2016 IUCN WORLD CONSERVATION CONGRESS BRIDGES THOUGHT LEADERS TOGETHER

To kick off the month of September, Bennet Group had the honor of participating in the IUCN World Conservation Congress (WCC) through two of our clients, the East-West Center and Kupu. Held once every four years, the IUCN World Conservation Congress helps shape the direction of conservation and sustainable development. 2016 marked the first time that the United States hosted this international event in Hawai‘i.

The East-West Center’s East-West Sustainability Summit convened key global sustainability leaders, including philanthropists, environmental and government leaders to collaboratively address the health and prosperity of people in the Asia Pacific Region and around the world. Participants in the Sustainability Summit brought diverse approaches to solving the world’s toughest sustainability challenges: clean energy, green finance and supply chains, protection of land and sea, innovative business models and government policies that included enhancing public/private partnerships. Our Bennet Group team helped with strategic planning, media relations and event details prior to and during the summit, leading up to the day of IUCN.

Kupu, Hawai‘i’s leading nonprofit for environmental conservation and youth development, played a significant role in the 2016 IUCN World Conservation Congress. Kupu CEO John Leong served as the chair of the Youth Engagement Working Group, a youth-focused subcommittee of the national host committee in Honolulu. The WCC gave Kupu a mission-aligned world platform to share the organization’s impactful conservation work with the Congress’ 6,000-10,000 participants that included a multitude of influencers from all over the world. Bennet Group worked with Kupu to ensure that events led by the Youth Engagement Working Group were highlighted and recognized by both our media partners and the community.