2014 UN CLIMATE SUMMIT
KATHY JETNIL-KIJINER
PRESS LISTING AND TOP TWITTER SCREEN SHOTS
1) BBC World Service Radio
UN Seeks Malala on Climate Change
29 August
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-28958227
2) BBC World Service Online
Global Citizens Compete to Address UN Climate Summit
29 August
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-28980996
3) UN Climate Summit web site
Climate Summit to hear from Marshall Islands poet
29 August - Article (including description of NGLS process)
http://www.un.org/climatechange/summit/2014/08/climate-summit-hear-marshall-islands-poet/
4) Thompson Reuters Foundation
Young island poet to address Ban Ki-moon climate summit
1 September
http://www.trust.org/item/20140901151157-h31kt
5) China Climate Change Info-Net (reprint of Thomson Reuters Foundation)
Young Island Poet to Address Ban Ki-Moon Climate Summit
01 September
6) WND.com
25-Year Old Woman to Lead Climate Summit
2 September
http://www.wnd.com/2014/09/25-year-old-woman-to-lead-climate-summit/
7) Marshall Islands Journal
The World is Going to Listen to Kathy
5 September
http://www.marshallislandsjournal.com/Archive%209-5-14-page.html
8) Radio New Zealand International
Marshall Islands poet to address UN
8 September
http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/254133/marshall-islands-poet-to-address-un
9) Marianas Variety (Micronesia)
Marshall Islander selected as opening speaker for UN Climate Summit
11 September
10) UN Climate Summit web site
Activists, celebrities, show support for Climate Summit in new video
16 September - Kathy appears twice in UN Climate Summit video
11) Aljazeera
Climate activism: A change in approach?
21 September - includes:
One of the few moments of real compassion during the summit will come when a 25-year-old poet, journalist and climate change activist from the Marshall Islands delivers the keynote opening address. Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner will say she became inspired to fight climate change when she witnessed the raging ocean destroy her city's main graveyard on her island. "I was inspired by the concept that the ocean is almost eating, or swallowing our dead in a sense," she said in an interview with a US donor. "There is profound sadness and a profound helplessness about that. It is so sad, we have no control over it; it is the ocean that is taking it over. That is what inspired me; that is what moved me deeply."
12) The Guardian
Young Pacific islanders are not climate change victims – they're fighting
A young performance artist from the Marshall Islands will tell this week’s UN climate summit that it’s time for action – and she’s not alone
21 September - Article with video of “History Project”
13) CNN Opinion
Re: No one cares about climate change
21 September - includes photo of Kathy and:
"I am fearful, but for the most part, I'm optimistic," said Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner, a 26-year-old who came to New York from the Marshall Islands, in the Pacific. Sea level rise already is washing away grave sites and lashing homes on the islands, she said. She came to New York in part to represent her 7-month-old daughter, who she hopes will be able to live on the island, rather than relocate. "I see this movement and I see this march and I see all these thousands of people coming together for climate change; I believe there are things we can do to change the world. "I believe it can happen." It's not possible for her to ignore this issue like the rest of us. "The thing you have to imagine is the ocean is huge next to our islands," she told me. "Our islands are completely tiny ... You don't get to forget how vulnerable you are."
http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/21/opinion/sutter-peoples-climate-march/
14) Huffington Post
Hundreds Of Thousands Turn Out For People's Climate March In New York City
21 September - Last paragraph: "We need to act now ... We only have one atmosphere and we of the Marshall Islands only have one land to call 'home,'" Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner, a young mother from the island nation, said before the march. "We don't want to move and we shouldn't have to move."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/21/peoples-climate-march_n_5857902.html
15) NY1
Diverse Climate March Crowd Bands Together in Common Effort
21 September - includes: “Among the speakers was Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner, who will also speak at the UN Climate Summit Tuesday. For her, it's about protecting her homeland. "The Marshall Islands are in the North Pacific and are only two meters above sea level. Our islands will be one of the first to disappear when sea level rises," Jetnil-Kijiner said.”
16) Grist
One big march, lots of little messages
21 September - includes: “Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner, a woman from the Marshall Islands who is in town for Tuesday’s U.N. Climate Summit, hit on a theme echoed on many of the signs held by marchers: that there is no alternative to the Earth if we destroy it. ‘We only have one atmosphere and we of the Marshall Islands only have one land to call home,’ she said. Or, as many of the signs put it, ‘There is no Planet B.’”
http://grist.org/climate-energy/one-big-march-lots-of-little-messages/
17) UN News Centre
Ban seeks ‘vision, concrete action’ from world leaders at UN climate summit
22 September
Last paragraph: “Speaking on behalf of civil society will be Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner from the Marshall Islands, who was selected through an open process run by the UN Non-Governmental Liaison Service.”
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=48785#.VCbcXUtVI8N
18) Fox News Latino
Some 300,000 march in NYC to demand action against climate change
22 September - includes: “Also on hand was Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner, from the Marshall Islands in the Pacific, an archipelago that is just two meters (6.5 feet) above sea level and, due to global warming, is in danger of being inundated. ‘We don't want to move from the islands,’ she said.”
19) Radio Australia
Powerful poetry from Marshallese writer sets scene at Summit
22 September - Excerpt of “Tell Them”
20) Radio Australia
Marshall Island poet in the spotlight at Climate Change Summit
22 September
21) Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat
Marshall Island poet in the spotlight at Climate Change Summit
22 September - link to Radio Australia Story above
22) Slate
The Changing Face of Climate Change
22 September - includes 2 paragraphs from interview with Kathy - in middle and at end
23) Fusion (Joint venture between Univision and Disney/ABC Television)
Jane Goodall among the flood of activists at NYC’s Climate March
22 September - includes two short video interview clips with Kathy
http://fusion.net/video/17274/jane-goodall-among-the-flood-of-activists-at-nycs-climate-march/
24) Red Dirt Report (Oklahoma)
Growing calls for greener, cleaner planet spreads to Oklahoma
22 September - includes: “Tomorrow, at the United Nations Climate Summit in New York City, Marshallese poet Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner will speak before as many as 100 heads of state as part of a four-woman “civil society” delegation, reports the Marshall Islands Journal. Red Dirt Report, which has reported and editorialized about the legacy of U.S. nuclear testing in the Marshall Islands, and the critical need for “Nuclear Disarmament Now!” has been following Jetnil-Kijiner’s hard-hitting poetry, particularly when it comes to those poems dealing with the aforementioned nuclear testing on those distant Pacific atolls. The Americans treated the Marshallese as guinea pigs, as this award-winning and suppressed film addresses.” + studio video
http://www.reddirtreport.com/prairie-opinions/growing-calls-greener-cleaner-planet-spreads-oklahoma
25) UN Climate Summit web site
WATCH: Marshallese poet Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner speaking at the Climate Summit
23 September - Article and video
26) Photo Album from IISD Reporting Service - with pictures from Opening Ceremony and Voices from the Frontlines of Climate Change Thematic Debate
UN Climate Summit 2014: Catalyzing Action
23 September
http://www.iisd.ca/climate/cs/2014/
27) Public Radio International
The UN climate summit opens with a voice from an endangered nation
23 September - Article with video
http://www.pri.org/stories/2014-09-23/un-climate-summit-opens-voice-endangered-nation
28) Public Radio International (The Takeaway)
In Pacific island nations, there's nowhere left to run from climate change
23 September - Studio video at bottom of article
http://www.pri.org/stories/2014-09-23/pacific-island-nations-theres-nowhere-left-run-climate-change
29) Huffington Post
Young Poet Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner Explains The Essence Of Climate Change At UN Summit
23 September - Article with both performance and studio video
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/23/kathy-jetnil-kijiner_n_5870194.html?utm_hp_ref=arts
30) Slate
This Climate Change Poem Moved World Leaders to Tears Today
23 September - Article with studio video
31) Mother Jones
This Poet From a Tiny Island Nation Just Shamed The World’s Leaders
23 September - Article with video
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/09/marshall-islands-poet-un-climate
32) Al Jazeera America
Pacific island nations lead by example at UN climate summit
23 September - Article on Summit with lead photo of Kathy and family, quotes from Kathy and Makerusa, mention of process and discussion of Marshall Islands and indigenous issues
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/9/23/renewables-climatesummit.html
33) ThinkProgress (ClimateProgress)
Marshall Islands Speaker Tells U.N. ‘We Are Drawing The Line Here’ On Climate Change
23 September - Article with video
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/09/23/3570736/kathy-jetnil-kijiner-marshall-islands-un-speech/
34) Washington Post
Why U.S. airstrikes in Syria may be bad for the environment
23 September - Includes this para with quote from her statement:
At the opening ceremony of the Climate Summit, a poet from the Marshall Islands called for action from the wider world. "Climate change affects not only us islanders," Kathy Jefnil-Kijiner said. "It threatens the entire world." The Marshall Islands are just one of a number of Pacific Island nations at risk from climate change.
35) South-South News
Statement and poem by Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner, Climate Summit 2014
23 September
36) Euronews
Ban Ki-moon calls for ‘bold pledges’ at UN climate change summit
23 September - Includes UN video of statement and poem
http://www.euronews.com/2014/09/23/ban-ki-moon-calls-for-bold-pledges-at-un-climate-change-summit/
37) Cihan News Agency (Turkey)
UN Chief calls world leaders to set the world on a new course
23 September - includes: “Speaking on behalf of civil society, Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner from the Marshall Islands said "climate change is a challenge that few want to take on, but the price of inaction is so high. Those of us from Oceania are already experiencing it first hand. We've seen waves crashing into our homes and our fruit trees withers from the salt and droughts. We look at our children and wonder how they would know themselves or their culture should we lose our islands." She also delivered a moving poem to her infant daughter saying that she won't let her down on climate change action. The infant was brought onstage, met with a standing ovation.”
38) Jezebel
Poet Calls Out World Leaders in Stirring Speech on Climate Change
23 September - Article with video
http://jezebel.com/poet-calls-out-world-leaders-in-stirring-speech-on-clim-1638245112
39) Bay Area IndyMedia
Marshall Islands poet makes climate appeal at UN
23 September
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2014/09/23/18761987.php#18761988
40) The Tree - Content for Climate and Energy Communicators
UN CLIMATE SUMMIT: Mother’s poem to six-month-old daughter triggers standing ovation
23 September
41) Responding to Climate Change (RTCC)
Marshall Islands poet: “We deserve to do more than just survive”
23 September - Article, video, transcript of poem
http://www.rtcc.org/2014/09/23/marshall-islands-poet-we-deserve-to-do-more-than-just-survive/
42) Responding to Climate Change (RTCC)
Society has “mobilised” against climate change – Hollande
23 September - includes: “But the star’s performance was overshadowed by Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner, a young mother from the Marshall Islands, who stunned the audience with an emotional poem to her four month old daughter. “Don’t cry – mommy promises you no one will come and devour you – no greedy whale of a company sharking through political seas – no backwater bullying of businesses with broken morals – no blindfolded bureaucracies gonna push this mother ocean over,” she said. Ban stood at the end and led the standing ovation in the UN’s General Assembly hall, before warning delegates that the timeframe for avoiding warming of above 2C, a level deemed dangerous, was fast running out.
http://www.rtcc.org/2014/09/23/society-has-mobilised-against-climate-change-hollande/
43) Oxfam America
When world leaders listened to a climate message from the rest of us:
Among the speeches at the UN Climate Summit, a mom’s poem for her daughter stood out—and got a standing ovation.
23 September
http://firstperson.oxfamamerica.org/2014/09/world-leaders-listened-climate-message-rest-us/
44) 350.org on Facebook
23 September
This is the poem by Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner of the Marshall Islands that brought down the house at the UN Climate Summit today. It is moving in a way that you wouldn't believe.
Just watch. You'll see.
https://www.facebook.com/350.org/posts/10152680103632708
45) Liaocheng Daily (China)
2014联合国气候峰会前瞻 (2014 Summit preview)
23 September - describes Summit programme, and NGLS nomination process
http://news.lcxw.cn/world/gjyw/20140924/571085.html
46) GreenReport.it (Italy)
Summit Onu sul clima, Ban KI-moon scuote i leader mondiali
23 September - mentions Kathy’s participation, NGLS process
http://www.greenreport.it/news/clima/summit-onu-clima-ban-rabbia/
47) Firedoglake
A Lively Atmosphere at the People’s Climate March
23 September - mention that Kathy was in press conference and will address UN
http://news.firedoglake.com/2014/09/23/a-lively-atmosphere-at-the-peoples-climate-march/
48) UN News Centre
Climate Summit: ‘All hands on deck’ declares Ban, calling for leadership, concrete action
23 September - Includes “Speaking on behalf of civil society, Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner from the Marshall Islands, delivered a moving poem to her infant daughter saying that she ‘won’t let her down’ on climate change action. The infant was brought onstage, met with a standing ovation.”
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=48787#.VCt8QueKSM8
Repeated in India Blooms news service:
49) Episcopal News Service
World’s largest climate action march: Episcopalians protest for change
23 September - Includes: “Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner was set to share her story at the U.N. Climate Summit’s opening ceremony on Sept. 23. Two days earlier, the young mother from the Marshall Islands stood onstage among several activists at a pre-march press conference to tell the crowd how her home is in danger of disappearing due to rising seas caused by global warming. Her island is two feet above sea level. ‘We need to act now. We cannot wait. We only have one land to call home. We need you,’ Jetnil-Kijiner said.”
50) TckTckTck
Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner: ‘We deserve to do more than just survive, we deserve to thrive’
23 September - Article with studio video, link to UN video, and transcript of poem
http://tcktcktck.org/2014/09/kathy-jetnil-kijiner-deserve-just-survive-deserve-thrive/64567
51) TckTckTck
Live Blog of the UN Climate Summit
23 September
http://tcktcktck.org/2014/09/live-blog-un-climate-summit-new-york/64559
52) Rappler
UN chief at climate summit: Let's make history
23 September - includes “Other speakers included New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, United Nations Environment Program Goodwill Ambassador actress Li Bingbing, and civil society’s Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner from the Marshall Islands, who recited a moving poem dedicated for her baby.”
http://www.rappler.com/world/69959-un-climate-summit-opening
53) Latest.com
Why There is Plenty of Suspicion That Today’s UN Climate Summit is Just Another ‘Talk Fest’
23 September - lead photo of Kathy, Mak and Matafele
http://latest.com/2014/09/plenty-suspicion-todays-un-climate-summit-just-another-talk-fest/
54) E&E News ClimateWire
The world's 2 largest greenhouse gas emitters use U.N. summit to pledge climate actions
24 September - Includes: “Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner, a poet who traveled from the Marshall Islands, brought delegates in the General Assembly hall to a standing ovation when she said countries like hers ‘are drawing the line here.’”
http://www.eenews.net/stories/1060006356
55) Scientific American
China and U.S. Promise to Combat Climate Change
24 September - Includes: “Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner, a poet who traveled from the Marshall Islands, brought delegates in the General Assembly hall to a standing ovation when she said countries like hers ‘are drawing the line here.’”
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/china-and-u-s-promise-to-combat-climate-change/
56) Radio Australia
Brèves d'Australie et du Pacifique - mercredi 24 septembre 2014
Kathy’s presentation at UN Included in summary listing of top 7 news items for the day
57) Oxfam New Zealand
24 September
26 year old poet Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner, from the Marshall Islands, addressed the Opening Ceremony of the UN Climate Summit. It brought world leaders to tears.
Kathy's poem "Dear Matafele Peinem" was written to her daughter.
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?id=23625700722&story_fbid=10152300263920723
58) Telesur (Latin American multi-media platform)
Marshall Islands Poet Warns UN of Imminent Climate Threat
24 September - Article with text of poem
59) EuroNews
Watch: Leonardo DiCaprio speech among five must-see clips on UN climate summit
24 September - includes: “4. KATHY JETNIL-KIJINER - If Obama was the biggest hitter in New York, then Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner from the Marshall Islands was perhaps one of the biggest-hitting, earning a standing applause at the end of her speech. Poet Jetnil-Kijiner helps bring the reality of climate change to the assembly with an eloquent and inspiring delivery.” + video of statement and poem
60) Mondial Nieuws (Belgium)
Ban Ki-moon: ‘De tijd van praten over klimaatverandering is voorbij.’
24 September - Includes paragraph about Kathy’s presentation and studio video
http://www.mo.be/nieuws/ban-ki-moon-de-tijd-van-praten-over-klimaatverandering-voorbij
61) Vancouver Observer
A Marshallese mother's powerful poem to her daughter moves people to tears at UN Climate Summit
24 September - Article with video and transcript of poem
62) Tendencias 21 (Spain)
Presencias y ausencias que brillan en la Cumbre del Clima
Lead photo is Kathy, Makerusa, Matafele
24 September
http://www.tendencias21.net/Presencias-y-ausencias-que-brillan-en-la-Cumbre-del-Clima_a37311.html
63) Quartz
This young mother’s poem about her vanishing country stunned the world’s leaders
24 September - Article with both videos
http://qz.com/270909/this-young-mothers-poem-about-her-vanishing-country-stunned-the-worlds-leaders/
64) Gawker
Mother's Moving Climate Change Poem Brings World Leaders to Tears at UN
24 September - Article with UN video
http://gawker.com/mothers-moving-climate-change-poem-brings-world-leaders-1638746044
65) New York Magazine
A Young Mother’s Poem at the U.N. Climate Summit Was Completely Heartbreaking
24 September - Article with video
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/09/mother-reads-heartbreaking-climate-poem-at-un.html
66) Radio Australia
Marshallese poet moves Summit delegates to tears
24 September - Full poem audio
67) Radio New Zealand International (Dateline Pacific programme)
Pacific leaders calling for action at UN climate change summit
24 September - Several excerpts from statement and poem in radio piece
68) Radio New Zealand International
Marshallese poet moves UN summit
24 September
http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/255370/marshallese-poet-moves-un-summit
69) Bill Moyers and Company
Climate Change is Every Mother’s Fight
24 September - Article and video
http://billmoyers.com/2014/09/24/honor-mother/
70) The Irish Times
Marshall Islander makes impassioned plea to climate change conference
‘We deserve to do more than just survive, we deserve to thrive’
24 September
71) Mashable
Top 5 Takeaways From the United Nations Climate Summit
24 September - Includes: “2. We are awesome at opening and closing Climate Summit meetings. The in-between part still needs some work. The most powerful moment at the entire summit occurred during its opening ceremony. Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner, a 26-year-old poet from the low-lying Marshall Islands, a small nation in the western Pacific, read a poem that essentially shamed world leaders for not acting fast enough to prevent sea level rise.” + video of statement and poem
http://mashable.com/2014/09/24/united-nations-climate-summit-takeaways/
72) Vice
We’re still not even close to saving the planet after the largest climate summit ever
24 September - 2nd paragraph is about Kathy’s presentation
73) Oxfam America
Who was willing to talk dollars and cents at this week’s UN Climate Summit?
24 September - includes:
“After spending the day listening to leaders talk about their actions to address climate change, my takeaway on climate financing at this week’s UN Climate Summit? Some good steps, but we still have a long way to go if rich countries are going to help Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner keep the promise she made to her daughter.”
74) Road to Paris - Science for Smart Policy
10 things we learnt from the New York climate talks
24 September - Lead photo is of Kathy speaking and list includes: “9. Marshall Islanders aren’t just symbols for the victims of climate change” and link to video of Kathy’s statement and poem
http://roadtoparis.info/2014/09/24/10-things-learnt-new-york-climate-talks/
75) Mother Nature Network
See the climate change poem that made the U.N. cry
25 September
76) InterPress Service
Climate Summit: Much Talk, A Bit of Walk
24 September
Photo of Kathy, Mak, Matafele with SG, Bob Orr, PGA at top of article
Caption: Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner, a member of civil society from the Marshall Islands, received a standing ovation at the opening of the U.N. Climate Summit 2014 for her poem addressed to her daughter
http://www.ipsnews.net/2014/09/climate-summit-much-talk-a-bit-of-walk/
77) Media Matters for America
Conservative Media's Crocodile Tears On Climate Change And The Poor
24 September - includes:
“Meanwhile, Gutfeld has mocked the serious security threat that small islands face from rising sea levels due to climate change, despite that many experts have determined that small islands "are expected to lose significant proportions of their land," and that many will become uninhabitable if global warming continues unabated. One such small island resident, Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner from the Marshall Islands, delivered a moving poem during the U.N. climate summit about how climate change could impact her child, and has impacted many nations already:” (studio video embedded)
http://mediamatters.org/blog/2014/09/24/conservative-medias-crocodile-tears-on-climate/200874
78) Daily Kos
Climate Summit Recap: A Poem, Pledges, Positive Signals
24 September - Article and studio video
79) Planeta Sustentável (Brazil)
Líderes mundiais aplaudem de pé poetisa das Ilhas Marshall na Cúpula do Clima (World leaders give standing ovation to poet from the Marshall Islands at Climate Summit)
24 September
80) Brisbane Times (Australia)
Poet brings world leaders to tears at UN Climate Summit
24 September - Article with video
Poem Moves UN Summit to Tears
Video of poem
http://media.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/world-news/poem-moves-un-summit-to-tears-5811917.html
81) Sydney Morning Herald (Australia)
Poet brings world leaders to tears at UN Climate Summit
25 September - Article with video (same as Brisbane Times)
82) Canberra Times (Australia)
25 September - Article with video (same as Brisbane Times and Sydney Morning Herald)
83) The Daily Life (Australia)
26-year-old indigenous woman brings world leaders to tears at UN Climate Summit
25 September - Article with studio video (same as Brisbane Times, Canberrat Times and Sydney Morning Herald)
84) Financial Express Bangladesh
PM calls for robust commitments by large carbon emitting nations
25 September - mentions that Kathy spoke in opening ceremony
http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2014/09/25/58098
85) Fortune Magazine (The Broadsheet)
Young mother shakes up UN Climate Summit
25 September - Short piece included in listing of top stories of the day
http://fortune.com/2014/09/25/the-broadsheet-september-25th/
86) USA Today
Photo Album from Climate Summit - picture #25
25 September
Direct link to photo:
87) Democracy Now!
Kumi Naidoo of Greenpeace on Climate Change and War, Lessons from Anti-Apartheid Struggle
25 September - Includes full UN video of Kathy’s poem performance and some discussion of it
http://www.democracynow.org/blog/2014/9/25/part_2_kumi_naidoo_of_greenpeace
88) Information (Denmark)
En bevægelses genfødsel (A movement reborn)
25 September - Begins with (translation): “It was not just heartbreaking, it was in a sense macabre when the young poet Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner from the low-lying Marshall Islands at the end of the climate summit Tuesday read her poignant poem to her seven-month-old daughter to the assembled Heads of State and Government in the UN building. The poet's promise to her daughter that no greedy and amoral corporations, no bureaucracies with blinders must be allowed to drown her dreams for life in sea level rise from climate change, triggered a long, standing ovation from the audience. ‘Close your eyes and you just slept in peace, baby, because we will not let you down. You'll see,’ said the slender woman from the Pacific Islands and tears undoubtedly developed in the eyes of some of the suit-clad State men and women.”
http://www.information.dk/510669
89) Bellona Foundation (Norway)
Norway needs to feel some oil and gas pain to reach climate goals at home
25 September - includes: “But, aside from all the vaunted political rhetoric, it was the keynote address of a 26-year-old new mother and poet Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner from the Marshall Islands whose country is about to sink into the ocean because of climate change that made the biggest impression. The Marshall Islands sit about a meter and a half above sea level. She spoke of the difficulties of solving the climate challenge was maintained confidence that it would happen – because it has to happen. And she insisted to the delegates that she and her daughter will continue to live in their home. “No one’s drowning, baby,” she said. “No one’s moving. No one’s losing their homeland. No one’s becoming a climate change refugee – We are drawing the line here.” Her words brought the gathering of distinguished world leaders to their feed in applause. Even for a tough old hardcore eco warrior like me, it was a poignant moment.” + video of statement and poem
90) The Age (Australia)
Poem Moves UN Summit to Tears
25 September - UN video of poem
http://media.theage.com.au/news/world-news/poem-moves-un-summit-to-tears-5811917.html
91) Rue89 (France)
Pays en voie de disparition : une jeune poétesse fait comprendre l’urgence à l’ONU (Country endangered: A young poet brings a sense of urgency to the UN)
25 September - Article with video and full text of poem
92) Bond Beter Leefmilieu (Belgium)
Klimaatconferentie New York: goed voor de moraal
25 September - Includes: “De vertegenwoordiger van de civiele samenleving, de dichteres Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner van de Marshall eilanden, bracht een adembenemende speech. In een lang gedicht aan haar zeven maanden oude dochtertje bekritiseerde ze de besluitloosheid van politici en de immoraliteit van fossiele ondernemingen. Ze richtte haar hoop op de beweging van onderuit.”
http://www.bondbeterleefmilieu.be/page.php/30/811/15369
93) !!444!!! (Hungary)
Sok mindent láttak már az ENSZ tisztviselői, de ez a fiatal anya még őket is megríkatta (World leaders have seen much, but it is a young mother that made them cry)
25 September
94) Truth Dig
World Leaders Reportedly ‘Moved to Tears’ by Climate Change Poem Recital at U.N. Summit (Video)
25 September - Article with video
95) Ecology Today
A Poet at the Climate Summit
25 September - Article and studio video
http://www.ecology.com/2014/09/25/poet-climate-summit/
96) IntLawGrrls
Pledges, promises and a poem – The UN Climate Summit 2014
25 September
http://ilg2.org/2014/09/25/pledges-promises-and-a-poem-the-un-climate-summit-2014/
97) National Geographic Brasil
Cúpula do Clima: líderes mundiais aplaudem de pé poetisa das Ilhas Marshall (Climate Summit: World leaders give standing ovation to poet of the Marshall Islands)
26 September
98) Democracy Now! (Radio and Online)
"We Deserve To Do More Than Just Survive": Marshall Islands Poet’s Plea to the U.N. Climate Summit
26 September
http://www.democracynow.org/2014/9/26/we_deserve_to_do_more_than
99) Marshall Islands Journal
Cheers and Tears for Kathy’s Poem
26 September
http://www.marshallislandsjournal.com/Main-story-page.html
100) City Watch Los Angeles, CA
World Leaders ‘Moved to Tears’ by Climate Change Poem at U.N. Summit (Video)
26 September - Article with video
101) Free Speech TV
"We Deserve To Do More Than Just Survive" Marshall Islands Poet’s Plea to the U N Climate Summit
26 September - Article with video
102) Oxfam GB
After New York, how should climate change campaigners approach Paris? (aka Naomi Klein vs the New Climate Economy)
26 September - includes: “The best speech made in those days was delivered by a mum from the Marshall Islands, whose poetry has given us all a new voice for our struggle.”
103) Bio a la Une (France)
"Nous allons nous battre" le discours bouleversant d’une mère pour sauver l’habitat de son bébé
26 September - Article with studio video and full text of poem
104) Crikey (Australian Independent News)
On climate change. What’s changed?
26 September - Includes “It’s been a week when poetry moved people to tears (Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner, a 26-year-old poet from the Marshall Islands, addressed the Summit’s opening ceremony).” + studio video
http://blogs.crikey.com.au/croakey/2014/09/26/on-climate-change-whats-changed/
105) Respekt (Czechoslovakia)
Další růst buď bude zelený, nebo nebude žádný
26 September - sentence about presentation in Summit + studio video
http://respekt.ihned.cz/externi-hlasy/c1-62865590-dalsi-rust-bud-bude-zeleny-nebo-nebude-zadny
106) National Geographic Brasil
Cúpula do Clima de NY, uma divisora de águas
27 September - with mention of Kathy and link to article about her presentation at UN
http://viajeaqui.abril.com.br/materias/cupula-do-clima-de-ny-uma-divisora-de-aguas
107) The Daily Star (India)
A week that may change the world
27 September - Includes: “However, the entire assembly came to a standing ovation (something that rarely happens in that location) in response to a moving poem delivered by the poet Ms. Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner from the Marshall Islands to her newly born daughter (who also joined her on the podium at the end).”
http://www.thedailystar.net/op-ed/a-week-that-may-change-the-world-43500
108) SvD Nyheter (Sweden)
Dikten till dottern starkast på FN-mötet (Poem to Daughter Strongest at UN Meeting)
28 September - Article with lead photo
http://www.svd.se/nyheter/utrikes/poet-starkast-pa-fn-scenen_3960800.svd
109) Joop (Netherlands)
Heeft dit kind straks nog een land? (Will this child have a country?)
Ontroerend gedicht van Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner, inwoonster van de Marshalleilanden, voor haar 7 maanden oude dochter (Touching poem by Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner, resident of the Marshall Islands, for her 7 month old daughter
28 September
http://www.joop.nl/groen/detail/artikel/28803_heeft_dit_kind_straks_nog_een_land/
110) Canada’s First Perspective
Mother’s Poem to Six-Month Old Daughter Triggers Standing Ovation
28 September
111) USA Today
World leaders meet at United Nations - photo album
29 September - Kathy, Makerusa and Matafele are picture #30
112) Radio Australia
29 September
Marshall Islands poet returns home to great acclaim
113) Islands Business
Stand up for the Pacific - 350.org campaign
29 September - Includes “In the words of Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner of Marshall Islands at the United Nations last week, ‘We are drawing the line here, because baby we are going to fight.’”
http://www.islandsbusiness.com/news/fiji/6266/stand-up-for-the-pacific-350org-campaign/
114) Truthout
"We Deserve to Do More Than Just Survive": Marshall Islands Poet's Plea to the UN Climate Summit
29 September - repeat of DemocracyNow! piece on Kathy from 26 September with UN video and poem text
115) California Academy of Sciences
UN Climate Summit Wrap Up
29 September - Includes: “Finally, even though Leonardo DiCaprio was the biggest celebrity at the event, he was outshone by poet Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner from the Marshall Islands, who stands at the front lines of climate change impacts. Many reported that she left few dry eyes in the UN after her amazing performance. You can view it here.”
116) Thompson Reuters Foundation
Can U.N. climate negotiators connect with the real world?
30 September - Leads off with “Something very special happened on Sept. 23 at the U.N. Climate Summit in New York. Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner, a young poet from the Pacific island nation of the Marshall Islands, stood in front of more than 100 world leaders and passionately performed a piece she had composed for the occasion, dedicated to her seven-month-old daughter….”
http://www.trust.org/item/20140930092347-73ngr/?source=gep
117) Huffington Post
Why an Unequal Planet Can Never Be Green
30 September - para about delivery of poem at Summit, and link to article in Sydney Morning Herald
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sam-pizzigati/why-an-unequal-planet-can_b_5906592.html
118) Polityka (Poland)
Dobry klimat dla klimatu
30 September
119) Fiji Times (Front page feature)
Stand for Tomorrow
01 October - half of the 900 word article is about Kathy’s statement and poem
http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=281777
120) Huffington Post
US Bah’ai Office for Public Affairs: Connecting the Dots…
03 October - Includes: “Finally, what really put a cap on the weekend's events for me was the frank and passionate appeal to world leaders made by the young Marshallese poet, Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner, who had been selected from among 500 applicants to speak for civil society. She offered both a stern warning and encouragement to world leaders. Pledging civil society's support, she concluded with a poem she had written for her seven month old daughter. It brought a standing ovation. Her powerful message connected the dots for all with ears to hear and eyes to see.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peter-adriance/connecting-the-dots_3_b_5924108.html
121) Huffington Post UK
Christian Aid: Natasha Bedingfield and My Strange Day Inside the UN Climate Summit
03 October - Includes: “At the summit it was a poem from the Pacific which stole the show and raised the delegates to their feet. Twenty-six-year-old poet Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner from the Marshall Islands recited a letter to her baby daughter entitled ‘Dear Matafele Peinem’ in which she spoke of her hope that she would not grow up to become a climate refugee because by then the nations of the world would have acted to address global warming. It was a powerful opening moment which seemed to galvanise those attending and reminded them, like the 400,000 strong People's Climate March two days before, that outside the building were millions of people demanding their political leaders turn their warm words of rhetoric into concreate actions to cool the planet.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/joe-ware/un-climate-summit_b_5924180.html
122) PBS News Hour
Two poems on what it’s like to live with Ebola, climate change
6 October 2014
The two women live in different parts of the world: one on a tropical island in the Pacific, another in a former war-torn African country now fighting Ebola. Their lives are very different but they chose the same way to express their anguish and hopes for their situation: through poetry. (Includes full poem)
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/two-poems-on-ebola-climate-change/
123) RTCC
Concern mounts in Marshall Islands as high tides swamp capital
14 October 2014
In an interview with RTCC Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner, the Marshallese poet who addressed the United Nations climate summit last month, said the level of flooding was unexpectedly high for this time of year. “It was just a high tide. It shouldn’t have created that much flooding. But just a small high tide is enough to create flooding now, because of sea level rise and a number of other factors,” she said. “What’s happening now is we’re lying in wait until the next disaster happens. And we know it’s going to be worse.” Jetnil-Kijiner stunned heads of state at the UN when she recited a poem at the General Assembly, written orginally for her seven-month old daughter. “We deserve to do more than just survive – we deserve to thrive,” she said. “Dear matafele peinam, you are eyes heavy with drowsy weight so just close those eyes, baby and sleep in peace because we won’t let you down you’ll see.”
http://www.rtcc.org/2014/10/15/concern-mounts-in-marshall-islands-as-high-tides-swamp-capital/
124) Piece by Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner for UN-NGLS
Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner returns home from UN Climate Summit to tidal floods in Marshall Islands, launches disaster relief fund
20 October 2014
125) Eco Business
Pacific climate change warriors block world’s largest coal port
20 October 2014
Another climate warrior, Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner, from the Marshall Islands, brought members of the United Nations General Assembly to tears last month with her impassioned poem written to her baby daughter Matafele Peinam, “No one’s moving, no one’s losing their homeland, no one’s gonna become a climate change refugee. Or should I say, no one else. To the Carteret islanders of Papua New Guinea and to the Taro islanders of Fiji, I take this moment to apologise to you,” she said.
http://www.eco-business.com/news/pacific-climate-change-warriors-block-worlds-largest-coal-port/
126) Marshall Islands poet says youth must lead climate fight
Star of UN climate summit says support in New York left her stunned, and determined to save country from rising sea levels
22 October 2014
127) Sourceable.net
Saving Our Island Homes
27 October 2014
With climate change a growing concern, those living on small islands and near coastlines stand to lose the most. Addressing the UN Climate Summit in New York just a few weeks ago, poet Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner from the Marshall Islands applied the metaphor of the “lagoon that will devour” to depict the rising sea levels threatening to engulf her island home.
https://sourceable.net/saving-our-island-homes/
128) International Examiner
Climate Justice Forum a Call to Action for Communities of Color - Seattle, WA
13 November 2014
Nearly 100 attended the Climate Justice Forum. Many were inspired to action, particularly by a poem read by Marshallese poet Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner at the 2014 UN Climate Summit held in New York City.
http://www.iexaminer.org/2014/11/climate-justice-forum-communities-of-color/
129) Road to Paris: Science for Smart Policy
Five slightly awkward moments in celebrity climate activism
31 December 2015
http://roadtoparis.info/2014/12/29/five-slightly-awkward-moments-celebrity-climate-activism/
5. Leo and the poet
Ban Ki-moon, Leonardo DiCaprio and Al Gore all helped kick off the UN summit on climate change in New York this September. But it was Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner, a poet from the Marshall Islands, who moved delegates to tears and went viral with her poem written for her seven month old daughter.Jetnil-Kijiner not only overshadowed DiCaprio, but made him look a bit ephemeral. He’s a long-standing environmental activist, and his involvement undoubtedly helped unlock some publicity for the event, and help frame it as something more than just politicians arguing.
As DiCaprio said himself in his speech to the UN, “I play fictitious characters often solving fictitious problems.” It was hard not to look at Jetnil-Kijiner — who was picked from thousands of candidates to represent civil society at the talks — and think “well, she’s living it.” Climate change was part of what gave Jetnil-Kijiner’s message so much power, rather than replying on the Hollywood power of DiCaprio to add something external to the debate.
Many PRs involved in the climate movement — from NGOs, the UN or scientific bodies — would argue we need celebrities to publicise the cause. One Direction’s involvement in Save the Arctic crashed Greenpeace’s website. It sent traffic, if nothing else. But according to research published in the journal Global Environmental Change in 2013, images of identifiable people — which included politicians, a business leader, scientist, a celebrity and a member of the British Royal Family — made people in the USA, UK and Australia feel quite strongly that climate change was unimportant. Christian Hunt, reporting on the study for Carbon Brief, notes that more work needs to be done — testing images in non-English speaking countries, for example, or how messages like Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner do or do not work — but if the conclusions hold, there could be some pretty important implications for climate campaigns.
130) Pacific News Center
The University of Guam presents the first Presidential Lecture of 2015 featuring Marshallese poet and spoken word artist Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner.
15 March 2015
Her lecture is entitled: "Iep Jeltok: A Basket of Poetry and Activism." Jetnil-Kijiner was selected from more than 500 candidates to represent the voice of civil society to perform at the opening of the United Nations Climate Summit in New York in September of last year.
131) RTCC.com
As sea levels rise, climate change threatens entire Pacific cultures
25 February 2015
In the first of a series of columns, poet Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner reflects on the cultural dimensions of climate change
http://www.rtcc.org/2015/02/24/as-sea-levels-rise-climate-change-threatens-entire-pacific-cultures/
Communications Director of 350.org, Jamie Henn:
of