From UN-NGLS


 PLEASE READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS IN FULL. 

DEADLINES:
13 March 2016: Apply for Civil Society Selection Committee
16 March 2016: Apply for Speaking Role

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 UN observance of International Mother 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, the United Nations Non-Governmental Liaison Service (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.

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

Please review the background information for this event:
http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2016/01/world-leaders-invited-to-paris-agreement-signing-ceremony-on-april-22/

Before submitting an application, please confirm that the candidate meets all of the following criteria:

• is a representative of a civil society organization, and officially authorized by their organization / network to speak on the organization / network’s behalf;
• has developed and implemented a new idea or solution or leads or co-leads a project that has delivered tangible results on climate change adaptation or mitigation;
• has demonstrated the ability to engage constructively with a variety of stakeholders;
• would be a confident, compelling public speaker, and is comfortable with the high profile role this candidate will fulfill;
• is available to be in New York on 21-22 April 2016 and for travel if necessary.
• has a visa for travel to New York, or is able to obtain one within 4 weeks for travel to New York. Please check with the US Embassy or Consulate in the candidate’s country or place of residence. The United Nations will provide an invitation letter to the selected candidate to support a visa application. The participant will be responsible for obtaining the visa for travel.

Responses will be available for open review here:
http://bit.ly/22April-CSO-speaker-Paris-Agreement-Signing-Apps-Received

For the questions preceded by a # in the form, responses will not be made public.

A civil society Selection Committee of diverse representatives will choose five to ten candidates to present to the Executive Office of the Secretary-General as a short-list for their consideration. The Committee will ensure regional balance, and diversity of age and expertise in the overall set of candidates. The Executive Office of the Secretary-General will make the final selection of the civil society speaker for this event.

To apply for the civil society SELECTION COMMITTEE for this process, please visit:
http://bit.ly/22April-Paris-Agreement-Signing-SC-Apply

The event will be webcast and is likely to attract considerable media attention.

IMPORTANT NOTES:
– A nominee will only be represented once in the responses spreadsheet. If a candidate is nominated more than once, the first nomination will be retained and all others removed. Candidates will be reviewed on how well they meet the criteria, not on how many people nominate them.

Click here for the application form: https://goo.gl/gTxOBZ