New UN-Business Website Supports Humanitarian Relief Efforts, Development Goals
UN introduces business.un.org, a one-stop gateway to broker UN-business partnerships, facilitate donations and highlight success stories
(3BLMedia/theCSRfeed) (New York, 14 January 2010) – As news of the devastating earthquake in Haiti is dramatically underlining the urgency of broad support for humanitarian relief and assistance, the United Nations is launching a new website designed to match the needs of UN organisations with the resources and capacities of the private sector.
The new UN-Business partnership gateway – business.un.org – will allow companies willing to contribute to the United Nations to browse through a catalogue of humanitarian needs (including appeals for Haiti relief) and partnership opportunities, or simply to submit ideas for collaboration. Based on shared interests, the site flags potential matches to be then connected directly.
At the same time, business.un.org offers UN agencies interested in private sector support the opportunity to identify and describe needs and preferences, covering nearly all UN operations, from humanitarian relief to poverty reduction or HIV/AIDS prevention.
The new site is a joint effort of more than 20 UN organisations, coordinated by the UN Global Compact and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. While many of these UN organisations have partnered with business for years, companies have in the past expressed frustration over the lack of a single entry point identifying UN needs across the multitude of specialized agencies, funds and programmes. Many of the site’s features follow recommendations made in an assessment of the UN response to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
The launch marks the first time that one interface for business engagement is available for nearly the entire UN System. While some needs, especially appeals for support of UN efforts in Haiti, are already in place, participating UN agencies, funds and programmes, as well as businesses around the world, have been invited to register and populate the site in the coming weeks. Currently only available in English, the site will be launched in all official UN languages by mid-2010.
Business.un.org was developed by Global Hand, a Hong-Kong-based NGO specializing in matching services for non-profit and for-profit organizations that partner to help a world in need. Project funding was provided by the UN Foundation.
