3 May 2012: The UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) held an event aimed at providing civil society organizations an opportunity to share information about what has been achieved, and is hoped to be achieved, through concrete initiatives ahead of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20).

The event, titled “Harnessing the contributions of civil society to sustainable development,” was held on 3 May 2012, in New York, US, during the second round of informal informal negotiations on the Rio+20 draft outcome document.

Presentations were heard from representatives of various Major Groups, including Women, Children and Youth, Farmers, Business and Industry, NGO, Workers and Trade Unions, Scientific and Technological Community, and the Local Communities Major Groups. The presentations highlighted some concerns with the Rio+20 process, as well as expectations for the Conference, such as adoption of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and development of sustainable development indicators beyond Gross Domestic Product (GDP). [IISD RS Coverage]