The Forum Community Zone includes a Community Stage with interactive and dynamic sessions. We are now accepting individual speaker proposals for inclusion in 6 "Community Stage" sessions within the Community Zone on October 21‑22.

This opportunity is open to member organisations, alliances, youth, and individuals living with NCDs to highlight the vital role of communities in the NCD response. We invite applications of abstracts to be featured in engaging and relevant sessions for the NCD community.

Each of these Community Stage sessions will include a moderator, plus 2-4 competitively selected panelists (depending on the length of the session), who will present a concrete case study or success story with a clear impact, aligned with one of the following three themes:

• Campaigning for Change: Sharing lessons learned and successes from pioneering national and regional advocacy campaigns that have influenced NCD policy.
• Community Approaches to Leave No One Behind: Highlighting examples of community-led initiatives that improve NCD care and prevention, especially for marginalised populations.
• Coalition Building for Impact: Showcasing effective coalitions that engage new voices and actors in the NCD response.

NCDA member Community Stage sessions will last between 30-60 minutes. Please note that sessions will be conducted in English.

Speaker abstracts should focus on sharing concrete case studies or success stories from NCDA members, alliances, people living with NCDs and youth work. The Community Stage programme will be structured around the 3 sub-themes described above, all linking to the overall leadership theme of the Forum and exploring the unique role of communities in the NCD response.

What we are looking for:

The Community Stage looks to provide delegates with interactive, dynamic sessions that encourage open discussions, debate and networking opportunities to foster partnerships and collaboration. Each session will be interactive with dynamic moderated dialogue i.e. no formal presentations / PPTs. Expert panellists provide opening thoughts, before conversations are open to a dialogue format. Please note that the content and structure of each session will be designed by the Global NCD Alliance Forum Secretariat based on the competitively selected speaker abstracts, ensuring geographical and gender balance among speakers and diversity of perspectives.

We are now accepting speaker/presentation proposals to be featured as part of the Community Stage sessions described above. Please consider the desired aspects of Community Stage sessions when proposing your speakers:

• Emphasise community-led approaches that prioritise the involvement, empowerment, and leadership of community members in the NCD response.
• Share impactful success stories and evidence-based solutions that are practical and replicable, enabling panellists and participants to exchange ideas and best practices for strengthening the NCD response.
• Promote meaningful involvement of individuals with lived experience and youth.

Desired speaker profile:

• Expertise in NCDs: In-depth knowledge of Non-Communicable Diseases and hands-on experience with community-led initiatives.
• Strong Communication Skills: Effective public speaker and storyteller, capable of delivering clear and engaging presentations.
• Community Leadership and Advocacy: Proven ability to lead, empower, and advocate for communities, especially marginalised groups, and for policy changes.
• Culturally Sensitive and Inclusive: Committed to inclusivity, with an understanding of diverse cultural contexts and a focus on involving communities, youth, individuals with lived experience.

Eligibility criteria

Applicant speakers must be registered at the 2024 Global NCD Alliance Forum. Also, to enable participation across the NCD community there will be an effort to avoid having any single speaker being featured in more than two sessions at the Stage.

Please note that the NCD Alliance is unable to award travel grants to proposed/accepted speakers.

Assessment criteria

A panel for reviewing speaker abstracts from Members will be composed of external expert reviewers and NCDA staff representatives. Submitted abstracts will be reviewed based on the following equally weighted criteria:

• Contribution to Stage programme theme: Relevance to the broad NCD community with potential to strengthen efforts to advocate for action on NCDs.
• Community-led Focused: Sharing a concrete case study or success story with a clear impact of the crucial role of communities in the NCD response.
• Relevance to Global Audience: Practical and replicable approaches, with due consideration for utility in low-resource settings.
• Speaker profile: In-depth expertise in NCDs (technical and/or lived experience), strong communication skills, and a proven track record in community leadership and advocacy. They should also be culturally sensitive, inclusive, and committed to community engagement.

Key dates and support

The deadline for receipt of the speaker's proposal is 17:00 CEST Monday 02 September 2024. Please note that incomplete submissions will not be considered.

We look forward to communicating the outcome of the competitive selection process in early September.

For any questions, please contact Valeria Felandro, Programme and Sponsorship Coordinator, [email protected]

Thank you for your interest in in the Community Stage programme at the 2024 Global NCD Alliance Forum.

Speaker abstract

Please note that proposed speakers must be affiliated with a full or associate NCDA member organisation. Considering the previous information please provide information about your proposed speaker(s) for these sessions.

Successful competitively selected speakers will be notified in early September and asked to confirm their participation. They will then receive an outline of the Community Stage session they are part of, including other speakers, and confirmed format, length of intervention and any logistics details.