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Who Should be the Next UN Leader? PART 4 - Maria Fernanda Espinosa

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By Felix Dodds and Chris Spenc e With current UN Secretary-General António Guterres set to step down in 2026, who is in the running to replace him? In this seven-part series, Felix Dodds and Chris Spence reveal who might be in the running and assess their chances. The potential candidates include Amina J. Mohammed (Nigeria), Mia Motley (Barbados), Alicia Barcena (Mexico), Maria Fernanda Espinosa (Ecuador), Rebeca Grynspan (Costa Rica) and Michelle Bachelet (Chile). These are names that have come up in conversations with UN insiders and other experts. All six would offer skills and experiences we believe would be valuable in these fast-paced, uncertain times. APEX, North Carolina / DUBLIN, Ireland, Apr 18 2024 (IPS) - Is the rough-and-tumble of leading the UN General Assembly a good preparation for the top UN job? Maria Fernanda Espinosa served as President of the UN General Assembly from 2018-2019, garnering votes from 128 out of 193 member states. With her victory, she became only the

Who Should be the Next UN Leader? PART 3 - Alicia Bárcena.

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By Felix Dodds and Chris Spence First published on Wednesday 17th of April by Inter-Press Service here  With current UN Secretary-General António Guterres set to step down in 2026, who is in the running to replace him? In this seven-part series, Felix Dodds and Chris Spence reveal who might be nominated and assess their chances. The potential candidates include Amina J. Mohammed (Nigeria), Mia Motley (Barbados), Alicia Barcena (Mexico), Maria Fernanda Espinosa (Ecuador), Rebeca Grynspan (Costa Rica) and Michelle Bachelet (Chile). These are names that have come up in conversations with UN insiders and other experts. All six would offer skills and experiences we believe would be valuable in these fast-paced, uncertain times. APEX, North Carolina / DUBLIN, Ireland, Apr 17 2024 (IPS) - A third possible candidate for UN Secretary-General is Alicia Bárcena. Mexico’s current Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Bárcena boasts a professional background that is both broad and deep. Having originally t

Who Should be the Next UN Leader? PART 2 - Mia Mottley

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By Felix Dodds and Chris Spence First published by Inter Press Service on Tuesday, April 16, 2024, available here. With current UN Secretary-General António Guterres set to step down in 2026, who is in the running to replace him? This seven-part series reveal who might be nominated and assess their chances. The potential candidates include Amina J. Mohammed (Nigeria), Mia Motley (Barbados), Alicia Barcena (Mexico), Maria Fernanda Espinosa (Ecuador), Rebeca Grynspan (Costa Rica) and Michelle Bachelet (Chile). These are names that have come up in conversations with UN insiders and other experts. All six would offer skills and experiences we believe would be valuable in these fast-paced, uncertain times. APEX, North Carolina / DUBLIN, Ireland, Apr 16 2024 (IPS) - When the conversation turns to who might replace António Guterres as UN Secretary-General, the name of Mia Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados, is on many insiders’ lips. In addition to being Prime Minister, she also serves as he

The 8th UNECE International Public Private Partnership Forum for SDGs - Istanbul 8-10 May

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  The Provisional Programme of the 8 th edition of the UNECE International PPP Forum .   The 3-day hybrid event – with in-person and online participation – will be held at the Conrad Istanbul Bosphorus Hotel in Istanbul, Türkiye, from 8 to 10 May 2024 , and is co-organised with the Government of Türkiye. The organizers encourage you to participate in person where possible. This year’s Forum will look at the role of Public-Private Partnerships for the Sustainable Development Goals (PPPs for the SDGs) by accelerating SDG implementation and climate action with a focus on the contribution of PPPs and infrastructure finance to sustainable recovery, resilience, and reconstruction. The Forum will bring together representatives of governments, the private sector, academia, civil society organizations, international financial institutions, and other stakeholders to discuss inter-alia the following topics: 1.    Climate-resilient PPP and infrastructure

Mr. Kamal Kishore of India - Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction

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IISD/ENB | Mike Muzurakis United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Kamal Kishore of India as Assistant Secretary-General and Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR). He succeeds Mami Mizutori of Japan, to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for her service and commitment to the Organization.  The Secretary-General also wishes to extend his appreciation to the  UNDRR Director, Paola Albrito , who will continue to serve as Acting Special Representative until Mr. Kishore assumes his position. Currently Head of Department of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in the rank of Secretary to the Government of India (since 2015), Mr. Kishore brings to the position nearly three decades of experience in disaster risk reduction, climate action and sustainable development at the global, regional, national and local levels, having worked in g

Ms. Astrid Schomaker of Germany - Executive Secretary of the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)

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Photo by IISD/ENB | Angeles Estrada Vigil United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, following consultation with the Bureau of the Conference of the Parties to the CBD, announced today the appointment of Astrid Schomaker of Germany as the Executive Secretary of the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity.   The Secretary-General extends his appreciation and gratitude to David Cooper of the United Kingdom, who will continue to serve as Acting Executive Secretary until Ms. Schomaker assumes her functions.   Ms. Schomaker brings to the position extensive experience in international relations and negotiations, deep knowledge of the global sustainable development agenda and multilateral environment agreements, and of policymaking on global environmental issues.  Since 2017, she has successively been the Director for Global Sustainable Development and for Green Diplomacy and Multilateralism at the European Commission’s Environment Department.  In these roles, she led th

Special Call for Abstracts: 2024 UNC Water and Health Conference - October 14-18

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  Special Call for Abstracts  Unfinished Business of WASH in High-Income Countries   Photo by Tom Fuldner, 2023   Dear Colleague,  The Water Institute is announcing a Special Call for Abstracts for the 2024 UNC Water and Health Conference, being held October 14-18