During the consultations of the President of the Trade and Development Board on 14 February 2014, Mr. Petko Draganov, Deputy Secretary-General of UNCTAD provided a briefing on the status of preparations for UNCTAD's fiftieth anniversary.
The year 2014 will be an opportunity to reflect both on the fiftieth anniversary of UNCTAD and the key challenges to address within the post-2015 development agenda.
The secretariat will seek to publicize UNCTAD's fiftieth anniversary in events throughout the year. Precise dates of many of the events are still to be confirmed but the follow are some of the highlights of the year.
Special session of the Trade and Development Board will be held on the morning of 16 June, with a Raúl Prebisch lecture possibly taking place in the afternoon.
The 2014 Public Symposium will be held from 17-18 June 2014, in response to a call from Delegates to maximize the impact of the celebrations, and to make effective use of existing resources.
This year's World Investment Forum, will be held from 13-16 October 2014 in Geneva. It will focus on investing in sustainable development, with the aim of devising strategies to mobilize investment and channel its contribution to the achievement of sustainable development goals.
The commemorative publication, tentatively entitled "UNCTAD at Fifty: A Short History", will focuses on UNCTAD's activities, achievements and transformations, as well as the UNCTAD ideas that have had an impact on the global debate and agenda with respect to development.