Aplly for: Civil society speaker for Paris Climate Change Agreement Signing Ceremony

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has invited all world leaders to a signing ceremony on 22 April for the historic climate agreement that was reached in Paris in December last year. The signing event will take place at UN Headquarters in New York on the first day the agreement will be open for signature, which coincides with the observance of International Mother Earth Day, observed in many countries as simply Earth Day. The Secretary-General intends to use the occasion of the signing ceremony to further engage world leaders as well as those from business and civil society to put the new agreement into action as quickly as possible.

At the request of the Executive Office of the Secretary-General, UN-NGLS is leading a process to find a speaker from civil society for the opening session of the signing ceremony, in recognition of the essential role played by civil society action in developing and implementing solutions to build a safer, greener and more livable world for all people.

For this key speaking role, the Executive Office of the Secretary-General is seeking someone from a developing country who can share a compelling story of a new innovation or solution (from social entrepreneurship to engineering to community action) that she / he has put into practice that is delivering tangible results on climate change mitigation or adaptation. The candidate must have public speaking experience, and be able to confidently deliver a short, compelling speech in front of world leaders and the media.

Travel funding will be provided for this speaker, as well as a supporter if the selected candidate is under 18.