It was a privilege to have crew member Alex Schubert to share with us a magnificent presentation on his view in retrospect, of the above conference he attended from 9-10 May in Nairobi Kenya, held at the United Nations Conference Centre. The United Nations Civil Society Conference is the premier event on the civil society calendar at the United Nations. A lot of preparation was required to attend. The programme was tough, morning and afternoon sessions. The venue was impressive with 115 nations’ flags flying in the grounds.

The Conference offered civil society organizations an opportunity to put a global perspective on a specific issue and bring together senior UN System officials, prominent international civil society organizations, youth changemakers, academia, public opinion makers, and international media to discuss issues of global concern. This international forum, which hosted more than 2000 participants, provided preliminary discussions and data ahead of the Summit of the Future in September 2024 at the UN Headquarters in New York, which Alex is keen to attend.

Interactive dialogue across stakeholder groups sought to create opportunities for participants working on similar issues to come together and advance plans – concluding with a report back from 20 ImPact Coalitions (ICs). The ICs formed over these two days represented an opportunity to demonstrate self-organization, bringing together civil society, United Nations entities, and Member State representatives on issues as diverse as the science-policy interface, artificial intelligence, future generations, and funding community action. A brilliant talk. Thank you Alex!