The Tierramérica International Center for Sustainable Development and Environmental Defense was inaugurated at the United Nations headquarters in New York, with Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in attendance.

IPS Director General Mario Lubetkin and Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. - Mithre Sandrasagra/IPS

Lula, who on that day received the IPS (Inter Press Service) International Award, said the agency “has brought greater pluralism and diversity to international news,” for 44 years “has given a voice to the voiceless” and that its presence is “today more crucial than ever.”

The center is focused on promoting, disseminating and conducting research on environmental and sustainable development issues, in close alliance with representatives from academia, the private sector, government and civil society.

It is an initiative of IPS, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the World Bank.

The Center will expand the ongoing efforts of Tierramérica, a communications project that includes a weekly news supplement published in more than 20 newspapers across Latin America, and programs broadcast by more than 700 community radio stations, as well as its web sites in Spanish, Portuguese and English.