Denmark welcomes the world

An indigenous Bolivian woman uses the free wifi available at the COP15 to communicate with her family back home. Denmark has welcomed over 192 nations to the largest international conference ever held on its territory. Copenhagen, Denmark. 07/12/2009.

The 15th United Nations conference on climate change has begun in Copenhagen. Over 192 nations are attending with over 5000 accreditated journalists.

The two-week meeting, the fifteenth Conference of the 193 Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the fifth meeting of the 189 Parties to the Kyoto Protocol, is the culmination of a process set in motion in Bali, where Parties to the UNFCCC agreed to conclude negotiations on a new global deal in Denmark in 2009.

More than twice as many journalists applied for accreditation than the center´s capacity so many were unfortunately turned away. I came from Berlin, Germany and luckily was able to get my press accreditation organized by Demotix last minute. I am very grateful for that and if it weren´t for the credentials from Demotix, I would not be allowed in as a freelance photojournalist.

While waiting in line for my press card, I noticed an indigenous woman from Peru taking advantage of the free wireless internet connection to communicate with her family back home.

It was the only photo I could take since I was carrying so much equipment and my suitcase was next to me. I think it symbolizes the truly global nature of the meeting.

There were many other attendees in traditional costumes and today I hope to capture more impressions from the participants and the observers who have come from around the world.