The Green Institute just concluded her first ever virtual symposium in collaboration with Dr. Adenike Akinsemolu’s book launch. Prior to the event, a series of cascading global occurrence made the world to rethink its trajectory towards development. Would it be a continuation of business as usual (BAU) or would there be a transition to sustainable development? Prominent among these is the menace of the Coronavirus whose spread confirmed that the human population is interconnected beyond physical borders. As the annual June 5th World Environment Day drew nearer, The Green Institute under the leadership of Dr. Adenike, reminisced on the recent happenings and pondered on how she can show solidarity. What began as a concern for humanity transformed into taking action with humanity. As swiftly as the ideas rolled in, The Green Institute took to planning and preparation on how to convene world renowned sustainability leaders to share their insights on our path towards sustainable development. Drawing from a vast wealth of experience from diverse fields, The Virtual Symposium hosted over 25 renowned sustainability leaders, environmentalists, researchers, specialists on health, botanic conservation, resource management sustainable agriculture and building from around the world. Among our list of amiable moderators include: Caleb Adebayor, Jason McSparren, Opeyemi Awe, Dyugu Sever, Segun Adaju, Busola Olaposi, Amina Batagarawa, Bryon Price, Olukoya Obafemi, and Chibuike Jigo.
The event kicked off at 7am GMT with a morning yoga video performed by Adriene. The yoga was centered on vulnerability- learning to build awareness, strength and confidence on the mat and then going on to implement them in life situations. This session lasted for an hour during which excited audience couldn’t hold back but kept the discussion room engaged with conversations. Next in our line of event was a brief history on world environment day. The Institute felt the need for individuals to not only become acquainted with history, but to trace an identity and become a part of it.
World Environment Day History
The welcome address was given by Prof. Damilola S. Olawuyi, who warmly welcomed everyone and spoke elaborately on the need for all of us to take responsibility as custodians of the environment. Prof. Damilola, a leading advocate in the extractive industry commended the efforts of The Green Institute towards hosting the event. In his words, Prof. Damilola stated accordingly, “the World Environment day is an important initiative of the United Nations; it sets aside a day for the whole world to protect all aspect of the environment from degradation and pollution…we are all part of a complex web or chain that is so interdependent…any attempt to place humans above any other component is speciesism and the result is what we are witnessing…you do not have to wait until you are rich, until you’re powerful, until you’re the president before you can protect the environment. If we all want to protect the environment, we all have significant roles to play”
At 9am GMT, the session tagged NOT ALL HEROES WEAR CAPE begun, highlighting past and present sustainability advocates who stood in the face of opposition to pioneer sustainable development. Among these leaders were Henry David Thoreau, Rachel Carson, Greta Thunberg, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Vandana Shiva, Al Gore, Prof. Jeffrey Sachs and Dr. Adenike Akinsemolu, to mention but a few. Our next line of event was alternative teaching methods of ecology, Teaching Ecology beyond the Classroom: Unlearning the way we learn to relearn how we’re supposed to. How can we transition to an inclusive learning module that is transformative and holistic? Noah Martin, a senior program designer at Georgetown University was our host speaker for this session. He took us on a meaningful exploration towards the need for transformative learning and how ecology plays its role in sustainable development. According to Noah,
“We are way overdue to be rethinking about the way we should have been thinking about education… ”
“…we no longer have to convey the urgency (to change how we learn) to everyone…we need to build technology on a sense of community.” Noah emphasized the need for story telling in the community context for advocacy of sustainable development. He further emphasizes the need to have a multidisciplinary approach towards ecology in the hope of trying to get the younger generation and more people engaged in it. He reiterated the need for government to give teachers more space by refraining from too much oversight in order to be effective. When asked about the role ecology has to play in government policies, Noah answered, the role of ecology in climate change should be front and center in policy decision. He had no doubt about the centrality of ecology in policy making to combat climate change.
The virtual launch of Dr. Adenike Akinsemolu’s indigenous text, The Principles of Green and Sustainability Science was among the highlight of the event. Dr. Adenike, the founder of The Green Institute marked a milestone in her career by launching her first text in sustainability. The text discusses sustainable development from an African perspective introducing concepts such as the “Tragedy of Commons” where resources are shared not for the common good but for one’s selfish interest. According to Dr. Adenike, Conceptually, the Tragedy of Commons describes a situation where individual users of a resource act independently out of self-interest…Examples of Tragedy of the Commons are mining in South Africa, Artisanal Mining in Ghana, Overgrazing among the Maasai of Kenya and the Fulani Pastoralists in Nigeria… The five principles of Green are Reduction of pollution, conservation of resources, conservation of energy, reduction of waste, and protection of the ecological balance of the Earth.” These five principles are the framework upon which the science of green and sustainability is founded.
“The five principles of Green are Reduction of pollution, conservation of resources, conservation of energy, reduction of waste, and protection of the ecological balance of the Earth.” ”
The virtual symposium was honored to have on the platform Prof. Jeffrey Sachs, the Director of United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) to discuss on Building Resilient Health Structures to Combat Novel Diseases: A Case of COVID-19. According to Prof. Jeffrey Sachs, the One Health initiative is challenged with an ever present risk of new diseases spreading from animal reservoirs to humans. He highlighted the danger the human population face when politicians refute scientific evidence about global pandemic. He pointed out emphatically by saying, “when politicians ignore science like Trump does, people suffer and die”. When asked about his new book, The Age of Globalization, Prof. Sachs recounted the relationship of the human species before civilization. According to Prof. Sachs, “we have been interconnected as a species from the start over vast human distances…we have to learn how to cooperate on a global scale”. Prof. Sachs affirmed his belief in multilateral organizations as opposed to nationalistic views by stating,
“Extreme nationalist who are very arrogant and chauvinistic like Trump don’t like the United Nations because it will have the United States obey international rules not simply the president’s whims.”
“This is all the more reason why we need the United Nations when we see such an unstable person in power we need rules not just the discretion of individuals with their armies under their command”.
Obviously, the path to sustainable development, especially in developing countries is plagued with challenges which the sustainable development goals seek to address. With remaining a decade to Agenda 2030, Prof. Sachs’ thought on the SDGs were: “The idea of the sustainable development goals is that everybody should be able to enjoy the benefits of modern technology and economic progress and to live in an environmentally safe planet…. The SDGs are goals, are aspirations, they are not our current reality but they are also an inspiration for action”
The privatization of health care in developed countries, precisely the United States has led to a high cost of medical services in the region while unavailable health care services in developing countries has led to the spread of infectious diseases. When asked for a solution to this dilemma, Prof. Sachs recommended universal publicly financed access to health care. Emphasizing on developing countries, he was quoted as saying, “Development aid and tax reform are the two most important ways to help poor countries to close their budget deficit”
In his closing remarks, Prof. Sachs concluded: “thank you for your excellent questions and thank you for your leadership which is very important now. We have to act together, act sensibly, act sustainably and act on the basis of science and against the whims of corrupt politicians like Trump”
Sequel to Prof. Sachs exposition on Building Resilient Health Structures, Prof. Marc A. Rosen, a professor of Engineering Ontario Tech University, Canada spoke on Ramping up Renewable Energy for Sustainable Economic Growth. Prof. Marc Rosen talked about the need for government to incentivize for renewable energy that has long term advantage for the country. When asked about the recently released documentary of Planet of the Humans, he responded: “I find it fascinating and interesting to watch, I can understand how it raises skepticism, I can understand suspicion flowing from it and downright feelings that there are conspiracies within the renewable energy sector, yet overall, I find it entertaining but not factual in so many ways….I think the movie exaggerates negatives that we are all aware of and understand…we can use renewable energy badly, that applies to conventionals (fossil fuels) as well as renewables. If we handle them well, I don’t think we will run into those problems...but in the long term the benefits of renewable energy where they exist are there, companies look past that, government look pass that… and in the long term they will probably prevail”
The challenges of renewable energy in providing intermittent supply of energy has questioned the integrity and long term positive impacts of renewables. Prof. Marc expressed his thoughts thus saying; “When it comes to energy, there is no perfect solution, there is no ideal, if there was… we would have taken advantage of it and everybody would have been using it 100%... In the longer term, I still think the benefit of renewable energy will prevail.”
In response to the impact covid-19 has on the renewable energy sector, Prof. Marc humorously said, “People are so concerned with covid-19 that they are not thinking about other things... …The other big problem here is uncertainty. The covid-19 situation basically is unprecedented everyone tells me... Industry hates uncertainty, they love making investments where they can foresee that this is profitable over 10 years…”
Acting Executive Secretary for the Convention on Biological Diversity Elizabeth Maruma Mrema stressed that the time has come for us to stand together in solidarity and care for each other and our planet in which we live. She gave this clarion call to humanity in response to the covid-19 pandemic that has caused unprecedented deaths in a short period of time. She reiterated that returning to normal would be a worst case scenario, but rather we need to build better resilient structures and avoid destruction of biodiversity. She commemorated World Environment Day by concluding that,
“It is time for urgent international sweeping cooperation to preserve nature, conserve biodiversity and protect human health for generations to come”
A popular mantra by leadership expert John Maxwell states, “Everything rises or falls on leadership”. What Is the Role of the Youths in Achieving Sustainable Development as global leaders rally round in achieving sustainability? Walid Machrouh, youth activist for United Nations program was our distinguished speaker for the session. Walid began the discussion with the opening phrase; “When we talk about sustainability, we talk about sustaining resources, sustaining opportunities, sustaining so many things for the future and when we are talking about youths, we are talking about a big component of the society…”
Walid affirmed the dearth of sustainability knowledge amongst youths and highlighted the need for us to form partnerships in order to take active roles in sustainable development. In his words, “Before the covid-19 era I would say that there is only a minority of young people who are interested by sustainable development and they know what they should do and how they can contribute…If we don’t collaborate together, if we don’t start by initiating small initiatives, we as young people create opportunities, we’re going to assume what’s happening in the world, we’re going to just consume it with no reflection and also with no feedback.”
Michael Waas, Global vice president of brand partnerships Terracycle, was going to educate us on Integrated Waste Management System: Redesigning the way we manage waste. It is no news that the waste sector has been viewed as one of the most unattractive economic sector in the state. However, the need to manage waste effectively is among the five principles of sustainability. Michael believed that the concept of waste is another human invention. In his words, “The concept of building a circular economy and of promoting circular product streams seems like a new conversation, but what we found truly is waste is a modern invention throughout the entire history of the natural world, there was no waste because it doesn’t exist in nature the output of every system becomes the input for another”
How then do we combat the problem of rising waste? Michael answered by saying, “The easiest way to solve the global crisis of garbage is to start manufacturing everything from gold” Therefore, we have to rethink our design model to achieve the concept of a circular economy where no waste exists.
The transition to sustainable development will be sabotaged without corresponding institutions to facilitate this transition. Qatar Green Building Council (QGBC) a non-profit, membership-driven organization was selected to share insights into Transitioning to Green Schools for Better Learning Experience. At Qatar Green Building Council, Ruba Hinnawi, a technical specialist was nominated to be our guest speaker for the auspicious event. Qatar Green Building Council is providing leadership and encouraging collaboration in conducting environmentally sustainable practices for green building design and development in Qatar.
Ruba opened the session from her power point presentation by quoting Nelson Mandela who said that, “Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world” According to Ruba, the three main objectives of Green Schools are: to improve the health and wellbeing of its occupants, to minimize its environmental impact and to use all of its physical features as a dynamic teaching tool. Green School minimizes its environmental impact because it gives a great consideration to energy and water, indoor environment quality, sight and surrounding, and to transportation. Ruba was generous enough in highlighting the Green School features which include; Efficient Operation, Sight and Nature, Building Envelope, Comfort, Transportation, Active Building, Material and Waste, and innovation.
The role of agriculture in enhancing sustainable development cannot be over-emphasized. We were joined by Farmer Samson Ogbole, the lead trainer for farm lab who was speaking on The Role of Agriculture in Sustainable Development. Samson Ogbole expressed his belief that “food production should not be seasonal because hunger is not seasonal” Samson talked on urban and periurban farming reiterating that our problems should not be left for the government to solve. He suggested, “There is a need to ensure that as farmers, we have to come together and ask ourselves what solutions we can proffer by ourselves such that when we have tangible results, those in power by default will want to key into it; and the way that works is by having farms in urban and periurban areas” He regrettably pointed out the attitudes of individuals and governments towards farming and farmers, especially in developing countries like Nigeria. Unless such attitudes are changed, agriculture which is one of the pillars of civilization will continually decline into a vicious cycle rising and falling.
The roles of values and morality in civilization is non-negotiable. As humans embrace the era of sustainable development, what are the Impacts of Values and Morality in Sustainable Development? Dr. Evren Tok Assistant Dean for Information and Community Development Hamad Bin Khalifa University was the selected speaker for this session. Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), a member of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science, and Community Development (QF), was founded in 2010 to continue fulfilling QF’s vision of unlocking human potential. HBKU is a homegrown research and graduate studies University that acts as a catalyst for positive transformation in Qatar and the region while having a global impact.
Dr. Evren cut to the chase by pointing out, “I believe one of the things we are learning in the time of Corona is how individuals, groups, communities, regardless of their kind of race, regardless of their nationality, regardless of their gender, their age whatever, we are in the same boat and one way of showcasing that we are really in the same boat is to create those kind scales of action, those space where we can act jointly… We don’t often realize the commonalities, but we often spot the differences… In order to act together, in order to start any kind of collective action, whether it is covid-19, whether it is environmental change, climate change, global warming or racism, any kind of collective action, require certain core beliefs and values at the initial stage so that differences can build on these commonalities”
“I believe one of the things we are learning in the time of Corona is how individuals, groups, communities, regardless of their kind of race, regardless of their nationality, regardless of their gender, their age whatever, we are in the same boat.”
Our next speaker, Eve de la Mothe Karoubi, a Senior Manager at United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) was going to enlighten us about SDG progress in Africa. Africa’s track progress towards sustainable development has been overshadowed by inadequate data. However, having a speaker whose work has been centered on Africa and the SDGs would indeed be an eye-opener. When asked whether Africa was on track towards achieving sustainable development by 2030, Eve came out blunt by saying that “Africa is not on track to achieve the SDGs, not by a long shot.” Her response points out the need for African governments to revisit the drawing board that employ workable policies to achieve sustainable development.
The goal of quality education is among the top tier goals of the SDGs occupying the fourth position. The rising rate of illiteracy is not only alarming in itself, but acts as a catalyst towards socio-economic vices. One major challenge of attaining higher education is the lack of monetary support especially in developing countries. For the symposium, The Green Institute could select none other than Lois Afua Damptey - a Ghanian has been the beneficiary of numerous scholarships. She defined scholarship as a “monetary gift” given to beneficiaries for the purpose of advancing their education. After explaining briefly on the structure of scholarship and how to apply, she left her audience with the following nuggets,
“one of the things you should know when applying for scholarships is that you should never give up”
“…there are no seasons for scholarship because scholarships are all year round…it is very important that you yourself write your own essays and be drawn by your own inspiration…don’t use social media for any other thing rather than your own personal and career development…the time is now for you to be intentional about your education and career development.”
According to Lois, Nigeria is a very high recipient of commonwealth scholarships. Therefore, there is no excuse for anyone serious about furthering their education not to advance in their field of study.
With an intermittent display session of arts and entertainment, we had a presentation by poet Tosin Gbogi who opened with a poem titled Aridity of the Moment, and performance by indigenous harpist Walter Spearheart. Walter highlighted the role of music as therapeutic in relieving stress and distress. According to Walter, “It is difficult to think music without thinking about the unique way of life, the lifestyle of the people.” The virtual artist Data Oruwari expounded on the role of visual arts in achieving sustainable development. In sharing her thoughts, she said: ‘I think the visual arts has its role in sustainable development. Arts have been a very active race in the sustainable development of nature and the environment from time immemorial, and I say so because if you think of old paintings from the Roman and classical era where artist painted things like landscapes, they painted about nature, animals…the visual arts role is that it has made people appreciate the beauty of nature and animal life, and it is the reason why people have been called to act to actually protect this beautiful things.” When asked about the inter-relationship between science and the arts towards achieving sustainable development, Data said,
“The best inventions and ideas don’t come from people who have a very narrow mindset. It comes from where you have an opportunity for diversity and diverse mindset and diverse skill sets.”
“ so I think that science can get better at innovation when they learn to work with people who are not scientists. I think that is where you have some level of diversity.”
The entertainment dance session was performed by The Green Maasai Troupe from Qatar Doha. The Green Maasai Troupe is an organization of African culture that promotes cultural integration by performing to foreign cultures. Their aim is to bridge the wall of divide that exists amongst us and achieve sustainability through cultural inclusivity.
Economic activities such as businesses, entrepreneurship and investment do have identifiable role to play in our journey towards sustainable development. For the purpose of this symposium, we had Eva Andriyash, CEO of IxD Capital inform us about Impact Investing and Impact Entrepreneurship: The New Rule for a New World. Eva highlighted that Impact Investing and Impact Entrepreneurship are motivated by the 17 SDGs adopted by the UN. She further highlighted the key objectives for all investors and entrepreneurs to include; joining forces to face the challenges of covid-19, strengthening innovations in various sectors, implement the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development and maximize the positive impact of private capital
Manfred Max Bergman
Businesses and the environment could work harmoniously when the skills of sustainability are applied. This is the strong position held by Prof. Max Manfred Bergman as he spoke on How Does Sustainability Intersect with Business and Society in a Globalized World. Prof. Bergman reinforced the need to have business models that will not only hit home runs, but whose design is connected to environmental wellbeing and social inclusion. As a people, we are getting connected on a daily basis due to the revolution of technology. Prof. Bergman opined that we should therefore leverage on this technology to bridge the gaps of our differences. That is the only way to achieve true sustainability.
Jonathan Reichental
Jonathan Reichental spoke on Understanding the Role of Data in Urban Innovation as the symposium came to a close. According to Reichental, “our world is now running on data as if it is a new type of natural resource like oil, it has enormous value in how we make decisions, private organizations and increasingly in government…we create 2-half quintillion bytes of data everyday.
Dr. Reichental impressed on the usefulness of GPS in monitoring and regulation. We can observe and understand what happens during a natural disaster such as flooding, mudslides, oil spills, seismic activity et cetera. It is also used to manage indiscriminate logging going on in different parts of the world. GPS is used for understanding the migration of animals. We use GPS to understand the health of our planet vegetation.
As the event drew to a close, The Green Institute looked back from the beginning of planning and preparation to the culmination of the event and appreciated all her speakers and moderators for honoring her invitation. To her viewers on the different social platforms, she stands in solidarity and encourages them to act for nature consistently and continuously.
The just concluded virtual symposium shared great insights on sustainable development. However, what should be the response of stakeholders towards sustainable development? Once more, sustainable development is meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own need. What events will unfold in a post-covid 19 era? These are likely questions springing in the minds of the people as they watch the government’s response to the pandemic. The need for world governments to revamp the economy after the debilitating impact has shifted focus from Agenda 2030. With environmental laws pushed to the sidelines, companies have indirectly been given license to run amok in their emission of carbon. As leaders continue to blame multi-lateral organizations, the platform for collaboration towards achieving the SDGs is threatened. The question remains, have we drifted from the path to sustainable development in a bid secure temporary solutions? Are we still on the trajectory towards sustainable development?