ActNowFilm: Mary and Mariana 鈥� Global Governance

Find out about President Mary Robinson and Mariana Gomes, participants in ActNowFilm: Youth Climate Leaders as Agents of Change

President Mary Robinson

Mary Robinson is a founding member of and was Chair 2018-2024. She is also the co-founder of , a women-led climate justice movement. She is a globally recognised voice on climate change and frequently highlights the need for drastic action from world leaders.

Mary was the first woman President of Ireland, serving from 1990 to 1997 as a transformative leader who fought for equality. She was the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights from 1997 to 2002. Between 2013 and 2016, she served as the UN Secretary General鈥檚 Special Envoy in three roles; first for the Great Lakes region of Africa, then on Climate Change, and then as Special Envoy on El Ni帽o and Climate until the historic Paris Agreement on Climate Change in 2015.

Mary led the Mary Robinson Foundation from 2010 until its planned closure in 2019. She was appointed Adjunct Professor for Climate Justice at Trinity College Dublin in 2019.

A portrait image of Mary Robinson, photo credit Tlhabi Monnakgotla

Mariana Gomes

Mariana Gomes is the founder of 脷ltimo Recurso, Portugal's first climate litigation NGO, which leads a public-interest lawsuit against the Portuguese State for failing to implement the Climate Framework Law (Lei de Bases do Clima). She holds a law degree from the University of Lisbon and studied at Funda莽茫o Getulio Vargas in Rio de Janeiro. She is an alumna of the US Department of State's Study of the US Institute on Environmental Issues, a member of the presidential reflection group O Futuro J谩 Come莽ou, and an Ambassador for the European Climate Pact. She was an IOM Youth Delegate at COP29.