Every year, SOMA invites a leading figure in current affairs to give a keynote speech at our opening ceremony; our past speakers have included Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister of Canada, Dr. Peter Singer, Special Advisor to the Director General and Assistant Director General of the World Health Organization, and David Morley, CEO of UNICEF Canada. This year’s speakers are:

Salvator Cusimano has worked for the United Nations since 2015, completing assignments in the Central African Republic, Yemen, Malta, and New York. He previously worked at Romero House, a community for refugees in Toronto's west end. Salvator attended the University of Toronto and the University of Oxford. In his high school days, he learned a lot and had fun representing Oman, Czechia, the United States and China at SOMA. His remarks are offered in a personal capacity and do not represent the position of the United Nations.

Dr. Morgan Ring is the Director of Cabinet Affairs and Corporate Governance at Natural Resources Canada. She previously held senior advisor and analyst roles at the Privy Council Office and Health Canada. Morgan read History at the University of Cambridge, where she later earned her PhD, and worked in the United Kingdom and Denmark before returning home to Canada. She is also an alumna of the Parliamentary Internship Programme. In 2007, Morgan represented the United States at SOMA. Her remarks are offered in a personal capacity and do not represent the position of the Government of Canada.