FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2020
Jeffrey Sachs (SDSN), Adenike Akinsemolu (Green Institute), and Hamad Bin Khalifa University (Qatar Foundation) are gathering sustainability experts from across the globe to host a virtual summit Time #ForNature for the World Environment Day, a United Nations awareness campaign for environmental protection, held annually since 1974.
Since the industrial era, humans have practiced dominance instead of coexistence with nature. The latest lockdown made it possible to review environmental concerns that humanity is currently facing. Scientists and most authorities agree that the world is experiencing an unprecedented ecological crisis, with large numbers of species on the brink of extinction and rising global temperatures continuing. We weren’t prepared for Covid-19, and we have paid the price – but the cost of ecological collapse and biodiversity loss will be too high, and we cannot afford to wait any longer. Perhaps, now is the time to evaluate our past, present, and future decisions to realize the future we want.
Adenike Akinsemolu, the founder of the Green Institute, a leading and multiple award-winning sustainability research institute in Nigeria, is hosting a virtual summit Time #ForNature in partnership with Hamad Bin Khalifa University (a member of Qatar Foundation) and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network that will focus on sustainability and green education. The theme for World Environment Day, June 5, 2020, is biodiversity.
The online event will cover a range of topics such as biodiversity conservation, infectious diseases, sustainable agriculture, sustainable building, urban innovation, minimal living, waste management, renewable energy, etc. This paradigm-shifting online symposium will gather over 25 eminent sustainability leaders in different professions around the world to provide an opportunity to learn from successful cases and technologies for achieving Environmental Sustainability.
One of the keynote speakers is Jeffrey D. Sachs, who was named twice by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential world leaders and ranked by The Economist among the top three most influential living economists. Jeffrey D. Sachs will join the conversation to discuss building resilient health structures to combat novel diseases. He has been an advisor to three United Nations Secretaries-General, and currently serves as an SDG Advocate under Secretary- General António Guterres. Jeffrey Sachs, being a University professor, is also the Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, a commissioner of the UN Broadband Commission for Development and the Director of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network.
“Everyday anthropogenic activities are responsible for the problems of our planet, and there is a need to salvage the situation through creativity, innovation, and critical thinking,”Adenike Akinsemolu stresses in her recent book, The Principles of Green and Sustainability Sciences (Springer, 2020), which will be launched at the event. In the book, Akinsemolu offers a detailed and step-by-step guide to understanding sustainability and discusses best practices to establish a more harmonious and balanced approach to living, highlighting her efforts in Africa and successful global cases. It is also one of the first texts, which examines sustainability issues in Africa.
Her Green Institute has already recruited more than 5,500 ambassadors and trained over 25,000 people globally. The revolutionary Trash for Education model lets hundreds of students study for free in exchange for collected waste. Its programs include the Green School, nano-degree-programs in sustainability and social entrepreneurship, The Green Kids Club, mentorship program and prizes for girls in sustainability, and research initiatives.
The participating organizations include the UNDP, Qatar Green Building Council, Qur’anic Botanic Garden, Farm Lab, Human Future, Springer Nature, Institute for Oil, Gas, Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development, University of Basel, the Open University UK, TerraCycle, Design Future(s) Initiative of Georgetown University, United Nations Development Program, and the Green Maasai Troupe Doha Qatar.
Press Credentials
To request a press credential, email Kate Kifa at pr@greeninstitute.ng with PRESS CREDENTIAL REQUEST in the subject line.
For more information and the full schedule: www.greeninstitute.ng/wed2020
About
The Green Institute, a leading and multiple award-winning research institute founded by Adenike Akinsemolu in Nigeria, is dedicated to the broad sustainability discourse, and to training leaders who will systematically transform attitudes about environmentalism in Africa. Its programs include the Green School and The Green Kids Club for kids and young adults, recycling programs such as Trash for Education, nano-degree-programs in Sustainable Science and Technology, Sustainable Business and Social Entrepreneurship, and research initiatives. https://greeninstitute.ng
Adenike Akinsemolu, Ph.D. is the founder of the Green Institute, a leading and multiple award-winning research institute in Nigeria dedicated to the broad sustainability discourse and to training leaders who will systematically transform attitudes about environmentalism in Africa. She holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Microbiology and a Postgraduate Diploma in Education. She is a Senior Fellow of Environment and Sustainable Development at the Institute for Oil, Gas, Energy, Environment, and Sustainable Development at Afe Babalola University, Nigeria. Her most recent book, The Principles of Green and Sustainability Science (2020), is the first sustainability text to deal exclusively with sustainability issues in Africa while offering viable solutions for the problems besetting our societies, especially the environment and unemployment.
Jeffrey D. Sachs, Ph.D. is a University Professor and Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, where he directed the Earth Institute from 2002 until 2016. He is also Director of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network and a commissioner of the UN Broadband Commission for Development. He has been an advisor to three United Nations Secretaries-General and currently serves as an SDG Advocate under Secretary- General António Guterres. He spent over twenty years as a professor at Harvard University, where he received his BA, MA, and Ph.D. degrees. He has authored numerous bestseller books. His most recent book is Ages of Globalization: Geography, Technology, and Institutions (2020). Sachs was twice named as Time Magazine’s 100 most influential world leaders and was ranked by The Economist among the top three most influential living economists.
