Making the United Nations Relevant to all PeoplePRESS BRIEFING BY MONICA GRAYLEY, SPOKESPERSON FOR GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT MARÍA FERNANDA ESPINOSA
Good afternoon and hello, everyone!
PGA RECEIVES ‘CHAMPION OF PEOPLE AND PLANET AWARD’ FOR GLOBAL CAMPAIGN AGAINST PLASTIC POLLUTION
The President of the General Assembly received the ‘Champion of People and Planet Award’ from the Give Me 5 Campaign.
The annual prize is awarded by Give Me 5 in recognition of individuals or groups who have demonstrated leadership and action towards the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The prize given to Ms. María Fernanda Espinosa was in recognition of the Play it Out campaign to Beat Plastic Pollution and the PGA’s leadership in that regard.
On its website, the organisers explain that the award is given to “someone who has showed inspirational leadership, demonstrated vision and has done exemplary work in promoting action towards achieving the SDGs”.
Through the global campaign against plastic pollution, the PGA, together with partners, helped spread global awareness as well as remove all single-use plastics from the UN headquarters in New York.
After receiving the annual prize ‘Champion of People and Planet Award’ from the Give Me 5 Campaign, President Espinosa said that she was honored and specifically thanked her team and partners who helped to make the Play it Out campaign a success.
Ms. Espinosa said that the award was being shared also with all of those who supported and are still supporting the campaign to beat plastic pollution.
She thanked Member States including Antigua and Barbuda, and Norway, for partnering with her Office in the initiative, the Secretary-General and the UN Secretariat as well as UN staff members, the creative community, media outlets, the academia, civil society and individuals around the world who engaged in tackling plastic pollution.
The PGA noted that she hopes to see the elimination of single-use plastics continue across the UN System, reaching Country and Regional Offices, and that she is confident that these efforts will only grow with time.
MS. ESPINOSA TO REINFORCE CRUCIAL ROLE OF MULTILATERALISM AT HIGH-LEVEL DIALOGUE EVENT
This afternoon, Ms. Espinosa will take part in the High-Level Dialogue of the Presidents of the GA, ECOSOC, and the Security Council, together with the Secretary-General.
The event is being co-hosted by the Permanent Missions of Ecuador, Norway and the Russian Federation, in association with the NYU Center on International Cooperation.
The High-Level Dialogue, which will take place today is a follow-up of the event convened by the PGA on multilateralism, in October.
Ms. Espinosa believes that multilateralism is the only way to solve global challenges. She said that environmental, political, economic and social crises can only be effectively solved through cooperation among countries.
The PGA mentioned that inclusion is key in all multilateral efforts, in listening to peoples’ aspirations and in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
The High-Level Dialogue on Multilateralism will start at 3 p.m. in the ECOSOC chamber.
PGA’S AGENDA
This morning, Ms. María Fernanda Espinosa chaired a plenary meeting on the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and on causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa. The draft resolution was adopted by 110 votes in favour.
This afternoon, she will take part in the High-Level Dialogue on Multilateralism.
LAST PRESS CONFERENCE BY MS. ESPINOSA ON 16 SEPTEMBER
And a gentle reminder for you about Monday, 16 September, the last day of the PGA in her office.
She will talk to the correspondents here at the Briefing Room at 11 a.m.
The last press conference will be webcast through UN WebTV.
All of you are welcome to this last exchange with Ms. Espinosa a few hours before she hands over to the next President of the General Assembly, Mr. Tijjani Muhammad-Bande.
This is all from us. Do you have anything else?
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