How NYC Nonprofits Can Submit Questions for UN Secretary-General Candidate Dialogues

A registration window opened on August 6 with a hard close at 5 p.m. ET on August 13, 2026. The President of the UN General Assembly is soliciting written question submissions from civil society organizations for the next round of interactive dialogues with candidates vying for the position of UN Secretary-General. Per the official announcement on indico.un.org, the dialogues themselves are scheduled for Wednesday, August 19, 2026, from 3 to 6 p.m. ET at United Nations Headquarters in New York — placing the entire process within physical reach of NYC-headquartered civil society organizations.

Registration mechanics and selection protocol

CSOs may apply through the indico.un.org registration form under two distinct tracks: in-person at UN Headquarters or virtual. Each applicant must specify a thematic area and submit a written question outline. Selection for both tracks is administered via lottery, with balanced thematic and stakeholder representation serving as the gating criteria. Notification of selection status is scheduled for August 17, leaving a 48-hour operational buffer before the August 19 dialogue.

For in-person participants, speaking time is capped at 60 seconds and enforced through automatic microphone cut-off. Virtual participants, if selected, must supply a pre-recorded video question not exceeding 60 seconds. Registration confers no guarantee of selection. Virtual questions submitted during the prior call do not require resubmission; per the announcement, these remain in the candidate pool for this round or future dialogues. The authority cited for the process is General Assembly resolution 79/327.

Operational implications for NYC-based CSOs

The geography is the operative variable here. In-person participation requires physical presence at UN Headquarters during a fixed three-hour window. NYC-based organizations gain a structural advantage: zero travel cost, no hotel block, no visa cycle. The lottery neutralizes that advantage. Thematic balance, not geography, determines selection.

For CSOs operating within the NYC nonprofit ecosystem, the timeline compresses sharply:

• August 13, 5 p.m. ET — registration deadline
• August 17 — selection notification
• August 19, 3–6 p.m. ET — dialogue execution

The six-day window from deadline to dialogue leaves minimal margin for organizational preparation once selection is confirmed. Organizations should pre-stage question outlines now and map them to the thematic categories enumerated in the official call. Candidate identities and the full selection-and-appointment process are documented on un.org.