Ms. Marina Ponti (Italy) has been appointed Head of the Global Campaign Center of the UN SDG Action Campaign in Bonn (Germany).
As one of the main architects of the UN Millennium Campaign -the predecessor of the UN SDG Action Campaign- Ms. Ponti served as Global Deputy Director and Regional Director for Europe for over a decade and was at the vanguard of innovative campaign initiatives, building multi-stakeholder coalitions, mobilizing resources and forging long-term partnerships between civil society organizations, Local Government, parliamentarians, media, the private sector and the UN.
Prior, Ms. Ponti was an advocacy and resource mobilization specialist with UNICEF and the UN Secretariat. She also served as Chief Operating Officer of Catapult -a girls and women’s right crowdfunding platform and as Special Advisor on post-2015 during the final negotiations of the Agenda 2030 for the global network Social Watch.
Ms. Ponti started her career with the Italian NGO Mani Tese as Head of Campaigning and External Relations, leading global campaigns and movements on debt, trade, human rights and development assistance.
She has published several articles for newspapers, magazines, online publications and blogs on the Millennium Development Goals, on the Sustainable Development Goals, on aid effectiveness, financial speculation, gender equality, social development, local development, debt-relief, human rights, and trade. Ms. Ponti holds an MA in Political Science from the University of Milan and has completed an executive education programme from INSEAD in Global Management, Finance and Partnerships. She speaks English, French, Italian and Spanish.
Marina Ponti, Head of the Global Campaign Center, meets with UN SDG Action Campaign team members
Photo: Some of the Festival team members with volunteers at the Global Festival of Ideas for Sustainable Development. photothek/Inga Kjer
We would like to thank everyone, especially the partner organizations, inspiring speakers and colleagues for being part of history at the first ever Global Festival of Ideas for Sustainable Development on 1-3 March 2017 at the World Conference Center Bonn!
The Festival was supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Hosts: UN SDG Action Campaign & Overseas Development Institute (ODI)
Organizing partners: City of Bonn, Cepei, Data-Pop Alliance, Engagement Global, Plan International, Salzburg Global Seminar, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), World Food Programme (WFP) and World Resources Institute (WRI)
Supporting partners: Deutsche Welle, DW Global Media Forum, European Union, SDSN
Plenary Speakers:
Mitchell Toomey, Global Director, UN SDG Action Campaign
Ishbel Matheson, Director of Public Affairs and Communications, ODI
Ashok Sridharan, Lord Mayor, City of Bonn
Dr. Alaa Murabit, SDG Global Advocate and UN High Level Commissioner
Dr. Ingolf Dietrich, Commissioner for Agenda 2030, Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Sarah Poole, Deputy Assistant Administrator and Deputy Director, Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, UNDP
Anne-Birgitte Albrectsen, CEO, Plan International
Paul Okumu, Head of Secretariat, Africa Platform
Kumi Naidoo, Launch Director, Africans Rising for Justice, Peace and Dignity
Claire Melamed, Executive Director, Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data
Casper Sitemba, Executive Office of the Deputy President, Kenya
Philipp Schönrock, Director, CEPEI
Soumya Chattopadhyay, Senior Research Fellow, Growth, Poverty and Inequality Programme, ODI
Meng Zhaoli, Chief Economist, Tencent Institute
Jakob Trollbäck, Founder, The New Division by Trollbäck+Company
Cristina Gallach, Under-Secretary General for Communications and Public Information, UN
Karol Alejandra Arámbula Carrillo, International Affairs Consultant and MY World Partner in Mexico
Dr. Tauni Lanier, Executive Director, Impact 2030
Natalie Robi Tingo, Accountability Advocate, Restless Development
Emi Mahmoud, World Poetry Slam Champion
Edda Hamar, UN SDG Young Leader and Founder/ Director Undress Runways
Namhla Mniki-Mangaliso, Director, African Monitor
Pedro Conceição, Director of Strategic Policy, Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, UNDP
Beckie Malay, Vice President, Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement
Honorable Members of the German Parliament: Dr. Claudia Lücking-Michel, Mr. Ulrich Kelber
Nadira Hira for being a fantastic MC
DW Global Media Forum for hosting 7 minutes for discussion on the Live Stage
UNFCCC for supporting communications outreach, supporting the Festival comms team on-site and event security
The UN Bonn Common Information Unit and UNRIC for supporting the press conference and media outreach
The News and Media Division and UN TV from the UN Department of Public Information for coverage and the livestream
Deutsche Post DHL Group for providing the SDG postcards, mailbox and stamps
Amazing Youth Leaders for hosting the cross-generational dialogues on the Live Stage
Abinav Batachan, UNDP Panda Champion
Usman Khan, UNDP Panda Champion Bringing Education to Youth and Learning Initiatives (BEYLI) Organization Pakistan
Jilt van Schayik, Director Building Bridges Foundation
Edda Hamar, Youth Leader, Founder and Director of Undress Runway
Chernor Bah, Education Advocate, Girl Champion & International Development Professional
Frances Simpson-Allen, Programme Management Officer, Office of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth at United Nations
Rosario del Pilar Diaz Garavito, Founder The Millennials Movement
Alex Wang, Secretary General of Youthink Center
Cunsong Xia, Youth4SDG
Michelle Xinyang Mei, Youthink Center
Karol Alejandra Arámbula Carrillo, International Affairs Consultant and MY World Partner in Mexico
Natalie Robi Tingo, Accountability Advocate, Restless Development
The amazing Festival volunteers
All the participants who made the Festival an enriching experience, we hope to see you next year!
