Governor Rogelio Frigerio, accompanied by mayor Francisco Azcué, met this Tuesday with representatives of the United Nations (UN) System in Argentina to continue addressing issues discussed in a first meeting, which are of interest to the province, such as education, health, housing, poverty, and habitat.
Upon welcoming the team that makes up the United Nations System in Argentina, the governor expressed his thanks "for having had the courtesy to come here" and for addressing "with such urgency what we discussed a little over a month ago at the provincial house in Buenos Aires," in reference to the meeting held on May 3rd.
"It clearly speaks to the commitment you have to fulfill the objectives set out by the United Nations, and also to understanding how a federal country works," he praised.
When explaining why Concordia was chosen to begin generating the changes proposed in the first meeting, where priorities were defined, he stated: "Concordia is not only the city in Argentina with the highest number of poor people in the country, it crystallizes or synthesizes, in a way, everything we are today in Argentina and what we can be. The abysmal difference that exists between our sad, harsh reality and the enormous potential we have to precisely transform those conditions."
Next, regarding the relationship with the international organization, he requested: "We have deficits and many problems, but I am one of those who believe that these are fixed by identifying them and getting to work. And above all, by not being ashamed when it comes to asking for help. We need, in this case, for the entire United Nations System in Argentina to give us a hand, to share the experience it has had in other countries; to help us take shortcuts, not to adopt policies that have proven to be failures elsewhere; that is, to reduce the margins of error."
In that framework, the governor provided a summary of the topics that were given continuity during the meeting together with the representatives of the municipality of Concordia and the United Nations. And he referred to the need to know which of those issues that involve work in the interaction between the province and municipalities can be addressed with specific programs by the UN, "beyond the work that we continue to do between the United Nations System and the province throughout the territory."
The topics discussed were: education -early stimulation, early childhood, school dropout, and literacy plan-, health -teenage pregnancy, gender-based violence, mental health-, housing, private employment, local development, environment, and poverty.
Mayor Francisco Azcué thanked the Provincial Government and the team that makes up the United Nations System in Argentina for their presence in our city, noting that these types of meetings allow, on one hand, to have a diagnosis of the reality of Concordia from different aspects that contribute to development, but also to advance in different actions that allow for providing responses.
In his speech, the Mayor described the reality of some sectors in particular of the city in which the Municipal State has been present with different public policies, emphasizing the "Relevar" Project, which initially had the objective of obtaining information on different social aspects but, given the reality found, it was decided to work directly through territorial approaches.
THE UN'S CONTRIBUTION
For her part, upon taking the floor, the UN System Resident Coordinator in Argentina, Claudia Mojica, thanked Governor Frigerio for his "leadership, vision, and kindness" in making the visit of the teams possible, and likewise, the municipal authorities.
Alluding to the follow-up carried out by entities belonging to the UN regarding the conversations held at the beginning of May, Mojica mentioned that last week there was a first virtual meeting that brought together specialists in social development, both from the provincial government and UN agencies, where "topics related to adolescence were discussed, with an emphasis on school dropout, early childhood, violence, and poverty." Likewise, she announced meetings for the coming weeks "on dimensions linked to governance, economic development, and environmental development."
Reiterating the willingness and capabilities of the specialized agencies as a complement, Mojica insisted that the capabilities of the provincial and local levels "are essential for the well-being of the citizenry" and that, at these levels, "the demands, but above all the responses and proposals, can be more direct, effective, and closer to the population."
After finishing the workday at the Concordia Convention Center, the governor, together with provincial authorities, representatives of the United Nations in Argentina, and the municipality, moved to the 27 de Noviembre neighborhood, one of the most deprived in the city, where they spoke with the residents. A soup kitchen operates there that assists 500 people. In addition, in that place, municipal personnel are carrying out a territorial approach that includes a census of the residents and their needs in terms of health and food, among others, in order to provide responses.
ATTENDEES
Participating in the meeting were the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Gustavo Hein; the Minister of Human Development, Verónica Berisso; the Secretary General of the Government, Mauricio Colello; and the presidents of the General Council of Education, Alicia Fregonese, and of the Provincial Council for the Child, Adolescent and Family (Copnaf), Clarisa Sack. Also present were the Secretaries of Labor, Mariano Camoirano, and of Health, Daniel Blanzaco.
For the Municipality of Concordia were the vice-mayor Magdalena Reta de Urquiza; the Chief of Staff Eduardo Caminal; the Secretary of Government Luciano Dell´Olio; the Secretary of Human Development Sebastián Arístide; the Secretary of Productive Development Federico Schattenhofer; the Secretary General of the Mayor's Office Lorena Aguilar; the Secretary of Urban Development Alejandro López; the Secretary of Health Diego Sauré; undersecretaries, directors, among others.
On behalf of the UN, the principal Programming officer, ILO, María Eugenia Sconfienza, also participated, among others.
Upon welcoming the team that makes up the United Nations System in Argentina, the governor expressed his thanks "for having had the courtesy to come here" and for addressing "with such urgency what we discussed a little over a month ago at the provincial house in Buenos Aires," in reference to the meeting held on May 3rd.
"It clearly speaks to the commitment you have to fulfill the objectives set out by the United Nations, and also to understanding how a federal country works," he praised.
When explaining why Concordia was chosen to begin generating the changes proposed in the first meeting, where priorities were defined, he stated: "Concordia is not only the city in Argentina with the highest number of poor people in the country, it crystallizes or synthesizes, in a way, everything we are today in Argentina and what we can be. The abysmal difference that exists between our sad, harsh reality and the enormous potential we have to precisely transform those conditions."
Next, regarding the relationship with the international organization, he requested: "We have deficits and many problems, but I am one of those who believe that these are fixed by identifying them and getting to work. And above all, by not being ashamed when it comes to asking for help. We need, in this case, for the entire United Nations System in Argentina to give us a hand, to share the experience it has had in other countries; to help us take shortcuts, not to adopt policies that have proven to be failures elsewhere; that is, to reduce the margins of error."
In that framework, the governor provided a summary of the topics that were given continuity during the meeting together with the representatives of the municipality of Concordia and the United Nations. And he referred to the need to know which of those issues that involve work in the interaction between the province and municipalities can be addressed with specific programs by the UN, "beyond the work that we continue to do between the United Nations System and the province throughout the territory."
The topics discussed were: education -early stimulation, early childhood, school dropout, and literacy plan-, health -teenage pregnancy, gender-based violence, mental health-, housing, private employment, local development, environment, and poverty.
Mayor Francisco Azcué thanked the Provincial Government and the team that makes up the United Nations System in Argentina for their presence in our city, noting that these types of meetings allow, on one hand, to have a diagnosis of the reality of Concordia from different aspects that contribute to development, but also to advance in different actions that allow for providing responses.
In his speech, the Mayor described the reality of some sectors in particular of the city in which the Municipal State has been present with different public policies, emphasizing the "Relevar" Project, which initially had the objective of obtaining information on different social aspects but, given the reality found, it was decided to work directly through territorial approaches.
THE UN'S CONTRIBUTION
For her part, upon taking the floor, the UN System Resident Coordinator in Argentina, Claudia Mojica, thanked Governor Frigerio for his "leadership, vision, and kindness" in making the visit of the teams possible, and likewise, the municipal authorities.
Alluding to the follow-up carried out by entities belonging to the UN regarding the conversations held at the beginning of May, Mojica mentioned that last week there was a first virtual meeting that brought together specialists in social development, both from the provincial government and UN agencies, where "topics related to adolescence were discussed, with an emphasis on school dropout, early childhood, violence, and poverty." Likewise, she announced meetings for the coming weeks "on dimensions linked to governance, economic development, and environmental development."
Reiterating the willingness and capabilities of the specialized agencies as a complement, Mojica insisted that the capabilities of the provincial and local levels "are essential for the well-being of the citizenry" and that, at these levels, "the demands, but above all the responses and proposals, can be more direct, effective, and closer to the population."
After finishing the workday at the Concordia Convention Center, the governor, together with provincial authorities, representatives of the United Nations in Argentina, and the municipality, moved to the 27 de Noviembre neighborhood, one of the most deprived in the city, where they spoke with the residents. A soup kitchen operates there that assists 500 people. In addition, in that place, municipal personnel are carrying out a territorial approach that includes a census of the residents and their needs in terms of health and food, among others, in order to provide responses.
ATTENDEES
Participating in the meeting were the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Gustavo Hein; the Minister of Human Development, Verónica Berisso; the Secretary General of the Government, Mauricio Colello; and the presidents of the General Council of Education, Alicia Fregonese, and of the Provincial Council for the Child, Adolescent and Family (Copnaf), Clarisa Sack. Also present were the Secretaries of Labor, Mariano Camoirano, and of Health, Daniel Blanzaco.
For the Municipality of Concordia were the vice-mayor Magdalena Reta de Urquiza; the Chief of Staff Eduardo Caminal; the Secretary of Government Luciano Dell´Olio; the Secretary of Human Development Sebastián Arístide; the Secretary of Productive Development Federico Schattenhofer; the Secretary General of the Mayor's Office Lorena Aguilar; the Secretary of Urban Development Alejandro López; the Secretary of Health Diego Sauré; undersecretaries, directors, among others.
On behalf of the UN, the principal Programming officer, ILO, María Eugenia Sconfienza, also participated, among others.