24 June 2013: On the first anniversary of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20), Brazil has launched an international centre on sustainable development policy and practice, located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The reference centre, which will be called ‘Rio+,’ will facilitate research and knowledge exchange on sustainable development topics, and will be managed through a partnership between the Government of Brazil and the UN Development Programme (UNDP). On 22 June 2012, the final day of UNCSD, Brazil’s Environment Minister Izabella Teixeira and UNDP Administrator Helen Clark signed a partnership agreement and presented the Centre’s mission and its initial 26 partners.

At the 24 June 2013 opening ceremony, UNDP Associate Administrator Rebeca Grynspan said, “The opening of this important new World Centre is a turning point for the global development community and represents a resolute drive to address the challenges and opportunities of our contemporary world.” Texeira said, “The debate and definition of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are part of the important role Rio+ will play.”

One of Rio+’s first efforts will be to assess the suggestions gathered during the Rio Dialogues for Sustainable Development, which were convened immediately before the Rio+20 event in 2012. The Centre is located at Rio de Janeiro’s Federal University (COPPE/UFRJ), in Rio’s North Zone. [UNDP Press Release][UNDP Associate Administrator’s Remarks][IISD RS Coverage of Rio Dialogues][IISD RS Coverage of Rio+20][Sustainable Development Policy & Practice post on announcement of Rio+ Centre]