April 23, 2013, Kyiv — The first deputy head of the Presidential Administration of Ukraine, Iryna Akimova, launched the International Ecological Forum "Environment for Ukraine", which will last for three days at the International Exhibition Center.

Having declared the forum open, Ms. Akimova read a message of greetings from the President of Ukraine. "The present event is called to attract attention of the public to problems of the environment, raise public awareness of environment protection issues, and encourage them to concrete actions aimed at its improvement," the message read among other things.

Oleh Proskuryakov, Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine, who also spoke at the ceremony, called the event "out of the common," in particular because it took place 10 years after the 5th Pan-European Conference of Ministers of Environment "Environment for Europe," which had been held in Kyiv in 2003.

Oleh Lukashuk, First Deputy Head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee for Environment, Anatoliy Tolstoukhov, Advisor to the Prime Minister of Ukraine, and representatives of foreign diplomatic missions also attended the ceremony.

The forum, organized by the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources and the Ukrainian Center of International Exhibitions, Conferences and Forums, will encompass a variety of activities. These include the VI International Exhibition "Environment 2013," round tables and workshops, presentations and conferences, and awards ceremonies.

MAMA-86 will participate in the exhibition and contribute to a number of other activities within the framework of the forum.