We are proud to announce that David Michael Ainsworth will be joining us as a guest speaker for our opening ceremony. With a Bachelor of Arts from University of Toronto and a Doctorate of Philosophy in political science from McGill, Dr. Ainsworth built the skills necessary for a career in international relations.
He is currently at the World Bank in Washington DC, working as a Senior External Relations Officer at the Global Environment Fund (GEF), which essentially means that he interacts with the media on behalf of the GEF. Before this, Dr. Ainsworth spent a couple of decades at the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Montreal. Over these years, his leadership of the communications team played a crucial role in branding and media relations aspects of the convention. Dr. Ainsworth has traveled all over the world to participate in biodiversity, climate change, ocean, and desertification Conferences of the Parties (COPs). He has organized and reported on UN committees where politicians and ministers debate the most important issues of our time. In 2023, Dr. Ainsworth represented the CBD at the UN Water Conference General Assembly, giving remarks at the podium in the GA chamber in New York. During COPs, he moderated press conferences with the Secretary General and the leaders of UNDP, UNEP, and the FAO.
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At DCMUN, you will get the chance to hear about the United Nations from a more personal perspective. Dr. Ainsworth will talk about the fascinating behind the scenes of conferences that involve tens of thousands of people, as well as what it’s like to work in international relations in today’s world.
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