On the margins of the United Nations General Assembly, 1 for 8 Billion colleagues convened an intimate strategy meeting for civil society partners at the CIVICUS offices in New York. The gathering was strategically timed to follow the high-level side event with Member States and civil society held at the UN Trusteeship Council on 23 September 2025.

The session opened with remarks from members of the 1 for 8 Billion Steering Committee, who provided an overview of the ongoing process to appoint the next UN Secretary-General, including key updates on the recent General Assembly resolution. They highlighted notable progress and advocacy wins, while also acknowledging the challenges that remain in ensuring a more transparent, inclusive, and gender-responsive selection process.

Following the presentations, participants broke into two working groups to strategize on next steps, focusing respectively on advocacy and communications approaches, and on mobilizing and coordinating civil society engagement ahead of the upcoming phases of the process.

The breakout sessions delved into opportunities for deeper collaboration among partners, with a particular focus on aligning joint advocacy efforts with each organization’s individual priorities and areas of work. Participants discussed ways to map existing resources that could be leveraged collectively to strengthen impact and avoid duplication.

Key priorities emerging from the discussion included broadening the conversation beyond New York-based stakeholders, integrating efforts related to the UN80 agenda, and developing forward-looking strategies for engaging with the work of the next Secretary-General. Participants also highlighted the importance of strengthening information-sharing and mutual support among partners, as well as exploring the feasibility of organizing public hustings events with prospective candidates to enhance transparency and civil society inclusion in the process. The need for a renewed advocacy action in support of a woman SG was also identified during the meeting.