Dear ICLEI member:

O Daring Cities 2020 It's underway. The world's first and largest online forum for urban leaders tackling the climate emergency is offering local and regional governments and their partners the chance to meet virtually and increase their climate commitments.

A critical part of the fight against climate change is the ability to communicate persuasively. Strong communication skills have always been important – we all know that. But now, as we race to solve the climate crisis, effective communication skills are more important than ever.

The good news is that there are ways to improve your communication skills to become a more persuasive and charismatic speaker and leader. Transforming our cities to save the planet will require us to use all the tools we have – and effective oral skills are one of them.

Mayors and their teams are invited to join us for an exclusive training session on October 26, 2020, to learn the most up-to-date communication techniques to make them the most persuasive, trustworthy, and engaging climate communicators they can be.

We are offering a session on Monday, October 26, 2020. Register today for this exclusive training, as spaces are limited.

•  26/10/2020 – 12:00 – 13:30 (Brasilia Time) – Simultaneous interpretation into Portuguese and Spanish will be available. Sign up here.

This training is part of a partnership with... Countdown, Countdown is a global initiative to advocate for and accelerate solutions to climate change. Developed by TED, Future Stewards, and a network of partners, including ICLEI, the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GCoM), and C40 Cities, Countdown has already engaged millions of citizens, as well as CEOs, investors, celebrities, young activists, mayors, and other political leaders with a common goal: to build a better future by cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030.

This exclusive training is led by Briar Goldberg, TED's Director of Speaker Coaching and an expert in public speaking and strategic communication. In addition to training hundreds of TED speakers, Ms. Goldberg has worked with leaders from some of the world's largest companies, including the CEOs of Facebook, Ford, and Levi's. She has coached and written speeches for Grammy winners, Nobel Prize winners, and numerous government officials, and has also taught business communication at Stanford University and Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management.

His advice on public speaking and effective communication has been published in the Wall Street Journal, Fortune, and CNN. Next year, and leading up to COP26, there will be exciting ways to continue engaging with Countdown. At the Countdown Summit (October 12-15, 2021), ahead of COP26 in November 2021, Countdown will share an inspiring and practical blueprint for a net-zero emissions future and celebrate the progress already made at a central summit for 1,000 leaders in Edinburgh, Scotland. New commitments and actions will be developed by various Countdown multi-sector working groups. The ideas and commitments shared here will be further amplified by local events around the world. We will contact you with more information, as well as opportunities to host an event in your city.

Local governments are a critical part of the fight against climate change, and we are counting on you to be a strong voice now and in the future. I hope you will join us in this exciting opportunity.

Yours sincerely,

Gino Van Begin, Secretary General
ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability