Development & Climate Days

Global Ambition, Local Action. Climate Resilience For All.

Since 2015, I’ve been at the helm of event planning and operations for Development & Climate Days (D&C Days) - a bold, free-to-attend gathering that runs alongside the annual UN Climate Summit (COP).

Key Features: 

  • A high-energy, informal and interactive event running alongside the UN Climate Summit (COP).

  • Attracts 200-300 policymakers, scientists, and practitioners from around the world every year.

  • Breaks away from traditional conference formats with immersive and unconventional programming.

  • Plenary & parallel sessions featuring world-leading climate adaptation experts and community leaders.

  • “Out-of-the-box” workshops, from bespoke board games and cardboard theatre to mixed media storytelling.

  • Creative activations, including live cooking, VR experiences, flash mobs, music experiments, and artist murals.

  • Hosted across Europe and Africa, with online editions for global accessibility.

  • Networking & evening receptions, fostering deep cross-sector connections.

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My work:

🗓 Event
Management

→ Leading event planning including ticketing and hybrid elements, venue selection, supplier coordination

→ Scheduling and developing technical run-of-shows

🌱 Programme
Development

→ Supporting clients in shaping the conference's program structure

→ Collaborating on coordination of the high-level opening and closing plenary sessions  

🤝 Client Collaboration and Project Management

→ Working with client teams and international partners

→ Ensuring smooth coordination and keeping all stakeholders aligned through expert project management

📣 Branding and
Messaging

→ Working closely with the Communications team to ensure bold and clear messaging before, during and long after the event 

💻 Innovative Engagement Strategies

→ Working closely with event partners to co-create unique and engaging conference elements and activations

🔥 Strategic Support

→ I become an integral part of the team to drive the success of each D&C Days event, ensuring they are dynamic and impactful year on year

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Impact:

Over its 20-year history, Development & Climate Days (D&C Days) has emerged as a pivotal platform, uniting climate negotiators, grassroots representatives, researchers, and development practitioners in informal dialogues addressing the challenges of climate change and development. By fostering collaboration, storytelling, and innovation, D&C Days has influenced UNFCCC negotiations and spurred tangible actions.

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International Institute of Environment & Development & Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre

Client:

Paris, France
Marrakech, Morocco
Bonn, Germany
Madrid, Spain
Baku, Azerbaijan
Katowice, Poland
Online

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Locations:

  • “I've known Amy for many years and have worked with her closely on organising the Development and Climate Days. I can not reccomend her highly enough - her attention to detail, meticulous planning, creativity, good cheer and collegial disposition makes her an ideal candidate to plan and execute complex events on technical subjects. Amy is particularly good at staying cool in a crisis and calmly problem solving without causing a flutter- an invaluable trait in an event coordinator.”

    - Aditya V. Bahadur, Director, Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre

  • “Amy is exceedingly organized and detail oriented. She was always two steps ahead, anticipating what was needed, and ready to provide practical and thoughtful solutions that kept the D&C Days team happy and on track. Her experience with event organization is immediately evident. She is extremely responsible, responsive and perhaps the best multi-tasked I have ever worked with. Everything Amy did for the event was done efficiently and to the highest quality imaginable. Her judgement, ability to take initiative and collaborate was impressive. In addition, Amy's pleasant disposition, high-energy and good humor throughout the planning and execution of the event makes her a real asset to any team. I don't hesitate to recommend Amy most highly to anyone seeking a true professional who can ensure your event will be a success.”

    - Carina Bachofen, Associate Director, Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre

  • “I would highly recommend Amy as an Event Manager. She did an incredible job planning and running Development and Climate Days. She is well organised, a clear communicator and very easy to work with. She thought of everything and led the logistics team well. Amy was essential to the success of our event.”

    - Orla Martin, Senior Project Manager, Overseas Development Institute

  • “I had the pleasure to work with Amy on the 2016 version of Development and Climate (D&C) Days at UNFCCC COP22 in Marrakesh Morocco. As one of the host partners I relied on Amy's logistical, organizational, and convening abilities. I am delighted to say D&C days was a huge success in terms of the number of participants, the quality of the discussions and the impact on efforts to build a more just and sustainable world. Amy's professionalism and skills provided all host partners - indeed all participants - with the platform to share ideas and build new collaborations. The event organization was seamless. Amy and her team planned all the logistics and location aspects well in advance. Their attention to communications and marketing ensured significant participation from across the globe. The optics, atmospherics, and timing of the sessions enhanced the sharing of knowledge. I highly recommend Amy and her team and look forward to working them on the next D&C Days.”

    - Edward Cameron, Director, International Climate Initiative, World Resources Institute

  • “Amy has done a great job organizing the logistics for the D&C days 2015. She is very well organized and is able to think 5 or 10 steps ahead. The participants of the event have told me these were the best organized D&C days they have attended so far. Finally I also want to mention that it was a great pleasure working with Amy, she is an easy going and very open minded person.”

    - Sanne Hogesteeger, Project Coordinator, Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre

  • "Amy is a superb event manager whom I’ve had the pleasure of working with during the production and delivery of several international IIED events overseas.

    Her professionalism and leadership during these events is fundamental to their success. Juggling suppliers, schedules, partner organisations, participants and never phased by unexpected challenges that are thrown into the mix! She is particularly adept at understand technical requirements - our most recent event included hundreds of participants, a film crew, live streaming, and remote live interpretation.

    She worked tirelessly to ensure the tech company delivered. She is brilliant at managing relationships, working collaboratively and really ‘getting’ what her client wants. On top of this, she’s approachable, proactive and generally good fun to work with. Highly recommended!"

    - Katherine Shepherd, Senior Project Manager, International Institute for Environment & Development