© UNESCO/Michel Ravassard
UNESCO Headquarters in Paris - The Symbolic Globe by Erik Reitzel (Denmark

A workshop is being organized from 29 to 30 April 2013 by UNESCO, the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change (UNU-IHDP) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), with the following objectives:
- Discuss the findings of the first IWR
- Elaborate on the methodology, approaches and dataset used in the report
- Engage environment, education, health and planning ministries in a dialogue to find ways to improve and mainstream IWR
- Introduce a brief overview of the IWR2014 (proposed focus is on human capital and health), and receive feedback from policy-makers on specific policy questions to be addressed
- Create awareness and need for the IWR amongst the donor communities
- Develop a work plan for the IWR2014
It has been readily acknowledged that evaluating a country’s progress by just economic production indicators such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP) falls short of providing a broader picture of the sustainability of the wellbeing of a nation’s population. Therefore it is urgent to re-think these yardsticks. This thought was emphasized in the United Nations Secretary General’s high level panel report on global sustainability and the outcome of the Rio+20 Earth Summit.