The tenth Dubai International Humanitarian Aid & Development Conference & Exhibition – DIHAD – 2013 was held between 25^th to 27^th March at the Dubai International Convention & Exhibition Centre. Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President, Prime Minister of United Arab Emirates, Ruler of Dubai  this event sought to build sustainable  partnerships in Humanitarian Assistance and Development Activities.

Poverty eradication is one of United Nation?s Millennium Development Goals where a lot of progress has been made thanks to initiatives such as this conference. Since I am a member of the United Nations Environment Programme?s  Major Groups Facilitating Committee, I had a keen interest on attending this event especially as this conference / exhibition was supported by UNHCR ( United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) and the United Nations World Food Programme.

It was really quite an enriching experience to visit the booths of UNHCR , UN-WFP where I shared my viewpoint as the Global Coordinator for UNEP?s MGCY and propagated the role children and youth should play in poverty eradication.

The exhibition booths of Dubai Cares and Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation were very impressive and the humanitarian aid projects they have done across the world is beyond compare.