Advocacy and public outreach
ICAO actively led advocacy efforts at a number of events and fora. ICAO’s Secretary General participated in the Transforming Transportation 2021 conference, hosted by the World Bank from 3 to 5 February 2021 under the theme
Reimagining Safe and Resilient Mobility for Recovery. At the conference, ICAO participated in a session on financial resilience, which provided an opportunity to reflect on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the aviation industry, forecasts and expectations for its recovery, and possible structural changes in the industry that would inform recovery efforts.
In October 2021, ICAO participated in the United Nations Second Global Sustainable Transport Conference, which took place in Beijing, China. At the Conference, ICAO provided positive examples of how the Organization and aviation sector contributed to climate action and decarbonization, including through the promotion of investment in innovative aircraft technologies and fuels, State Action Plans to reduce CO2 emissions, market-based measures under the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), stocktaking events, and other initiatives. ICAO was actively engaged in the substantive preparations for the Conference and contributed to the interagency report of the Conference and the thematic concept notes. Approximately 1 000 participants representing more than 130 governments, United Nations entities and other stakeholders joined the event in-person, while thousands more from around the world joined virtually. Seven Heads of State and Government, 44 ministers, and other high-level government representatives delivered remarks.
Other events attended by ICAO included: the opening plenary session of the International Transport Forum 2021 on innovation in transport; the High-Level Ministerial Meeting on Enhancing Air Transport Connectivity and Growth in West Africa; an event hosted by Colombia on advancing gender equality in Latin America’s aviation sector; and an event hosted by Women in Aviation International under the theme
Connecting the dots – Recovery for aviation, tourism and hospitality. ICAO also continued to engage with the World Economic Forum and relevant working groups.
Public outreach activities in 2021 included the development of news products and social media communications on the Organization’s achievements and milestones. Main areas of public interest included the launch of
Phase III of the Council Aviation Recovery Task Force (CART), the resolution of airspace disputes in the Middle East, the ICAO Council’s Gender Declaration, the appointment of the new Secretary General, ICAO’s contributions to the meetings of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Global Tourism Crisis Committee, and Secretariat joint statements on pandemic priorities.
Public outreach highlights also included the launch of the “Reconnecting the World” communications partnership with UNWTO to coincide with International Civil Aviation Day (ICAD) on 7 December, the issuance of the very first ICAO and UNWTO Joint Statement for ICAD, and the coordination of a complementary ICAD message by the United Nations Secretary-General to promote aviation connectivity and recovery. The Communications Unit developed two new videos, in six languages, on innovation and recovery, and began to explore communications partnerships with local and international stakeholders ahead of the 41st Session of the ICAO Assembly.
The Communications Unit provided daily support to media outlets, academics and other members of the public throughout the year. The
ICAO TV platform continued to successfully deliver content, attracting a high number of viewers from across the sector.
Social media engagement was consistent with annual growth targets, and ICAO developments were referenced in more than 3 100 external news articles per month, globally.
