Meet the panel

As we get closer to the World Conservation Congress in October 2008, our panel of experts will choose from all entries the ones that will be shown to the global gathering of world leaders in Barcelona.

The panel includes:

Sir David Attenborough

Broadcaster and naturalist

Sir David Attenborough is one of the world's most acclaimed broadcasters and naturalists. Widely considered one of the pioneers of the nature documentary, his career as the face and voice of BBC natural history programmes has spanned more than 50 years. He is best known for writing and presenting the "Life" series, which collectively form a comprehensive survey of all terrestrial life on our planet.

Sir David’s most recent projects include the extraordinary natural history series, Planet Earth and Life in Cold Blood, which explores the lives of reptiles and amphibians.

---

James P Leape

Director General, WWF international

Jim Leape has worked in nature conservation for more than 25 years. A Harvard University graduate, he began his career as an environmental lawyer - bringing environmental protection cases in the United States, and co-authoring the leading American text on environmental law.

Jim joined WWF's US office in 1989, and for ten years led its worldwide conservation programme. Prior to becoming the Director General of WWF International in 2005, he directed the conservation and science initiatives of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, one of the largest funders in the US.

---

Julia Marton-Lefevre

Director General, IUCN

Julia Marton-Lefevre was born in Hungary and moved to the United States with her parents who were political refugees after the Hungarian Revolution.

Previous to becoming IUCN Director General, Julia was Rector of the University for Peace. UPEACE is an international university established by a UN General Assembly resolution, with its headquarters campus in Costa Rica.

Before her position at the University for Peace, Julia was Executive Director of LEAD (Leadership for Environment and Development) International, a programme established by The Rockefeller Foundation to bring together and train leaders from all parts of the world in improving their leadership skills around the issues of sustainable development.

“We live on an amazing planet and we want to encourage young people to be involved in environmental issues. With connect2earth.org they have the chance to influence real decision makers.”

---

Veli Sundbäck

Executive Vice President, Corporate Relations and Responsibility, Nokia

Veli Sundbäck heads up Nokia's government and public affairs function, and initiatives aimed at achieving sustainable development and providing access and technology to emerging markets.

Moreover, Veli is dedicated to advancing Nokia's role as a good corporate citizen and shaping the policies that allow Nokia to function as a successful business and socially responsible company.

Veli joined Nokia in 1996 after a distinguished diplomatic career spanning over 25 years.

---

Achim Steiner

Executive Director of UNEP

Achim Steiner is the Executive Director of UNEP, the United Nations Environment Programme.

Before joining UNEP, Mr. Steiner served as Director General of the IUCN. His professional career has included assignments with governmental, non-governmental and international organizations in different parts of the world. He has worked both at grassroots level as well as at the highest levels of international policy-making to address the interface between environmental sustainability, social equity and economic development.

"Young people connect to this earth with fresh eyes and fresh ideas that can really make world leaders sit up and think. Therefore I welcome this new initiative and the opportunity to bring young people to the World Conservation Congress in Baercelona. Young people not only have a stake in the future, they have the creativity and the enthusiasm to shape it"

---

Wangari Maathai

Nobel Peace Prize winner and founder of the Green Belt Movement.

Wangari Maathai is an environmentalist, a civil society and women's rights activist, and parliamentarian.

She is the founder of the Green Belt Movement, a grassroots organization who help women’s groups plant trees to conserve the environment and improve quality of life. Through the Green Belt Movement, she now has helped women plant more than 30 million trees on their farms, on schools, and on church compounds.

She is internationally recognized for her persistent struggle for democracy, human rights, and environmental conservation and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004.

---

Jessica Lax

Founding Director of the Otesha Project

Jessica co-founded The Otesha Project when she was 21, and currently sits on the Board of Directors.

The Otesha project is a youth-run organization in Canada and the UK that uses theatre to mobilize young people to create local and global change though their daily consumer choices. Within just 5 years, the Otesha project has reached over 70,000 people directly with their theatre performances, empowering youth to think critically about the power they have as consumers. Otesha has also co-ordinated 10 bike tours that have reached thousands of students across Canada, trained over 300 sustainability ACT-ors to deliver performances, and self-published The Otesha Book: From Junk to Funk with over 6,000 copies in circulation. Recently awarded the YouthActionNet award, the Tooker Gomberg award, the CAMBIO award, and the outsatnding non-profit EECOM award – Otesha has been widely recognized for its innovative and effective youth engagement programs.

---

Dr Leena Srivastava

Executive Director,TERI

Dr Leena Srivastava is Executive Director,TERI and Senior Vice President of TERI-NA (The Energy and Resources Institute, North America), Washington, DC, USA.

She has been the Dean, Faculty of Policy and Planning, TERI University, since June 2000 and she teaches doctoral courses in Energy Policy and Planning and Infrastructure Economics.

She has a number of publications to her credit and was a Coordinating Lead Author for Working Group III of the Third Assessment Report of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). She is also on the Steering Committee of the International Human Dimensions Programme (IHDP) on Global Environmental Change.