“Thanks in part to the 1 for 7 Billion campaign, campaigning for the top diplomatic job is – for the first time in UN history – mostly public
- Irin News”

“This year, however, thanks largely to a grassroots global campaign called 1 for 7 Billion, the process has been revolutionised
- the Guardian”

““For the first time the general public will get a look into how the candidates perform, who they are and what they will bring and not bring to the post,” said Yvonne Terlingen, a member of the steering committee for the campaign 1 for 7 billion campaign
- International Business Times”

““Finally, some transparency in a process that has been shrouded in secrecy for 70 years. Candidates appearing before Member States in the General Assembly is an important first step, and a major victory for the 1 for 7 Billion campaign...” says Ben Donaldson
- Newsweek”

“Natalie Samarasinghe... one of the founders of the 1 for 7 Billion campaign for reform in the secretary-general selection process, said that throughout the U.N.’s history “the Security Council concern has always been, ‘who’s not going to rock the boat, and who’s going to cause the least trouble for us.’”
- Daily Mail”

“...there is a global campaign by a collective group of NGOs called “1 for 7 Billion” demanding an open election process “which until now has been shrouded in secrecy.” The group criticizes the “woefully inadequate way in which the Secretary-General has been elected to date by a handful of powerful countries... behind closed doors.”
- IPS News”

“William Pace, who is with the global advocacy group 1 for 7 Billion, believes this added transparency will encourage highly qualified, independent candidates to put themselves forward, and it will discourage the... P5 – from blocking them without good reason.
- CBC News”

“The 1 for 7 Billion campaign, backed by hundreds of NGOs, is proposing an official shortlist of candidates who will have to publish broad manifestos and subject themselves to questions.
- the Guardian”

“A new campaign for reform in the selection process, called 1 for 7 Billion, has been conducting an online poll asking what qualities people would like to see in the next U.N. chief. “Have the courage to stand up to powerful countries” leads the way with 38 per cent
- Daily Mail ”

““We’re in the worst situation, where the countries with nuclear weapons pointed at each other decide who becomes secretary-general,” [William] Pace told Al Jazeera.”

“A coalition of nongovernmental organizations, backed by former United Nations diplomats, has called for a more formal application process... The campaign, called 1 for 7 Billion, has been trying to draw public support through social media.
- The New York Times”

“The campaign 1 for 7 Billion... takes up the frustrations of many of the 193 UN member states who say they have little voice in picking a secretary-general... The campaign wants more transparency and public input for the best candidate, “irrespective of his or her country of origin”.
- news.com.au”

“The campaign group 1 for 7 Billion points out that the UN secretary general, a single person whose actions affect seven billion people on the planet, is chosen through an opaque system, in secret, by the five countries who make up the permanent representatives on the UN Security Council.
- Channel 4 News”

“It is also time for “We the peoples”, as the UN charter begins, to claim a veto on mediocrity. The new campaign “1 for 7 Billion” allows people to lend their support in a moment.
- the Guardian”

“As those of us supporting the 1 for 7 Billion campaign believe, the manner in which the next UN Secretary-General is appointed is hugely important. For me at least, the opaque appointment process points to a much bigger problem, a democratic deficit that festers at the very heart of our institutions of global governance.
- Danny Sriskandarajah, Huffington Post”

“Under the banner of the 1 for 7 Billion campaign, they are calling for “an end to the secret deals and horse trading that see five countries hold sway over an appointment that affects all the world’s people”.
- the Guardian”