High level youth forum with foreign dignitaries and Ban Ki-moon hosted by the Global Center on Adaptation and University of Groningen/Campus Fryslân

Following the findings of the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, the challenge of adapting to climate change has been thrust to the forefront of efforts to tackle the climate emergency. 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming is now expected to be reached within a decade. This implies, over the next ten years, a rapid acceleration of warming and worsening of climate impacts as never seen before. 8th Secretary-General of the United Nations and Chair of the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA), Ban Ki-moon, together with world dignitaries and youth will address these issues on Tuesday 7 September at the University of Groningen/Campus Fryslân during the 'High-Level Dialogue with Youth: Accelerating Adaptation in a Climate Emergency' convened by Patrick Verkooijen, CEO of the GCA and Chair of the Climate Adaptation Governance Programme at the University of Groningen/Campus Fryslân.

Ban Ki-moon, who received an honorary doctorate from the University of Groningen will lead the keynote speech together with Mr. Mohamed Nasheed, the former president of the Maldives. This will be followed by a roundtable discussion with leaders from countries vulnerable to climate change. The panel is followed by a dialogue between professional football player Arjen Robben, Global Center on Adaptation Goodwill Ambassador for Youth in Climate Adaptation and students. Mr. Paul Polman, former CEO of Unilever, will also be among the honored guests and will receive the 2021 Ban Ki-moon prize for Women's Empowerment. The session will be closed by the Mayor of Leeuwarden, Sybrand Buma.

Livestream

The event 'Accelerating Adaptation in a Climate Emergency' is organized by the Global Center on Adaptation, the Municipality of Leeuwarden and the University of Groningen/Campus Fryslân. The public audience is invited by personal invitation. It is also possible to attend the meeting online via a livestream. The program starts at 10.00 am till 12 noon.

Program

10:00  Leaders Dialogue
Chair of the session:
• Prof. Dr. Patrick Verkooijen, Ban Ki-moon Chair of Climate Adaptation and Global Governance of the University of Groningen and CEO of the Global Center Adaptation.

Opening and welcome remarks:
• Prof. Dr. Jouke de Vries, President of the University of Groningen
• Prof. Dr. Andrej Zwitter, Dean of Campus Fryslân

Opening keynotes:
• H.E. Ban Ki-moon, 8th Secretary-General of the United Nations and Chair of the Board of the Global Center on Adaptation
• H.E. Mohamed Nasheed, former President of the Maldives, Speaker of the People’s Majlis and Climate Vulnerable Forum Thematic Ambassador for Ambition

Roundtable panel:
• H.E. Dr. Abdul Momen, Hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh
• H.E. Simon Stiell, Hon. Minister of Agriculture, Land, Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment of Grenada
• H.E. Keriako Tobiko, Hon. Minister of Environment and Forestry of Kenya
• H.E. Vera Songwe, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa
• H.E. Rola Dashti, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social
Commission for Western Asia
• H.E. Mohammed Adjei Sowah, Mayor of Accra
• Karin Isaksson, Managing Director of the Nordic Development Fund

11:00  Youth Town Hall
Roundtable panel:
• Arjen Robben, Former Bayern München soccer player and Global Center on Adaptation Ambassador
• Youth representatives of the University of Groningen

Session moderator:
• Adriana Valenzuela, Thematic Lead on Youth Leadership and Education,
Global Center on Adaptation

11:40 Award Ceremony
• Paul Polman, Influencer, business leader, campaigner. In recognition of the 2021
Ban Ki-moon Award for Women’s Empowerment.

11:50 Closing Ceremony
• H.E. Sybrand Buma, Mayor of Leeuwarden

12:00 High-Level Luncheon
• Hosted by Mayor Buma

1 2:35 – 12:45 Tree ceremony
At the commemorative plaque to mark the visit of H.E. Ban Ki-moon