In 2011 Ingrid Betancourt delivered the second Green Oration.

Ingrid was born in Colombia and raised in France and in 1989 returned to Colombia to pursue a career in politics, following in the steps of her politician parents Gabriel Betancourt and Yolanda Pulecio.

In 1994 she was elected to the legislature on an anti-corruption platform and launched Oxigeno Verde, the Green Oxygen Party. In 1998 she was elected to the Senate with more votes than any other candidate.

Before launching her campaign for president in 2001 she delivered a keynote speech at the Global Greens conference in Canberra, inspiring all who heard her.

While campaigning for the Colombian Presidency in 2002, she was kidnapped by FARC rebels and held hostage for 6½ years. She was rescued in 2008 by the Colombian army and recently released Even Silence Has an End, a memoir of her experience.

Since her release she has also committed to campaigning for the release of a remaining hostages held by the FARC and to helping those released adapt to their old lives.