Gro Brundtland is a Norwegian politician (Arbeiderpartiet), who served three terms as the 29th Prime Minister of Norway and as the director-general of the World Health Organization from 1998 to 2003. She is also known for having chaired the Brundtland Commission which presented the Brundtland Report on sustainable development. Educated as a physician, Brundtland joined the Labour Party and entered the government in 1974 as Minister of the Environment. She became the first female Prime Minister of Norway on 4 February 1981, but left office on 14 October 1981; she returned as Prime Minister on 9 May 1986 and served until 16 October 1989. She finally returned for her third term on 3 November 1990. From 1981 to 1992 she was leader of the Labour Party. After her surprise resignation as Prime Minister in 1996, she became an international leader in sustainable development and public health, and served as Director-General of the World Health Organization and as UN Special Envoy on Climate Change from 2007 to 2010. She is also deputy chair of The Elders and a former vice-president of Socialist International.
The United Nations Foundation is a charitable organization headquartered in Washington, DC, that supports the United Nations and its activities. It was established in 1998 with a $1 billion gift to the United Nations by philanthropist Ted Turner, who believed the UN was crucial for addressing the world's problems. Originally primarily a grantmaker, the UN Foundation has evolved into a strategic partner to the UN, mobilizing support to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and help the UN address issues such as climate change, global health, gender equality, human rights, data and technology, peace, and humanitarian responses. The UN Foundation's main work occurs through building public-private partnerships, communities, initiatives, campaigns, and alliances to broaden support for the UN and solve global problems. The UN Foundation has helped build awareness and advocate for action on, among others, antimicrobial resistance, regional action on climate change, local implementation of the SDGs, as well as global campaigns such as Nothing But Nets against malaria, the Measles & Rubella Initiative, the Clean Cooking Alliance, Girl Up, Shot@Life, and the Digital Impact Alliance, among others. In March 2020, the UN Foundation was also a key founder of the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund on behalf of the World Health Organization (WHO), helping to raise over $200 million USD within the first six weeks to support the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
AIESEC is an international youth-run and led, non-governmental and not-for-profit organization that provides young people with leadership development, cross-cultural internships, and global volunteer exchange experiences. The organization focuses on empowering young people to make a progressive social impact. The AIESEC network includes approximately 40,000 members in 120+ countries.
Han Seung-soo is a South Korean politician and diplomat. He served as Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea from 29 February 2008 to 28 September 2009. He was the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Special Envoy on Climate Change (2007–08) and for Disaster Risk Reduction and Water (2013–18), Special Advisor to the UN/World Bank High-Level Panel on Water (2016–18), Member of the UN Secretary-General's Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation Agency, Member of the UN Secretary-General's High-Level Panel for Global Sustainability, Founding Chair of Global Green Growth Institute, Temasek International Panel Member (2004–18) and Independent Non-Executive Director of Standard Chartered plc (2010-2019).
Ban Ki-moon is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was the South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade between 2004 and 2006. Ban was initially considered to be a long shot for the office of Secretary-General of the United Nations; he began to campaign for the office in February 2006. As the foreign minister of South Korea, he was able to travel to all the countries on the United Nations Security Council, a maneuver that subsequently turned him into the campaign's front runner.
The Elders is an international non-governmental organisation of public figures noted as senior statesmen, peace activists and human rights advocates, who were brought together by Nelson Mandela in 2007. They describe themselves as "independent global leaders working together for peace, justice, human rights and a sustainable planet". The goal Mandela set for The Elders was to use their "almost 1,000 years of collective experience" to work on solutions for seemingly insurmountable problems such as climate change, HIV/AIDS, and poverty, as well as to "use their political independence to help resolve some of the world's most intractable conflicts".
Post-Kyoto negotiations refers to high level talks attempting to address global warming by limiting greenhouse gas emissions. Generally part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), these talks concern the period after the first "commitment period" of the Kyoto Protocol, which expired at the end of 2012. Negotiations have been mandated by the adoption of the Bali Road Map and Decision 1/CP.13.
Three United Nations Special Envoys on Climate Change were appointed by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on May 1, 2007. The envoys will be engaging in consultations with Governments and other organizations in order to assist the Secretary-General to progress the international negotiations towards a post-Kyoto climate change treaty.
Paulus Gerardus Josephus Maria Polman, is a Dutch businessman and author. He was the chief executive officer (CEO) of the British/Dutch consumer goods company Unilever. Polman is also the author of Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take.
The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, also known as UN Women, is a United Nations entity working for gender equality and the empowerment of women. UN Women advocates for the rights of women and girls, and focuses on a wide array of issues, including violence against women and violence against LGBTIQ+ people.
Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) is an international organization working in partnership with the United Nations, leaders in government, the private sector, financial institutions and civil society with as goal to drive further, faster action toward the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 7, which calls for universal access to sustainable energy by 2030, and the Paris Agreement, which calls for reducing greenhouse gas emissions to limit climate warming to below 2° Celsius.
The R20 – Regions of Climate Action is a non-profit environmental organization founded in September 2011, by former governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, with the support of the United Nations. R20 is a coalition of sub-national governments, private companies, international organizations, NGOs, and academic & financial institutions. Its mission is to accelerate sub-national infrastructure investments in the green economy to meaningfully contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The NGO operates at the sub-national level as R20 believes sub-national governments constitute a powerful force for change and are best positioned to take action & implement green projects.
The Post-2015 Development Agenda was a process from 2012 to 2015 led by the United Nations to define the future global development framework that would succeed the Millennium Development Goals. The new framework, starting from 2016 is called Sustainable Development Goals.
Arctic Circle is an organization founded by former President of Iceland Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, former Alaska Dispatch Publisher Alice Rogoff, former Premier of Greenland Kuupik Kleist and other partners. The organization's mission is to facilitate dialogue among political and business leaders, environmental experts, scientists, indigenous representatives, and other international stakeholders to address issues facing the Arctic as a result of climate change and melting sea ice. The Arctic Circle styles itself as an international organization with a Secretariat based in Reykjavik, Iceland.
The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) is a treaty-based inter-governmental international development organization headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. The organization promotes green growth, a growth paradigm that is characterized by a balance of economic growth and environmental sustainability. Global Green Growth Institute provides technical support, research opportunities, and stakeholder engagement for green growth plans, especially in developing countries.
The Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) is a non-profit launched by the United Nations in 2012 to promote the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at national and international levels. As of 2022, the SDSN has over 1,700 members in 50 networks across 144 countries, with offices in New York, Paris, and Kuala Lumpur.
The Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) was founded on 18 September 2018. Hosted by the Netherlands, GCA engages in policy activities, research, communications, and technical assistance to government and the private sector, policy development, research, advocacy, communications, and partnerships. GCA's floating headquarters is hosted by the Netherlands in Rotterdam, with regional offices in Africa, South Asia, and Asia Pacific.
Trisha Shetty is an Indian activist for gender equity and the founder of SheSays. She is known for human rights advocacy, especially advocating for gender-sensitive policies and law, quality education, youth and gender representation and preventing sexual violence in India. Her work and advocacy has been recognised by the United Nations, President Obama, Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II and President Emmanuel Macron. She currently serves as the President of the Steering Committee of the Paris Peace Forum, an international summit launched in 2018, under the leadership of President Macron; to promote good global governance. She is also part of the 8 member Global Leadership Advisory Council of the Museum for the United Nations - UN Live, alongside Ban Ki-moon; Former UN Secretary-General and Darren Walker; President, Ford Foundation. Shetty was named one of India's "7 Most Powerful Warriors" by India Today and was one of the honourees of the Vogue India Woman of the Year Award. She was also inducted as one of the 12 Obama Foundation Scholars at Columbia University in the inaugural batch. Trisha publicly shared her story of child sexual abuse for the first time in 2019, in a TED Talk titled, "Embrace your scars, be your own hero" as part of a special edition of TED conference broadcast on Television, hosted by and in collaboration with the Actor, Shah Rukh Khan.
Global Goals Week is a shared commitment between a coalition of over 160 partners across all industries, which mobilizes annually in September to bring together communities, demand urgency, and supercharge solutions for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It was founded in 2016 by the United Nations Foundation, Project Everyone, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). It is timed to coincide with the UN General Assembly "High-Level Week" in New York. The week includes events, summits, conferences, forums, workshops, pledges, and other activations in New York, around the world, and online. It usually runs alongside Climate Week NYC, the annual conference of Goalkeepers, Bloomberg Global Business Forum and many other high-level events.
