The Office of the President of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) has finalized the selection of 24 representatives of civil society organizations, NGOs and the Major Groups to speak during the UN Sustainable Development Summit's opening plenary, six interactive dialogues and other plenary meetings.
The UN Non-Governmental Liaison Service (UN-NGLS) notes that 435 applications were received, and speakers were selected through "an open, transparent and participatory process" based on a short-list produced by a civil society Selection Committee.
8 September 2015: The Office of the President of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) has finalized the selection of 24 representatives of civil society organizations, NGOs and the Major Groups to speak during the UN Sustainable Development Summit’s opening plenary, six interactive dialogues and other plenary meetings. The UN Non-Governmental Liaison Service (UN-NGLS) notes that 435 applications were received, and speakers were selected through “an open, transparent and participatory process” based on a short-list produced by a civil society Selection Committee.
According to the list of speakers announced by UN-NGLS, Salil Shetty, Amnesty International, will speak during the opening plenary. Sharan Burrow (International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and Workers and Trade Unions Major Group), Steve Lalande (International Forum of NGO Platforms), Sylvia Beales (HelpAge International and Stakeholder Group on Ageing) and Luisa Emilia Reyes Zúñiga (Equidad de Género: Ciudadanía, Trabajo y Familia and Women’s Major Group) will speak during other plenary meetings, which will take place each day.
On 25 September, Winnie Byanyima (Oxfam International), Åsa Skogström Feldt (The Hunger Project) and Mosharraf Hossain (ADD International) will intervene during the interactive dialogue on ‘Ending poverty and hunger,’ while Muna AbuSulayman (Directions Consulting), Maryanne Diamond (International Disability Alliance) and Camilla Croso (Global Campaign for Education) will speak during the dialogue on ‘Tackling inequalities, empowering women and girls and leaving no one behind.’
On 26 September, Paul Quintos (Campaign for Peoples Goals for Sustainable Development), Madani Koumare (Réseau national d’appui à la promotion de l’économie sociale et solidaire -RENAPESS) and Patrícia Iglecias (Secretariat for the Environment of the State of São Paulo) will make interventions during the dialogue on ‘Fostering sustainable economic growth, transformation and promoting sustainable consumption and production.’ Jennifer Vinas-Forcade (Latin American and the Caribbean Youth Alliance), Ranja Sengupta (Third World Network) and Sivananthi Thanenthiran (Asian-Pacific Resource & Research Centre for Women – ARROW) will speak during the dialogue on ‘Delivering on a revitalised Global Partnership.’
On 27 September, Larry Attree (Saferworld), Joan Carling (Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact) and Aysel Asgarova (Youth Peer Education Network) will be the civil society speakers for the thematic dialogue on ‘Building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions to achieve sustainable development.’ Aby Drame (ENDA Energy), Roberto Mukaro Borrero (International Indian Treaty Council), Wael Hmaidan (Climate Action Network International) and Yolanda Kakabadse (WWF International) will intervene during the dialogue on ‘Protecting our planet and combatting climate change.’
The Heads of State and Government who will serve as Co-Chairs of each interactive dialogues were announced by the UNGA President on 31 August 2015.
The UN Sustainable Development Summit is also called the UN Summit for the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda. [UN-NGLS Press Release] [IISD RS Story on Co-Chairs for Interactive Dialogues] [Summit Documents] [Organizational Arrangements for Summit] [UN-NGLS Tweet]