The LPFN

We transcribed the speech by Conservation International scientist  Dr. M. Sanjayan introducing Lee Pace’s narration for CI’s “Nature Is Speaking” film, “Mountain” and Asma Lmnawar’s  narration for CI’s “Nature Is Speaking” film, “Home”.

Below is the agenda:

UNFCC - COP 22

Thirteen game-changing initiatives from around the world honoured as winners of a prestigious United Nations climate change award at a special ceremony.

To help celebrate and recognize the achievements of the 2016 Momentum for Change Lighthouse Activities, attendees at the gala event were treated to inspirational videos and a lively musical performance by Karim Tadlaoui.

The Momentum for Change initiative is spearheaded by the UN Climate Change secretariat to shine a light on some of the most innovative, scalable and replicable examples of what people are doing to address climate change.

Master of Ceremonies

• Bertrand Piccard, Solar Impulse CEO and UNEP Goodwill Ambassador

Speakers

• Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary-General
• UNFCCC Spokesperson Nick Nuttall
• Teresa Ribera, Momentum for Change Advisory Panel Chair
• Asma Lmnawar, Moroccan singer
• Lee Pace, Hollywood actor
• M. Sanjayan, global conservation scientist, writer, and Emmy-nominated television host
• Fernando Meirelles, film director, producer and screenwriter

Live music

• Karim Tadlaoui

The speech starts from (0:51:42) and it lasts until (0:57:40). You can watch it HERE

Bertrand Piccard: Now, I would like to introduce a compelling short film series, Dr. Sanjayan - a friend from a long time, he’s a global conversation scientist, writer, an Emmy-nominated television host, please (last year, you were here, again, now it’s your turn again).

Sanjayan: Fair enough, sir. Thank you, Bertrand. Thank you all of you for being here and thanks to all these amazing winners.

So there is one voice that we want in this pavilion and we want at every COP and that is, the voice of nature, of mother nature who we all depend on in one way or another, and we wanted to bring that to the COP, we wanted to bring the voice of mother nature to COP.

And so about a year and a half ago, we launched a series called Nature Is Speaking, and this was a chance to give nature a voice and the first one was Harrison Ford, who narrated the voice of oceans and we followed that with Kevin Spacey for forests, and Penelope Cruz for river and so on and so forth.

Last year, if you recall when we were in Paris, Bertrand, we had Reese Witherspoon narrating and Marion Cotillard narrating a film that we made especially for Paris. 

This year, we have something special. Instead of having a film which we’ve already narrated, we actually had the artists themselves and we are gonna have them do a live reading. Now, these Nature Is Speaking films have been seen over 70 million times, in terms of their videos, they have over 2.5 billion impressions. You can watch them at NatureIsSpeaking.org or on Youtube. There are now over 13 films, over 50 actors and actresses and celebrities have given voice to nature and what I’m most proud of is they’re in ten different languages. In fact, today we’re launching a film in Germany, narrated by a German star.

And so, to do this in a little slightly different way, we’ve never done this before, so you gonna get something very special tonight. The first person I want to introduce on stage, there are two folks we’re gonna bring up here.  One is a Moroccan singer by the name if Asma Lmnawar, and then the other is an American actor, you might have seen him in The Hobbit or in Guardians of The Galaxy and that is Lee Pace. 

What I am gonna have them each do is to come up and narrate one of the films that they lent their voices to. So, first if I can ask Asma to come up here and she is going to provide the voice for “mother nature”… sorry, in a film called “Home”. 

She’s gonna do this, obviously, in Arabic but I would just tell you what this film is about. The words are basically:

“I am home, I give you comfort, I shelter your family. I am your refuge. I am the flow that supports you, the foundations that keep you steady. The roof above your head. I am your home, if you don’t take care of me, I can’t take care of you.” 

So, with that, Asma please…

                      * Asma Lmnawar narrates “Home.”*

Sanjayan: That’s amazing. So Asma’s film will now be available online. It’s the first film that we have done in Arabic. So giving voice to home, but this time in Arabic. 

So, the next person I wanna invite on stage is a friend of mine and a great supporter of CI, the actor Lee Pace. Now if you’ve seen The Hobbit, he plays the king of the elves and he has the kind of voice that lends credence for the film that he narrated, which is called “Mountain”. *Lee*

                           *Lee narrates “Mountain”*