Her Highness Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, President & CEO of the UAE Independent Climate Change Accelerators (UICCA), participated as a keynote speaker in the «Roots: Green Acts Across Generations», which was organised by Rabdan Academy in Jubail Mangrove Park Abu Dhabi.
The event was attended by more than 50 students from Rabdan Academy and other national universities in the country, a number of senior citizens, representatives of national entities related to environmental, climate and sustainability action, alongside experts from the private sector.
On this occasion, Her Highness Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, President and CEO of UICCA, said: “The youth of our nation plays an integral role in determining the future of the UAE and our planet, for their voices and actions today will drive impact for generations to come. It’s important that both public and private sector players are actively involved in guiding and empowering these young individuals to explore new solutions and adopt innovative thinking to address the ever-evolving sustainability challenges facing us.”
For his part, H.E. James Morse, President of Rabdan Academy, said: ‘This special event coincides with the announcement made by President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan that 2023 will be the “Year of Sustainability”, and his call on community members and institutions to engage with related initiatives and activities, and thus «Roots: Green Acts Across Generations» aims to develop and refine the skills of young people in strategic and important areas that keep pace with the rapid changes and exceptional circumstances of this era’.
Morse also added that hosting Her Highness Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan as a keynote speaker at this event, is a real opportunity for the participants to enrich their knowledge in issues related to environment sustainability, climate change, clean energy and its innovative solutions, based on Her Highness' pioneering experience in this field.
«Roots: Green Acts Across Generations» focused on high-level topics that dealt with supporting national strategies for sustainability, preserving the environment and its resources for future generations, confronting the challenges of climate change, young people to adopt behaviours that focus on sustainable management of natural resources, along with other relevant areas.
Sunilan Balan, Founder and Managing Director of German Gulf Engineering Consultants, highlighted during the panel discussion the importance for the private sector to work together with the government on sustainability initiatives and give back to the community. Balan stated: ‘At German Gulf, we consider this as mission-critical, and this has driven us to launch our integrated climate action campaign and energy management internship program in association with the UAE University - In Harmony with the Community and the Environment - which aims to support the UAE in climate change initiatives and hosting of COP 28’.
Her Highness joined the participants in a mangrove planting activity and listened to a detailed briefing on the characteristics of mangroves and their importance in combating climate change.
Rabdan Academy considers sustainability as an integral part of its strategic initiatives, as it is linked to the essence of the Academy's work through offering professional academic and vocational programs that contribute significantly to enhancing national resilience, and promoting the security, safety, business continuity and risk management ecosystem in the country.
