international agencies and foundations with major interests in the social sciences

Nominations open July 16 - November 4, 2009 PublicAffairsAsia has unveiled the categories and preliminary judging panel for the inaugural Gold Standard Awards for public policy, government relations and corporate communications.  

The Gold Standard Awards will recognise excellence by corporations, governments and NGOs and are the first of their kind in Asia.

Following the announcement of the winners in January 2010, participants will be invited to a series of “knowledge exchange” and networking events around Asia.

The awards, operated by PublicAffairsAsia magazine, will showcase best-practice among public affairs and public policy professionals and were planned after wide consultation with PublicAffairsAsia's advisory board.

The programme is built around peer-to-peer learning and the exchange of best practice. Categories in the awards programme include Government Relations, Crisis Communications and Trade and Investment promotion.

Government bodies will be engaged through categories such as Transparency, sustainability and the use of social media as a PA tool.

Award partners and sponsors will be announced in early July, before the nominations process is formally opened on July 13.

Top level judges

PublicAffairsAsia is assembling an unrivalled group of senior figures from business, consultancies, government bodies, NGOs and trade missions to form the judging panels.

The final group, which is the nucleus of the Gold Standard Awards, will number around 40 top-level professionals.

Between now and the close of nominations, PublicAffairsAsia will use the Augure stakeholder management system to promote the Gold Standard Awards to over 60,000 Asian decision-makers in addition to our global audience of PA professionals working in corporations, governments, trade bodies, chambers and NGOs.

Nominations for the Gold Standard Awards open on July 13 and close in November: giving corporations, consultancies, NGOs, trade missions, chambers of commerce and government agencies an opportunity to frame entries across 11 categories.

“With a judging panel of over 30 senior public affairs figures, the Gold Standard Awards programme is built upon the principles of peer review and knowledge transfer,” said publisher Mark O’Brien.

Judges for the inaugural awards programme include leading China PR and government affairs expert Margaret Ya-Fei Yu, and Steve Okun, UPS government relations chief and chairman of the American chamber of commerce in Singapore.

Other judges include Edelman’s Alan VanderMolen, APCO’s Mark Michelson and Weber Shandwick’s John Russell. Animals Asia campaign chief Jill Robinson and former British deputy high commissioner to India Mark Runacres are also among the top-level judging panel.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Visit the website of The Gold Standard Awards 

The Obama administration recently launched a long-awaited Open Government Initiative, which invites citizens to submit ideas via the Internet for creating a more transparent, collaborative and participatory government. Few developments have had broader consequences for the public sector than the introduction of the Internet and digital technology. When used in the public sector, technology has the potential to make democracy stronger and enable governments to meet citizens’ needs more simply, quickly and efficiently.

Read here how the White House describes this new initiative:

"On January 21, 2009, his first full day in office, the President issued a Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government and called for recommendations for making the Federal government more transparent, participatory, and collaborative.

As Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to the President says in the video below, we are proud "to announce an important next step in this historic call to action – one that will help us achieve a new foundation for our government – a foundation built on the values of transparency, accountability and responsibility."

The Government Affairs Forum panel examines the role of the professional public affairs practitioner and the government relations processes in modern China.
Every month on PublicAffairsAsia and a special LinkedIn GA Forum site our expert panel will debate and discuss the emerging trends and themes involved in modern government relations in China.

You can comment by clicking on the comment link, or join the PublicAffairsAsia
LinkedIn Forum by clicking this link. Comment on the PublicAffairsAsia site is
moderated, whilst the LinkedIn
Forum requires application
approval.
http://www.publicaffairsasia.com/publicaffairsasia/AnalysisView.do?id=722&siteID=108

This searchable database contains over 3,800 proven solutions from more than 140 countries to the common social, economic and environmental problems of an urbanizing world. It demonstrates the practical ways in which public, private and civil society sectors are working together to improve governance, eradicate poverty, provide access to shelter, land and basic services, protect the environment and support economic development.
he database is a powerful tool for:

• Analyzing current trends and emerging issues;
• Networking with the people and organisations involved in implementation;
• Capacity-building including new knowledge management tools and methods.
• Technical Cooperation through the matching of supply with demand for proven expertise and experience.
• Policy development based on what works.

For more information on how best practices can help your community, please visit the Learning Centre.In 2008,470+ submissions and updates from more than 68 countries and territories were received and reviewed.

UN-HABITAT and Dubai Municipality invite you to submit your initiatives for the 2010 Dubai International Award for Best Practices in Improving the Living Environment and for inclusion in the next edition of the database.

The Best Practices database is a joint product of UN-HABITAT, and the Best Practices Partners.

PubAffairs is the premier network and leading resource for the public affairs, government relations, policy & communications industry.

Established in January 2002, the PubAffairs network numbers over 2,500 members from all sectors concerned with public affairs, government affairs, policy, stakeholder and media relations, corporate communications and lobbying. Members are from trade associations, representative bodies, political consultancy, companies, NGOs and charities, think tanks, civil service, Houses of Parliament, political parties, recruitment, law firms, political monitoring, the media, students and other public affairs related groups.

More about PubAffairs

NIMBY-Rotura is a blog which aim is to connect the decent residents of Rotorua with each other, to help bring about some beneficial changes, through the muscle power of combined action, through resources, information and skills, and through better legislation, education, and programmes, so they can prevent the minority of residents with decadent, intrusive and noisy lifestyles from spoiling their quiet enjoyment of their homes and their beautiful city. Find out this initiative here