President of UIMF visits the United Nations and the State Department In preparations for the Utah Valley University and Utah International Mountain Forum (UIMF) participation at the United Nations RIO+20 conference on sustainable development On June 20-22, 2012, and co-hosting the Conference on women’s issues, sustainability, and conflict in the Andean region in Puno, Peru, the President of the UIMF John McClure visited the United Nations headquarters in New York and the State Department in Washington D.C. on March 5, 2012.

John McClure ( R ) with Permanent representative of Uzbekistan to the U.N. H.E. Murad Askarov ( L )

This visit to New York included meetings with several dignitaries at the United Nations as a sign of further strengthening ties with them after their visits to Utah and UVU during 2011. John McClure met with Permanent Representative of Uzbekistan to the U.N., H.E. Murad Askarov, who was hosted by UIMF among major presenters during the international conference dedicated to the 10th Anniversary since the beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom on December 2, 2011. Envoy of Uzbekistan was informed about further achievements of the UIMF in promoting global agenda of sustainable development, including contribution to the report on sustainable mountain development on North America for U.N. RIO+20 conference in Brazil. Both sides expressed interest in development of further cooperation between Utah and Uzbekistan in different areas, including education and commerce. The next meeting of John McClure was with with Dr. Alexei Tikhomirov, who as a Chief of Transition Economics Unit at the UNDESA participated at the international Conference Women of the Mountains at UVU on March 8-9, 2011. John McClure discussed with his counterpart a number of current initiatives of the UIMF including the initiative of youth and student advocacy of sustainable mountain development at

UVU and in the state of Utah as well. Dr. Tikhomirov and John McClure then discussed the possibilities for UIMF take part and to contribute in a maximum possible ways to the agenda of the RIO+20 conference and to sustainability in mountain regions in particular. The end result of this encounter was a discussion and ultimate planning of a variety of future cooperative efforts between Dr. Tikhomirov and the UIMF beyond the agenda of the RIO+20 Forum.

Strengthening ties established during the Conference

Women of the Mountains on March 2011 in Orem, Utah.…. John McClure ( L ) with old friend, Dr. Alexey Tikhomirov from UNDESA

Next, a visit to Washington, D.C. took place as a result of involvement of UIMF in the UNA-USA Conference call on February 16, 2011 with participation of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State on Oceans, Environment and Science, Dr. Laurence Gumbiner and Mrs. Melinda Kimble, Vice-President, International Bioenergy Initiative, UN Foundation. Trip to Washington, D.C. included two meetings at the US State Department on March 5, 2012. During the first one John McClure met with Ms. Varina Winder from the Office of Global Women’s Issues. During this meeting, John McClure discussed past, present, and future initiatives and activities of the UIMF in regards to women’s issues. Ms. Winder was surprised to find that a number of initiatives and academic exchanges made through the UIMF resembled many of the initiatives her office has been involved in, especially the UIMF conference planned to take place in Puno, Peru in June of 2012. The office of Global Women’s Issues has been recently involved with many issues in the Andean region, and has also been making preparations for the RIO+20. Ms. Winder was very pleased at the fact that the UIMF was working on an international level to promote women’s issues through student efforts. The end result of this meeting was a valued acquaintance established with an office of the State Department that shares a common agenda when it comes to raising awareness on women’s issues in mountain regions.

UIMF will work closely with this office during the preparations to the RIO+20 conference and during the conference itself as well. During the second meeting at the State Department, the President of UIMF met with Mr. Richard Bernardi who represented Sustainable Development and Mulitilateral Affairs, and Ms. Carol MacCurdy who is a Senior Advisor in the Office of Environmental Policy. This meeting presented truly a good learning experience for UIMF and its President John McClure, when on his inquiries about possible cooperation with Bureau and providing assistance to UIMF to get to RIO+20 gathering, he met a certain level of skepticism from his hosts concerning potential of the students activities at UVU and their contribution to the SMD agenda on local, national and international levels as well. This conversation just strengthened the resolve of the UIMF members and its President to continue their push for promotion of sustainable development in the mountain regions in Utah and in the Rocky Mountains in order to strive for more successes on a grassroots level, and then to identify truly dedicated individuals with whom to build partnerships and cooperation based on mutual respect and recognition of the importance of raising a new generation of leaders-promoters of the SMD-agenda through student involvement. Jordan Giles, Student UVU, member of UIMF