What Happened at COP27?

November 23, 2022
 “Cop27 is part of a process, not an endpoint.” words of Co-chair Ban Ki-moon at the closure of the COP27 Climate Change Conference in Egypt.

The Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens team was on the ground at COP27 as observers hosting official side events conducting bilateral meetings and advocating for climate change adaptation in agriculture across the blue zone, green zone, and innovation zone (hosted by Climate Action.) Check out our photo collection here.

 

 

Over the course of two weeks, we were able to meet with many of our partners and conducted 35+ bilateral meetings. It was especially great to have the chance to brainstorm with 4 African ministries and a number of European governments, including the EC, Germany, and UK on the topics of climate adaptation, capacity building, and empowering farmers against climate change on the continent including:

  • Hon. Minister Dr. Gerardine Mukeshimana, Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources, Rwanda
  • Hon. Minister Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, Minister of Food and Agriculture, Ghana
  • Hon. Eng. Collins Nzovu, Minister of Green Economy and Environment, Zambia
  • Senator Lawal Hassan Anka, Chairman of the Committee on Ecology and Climate Change, and Salisu M. Dahiru, Director-General of the National Council on Climate Change, Nigeria

We also hosted 4 side events and contributed to 2 partner events. Below you can find the event details and stream links when available. 

BKMC Co-chair Ban Ki-moon shared opening remarks at the Sustainable Innovation Forum highlighting the urgent need to focus on climate adaptation finance and put smallholder farmers at the heart of our efforts. 

 

 

“Actions for a global, green and just transition” where BKMC Program Manager Angela Reithuber, moderated a panel at the Sustainable Innovation Forum hosted by Climate Action emphasizing the importance of climate justice. 

 

 

Implementation Lab on Resilient and Adaptive Food Systems where COO Katrin Harvey emphasized the importance of women in climate finance. She highlighted gender inclusivity in food systems such as having more women in decision-making, increasing the finance available, providing transparency in processes as well as focusing on gender-tailored capacity building for women.

 

 

Seeds for Equality: Young Women Shaping Regenerative Agriculture and Empowering Female Farmers in the Global South where Program Lead Viola Christian announced the Elevating the Voices of Women in Agriculture Champion Lilian Nakigozi and showcased the documentary of her initiative Women Smiles Uganda.

 

 

Accelerating Climate Adaptation in Agriculture – A Youth Perspective where the BKMC Youth Agri Champions demand paper on climate adaptation efforts for African youth was launched. Two champions were on stage with representatives from CGIAR, FAO, the Director for International Partnerships of the European Commission – Carla Montesi, and the director of the Zambian Ministry of Green Economy & Environment – Crusivia Chilobe Hichikumba, to discuss solutions that can directly support smallholder farmers secure the future of their livelihoods and of the world‘s food system.

 

 

“Elevating the Voices of Women in Agriculture: Challenges & Solutions Toward Women Farmers’ Empowerment in the Face of Climate Change” where, voices of female farmers such as Belinda Okungu, Kenya, Gender Lead and Pan-African Climate Justice Association, Josephine George Frances, Liberia, President, Farmers Union Network of Liberia, CEO of Arjay Farms and Arjay Coffee, former House Representative and Chair on the Committees of Agriculture, Elizabeth Akaba, Ghana, Produce Farmer and Tuba Women Farmers Association Leader shared concrete needs of women farmers to tackle the impacts of climate change and Program Lead Viola Christian showcased the documentary of women farmer Lilian Nakigozi’s initiative Women Smiles Uganda. No event stream is available but watch the documentary below. 

 

Launch of the Foundation of the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens in New York

November 15, 2022

On November 3rd, 8th UN Secretary-General & Chair Ban Ki-moon formerly launched the Foundation of the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens in New York after an inspiring Fireside Chat on “Climate and Leadership” hosted by Columbia Business School.

Fireside Chat & Reception at Columbia Business School

Together with Dean Costis Maglaras, H.E. Ban Ki-moon spoke to Columbia faculty and students, BKMC Board Members and stakeholders about his tenure and legacy at the United Nations, coming of age during the Korean War, the importance of US leadership to advance the SDGs and the Paris Climate Agreement and empowering women and youth to lead for the SDGs. The subsequent reception marked the official launch of the Foundation of the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens in New York.  

Launch of the Foundation of the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens in New York, US

“Today ladies and gentlemen we are officially opening another office in the US, here in New York to foster leadership for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate Agreement. (…)

Our goal is to inspire current decision makers and empower the next generation of leaders to step up to the biggest challenges of humankind.”  – 8th UN Secretary-General and Chair of the Foundation of the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens in the US Ban Ki-moon

Launch of the Foundation of the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens in New York, US

“Special thanks for this effort goes to supporter Daniele Bodini, whose dedication to the mission allowed us to launch this office in New York, located on the Upper East Side. We will focus on four issues in the US, collaborating with global partners: climate and sustainability; gender equity in all sectors; public health to advance issues such as post-COVID adaptations; and peace, security, and justice.”, said the Foundation´s CEO Monika Froehler.

Foundation of the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens

The Foundation is aiming to make this work happen by significantly increasing financial and political commitments toward the implementation of SDGs and the Paris Climate Agreement on key issues at the intersection of gender, racial and economic justice. Furthermore, the Foundation is aiming to make this work by creating a larger and more diverse “bench” of leaders and movements ready to advance SDGs by 2030. The goal is to train 1,000 emerging leaders from historically excluded communities over the next three years. The Foundation will make this work by catalyzing, developing and scaling real-life examples of grassroots and local, cross-sector leadership for the SDGs and Paris Agreement through platforms for learning and collaboration. 

The Elders meet UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at the UN in New York

During his mission trip to New York Ban Ki-moon met with high-level officials at the United Nations, including UN General Assembly President Csaba Kőrösi, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed and members of the UN Security Council as a member of the Elders. They discussed their shared concern about global crises, such as the war in Ukraine, strong political commitments to tackle climate adaptation and more.

Launch of selected papers of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the UN Library

On 4th November Ban Ki- moon’s selected papers from his tenure as UN Secretary-General were launched at the UN Library Dag Hammarskjöld. Access the archive HERE.

Access our Flickr Album from the Launch of the Foundation HERE

Access our Flickr Album from the UN Library HERE 

Ban Ki-moon Centre Announces Side Events for COP27 in Egypt

November 4, 2022

Between November 6-18, 2022, the 27th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) will take place in Sharm El-Sheikh. The Ban Ki-moon Centre is excited to co-host four COP27 Side Events with FAO, CGIAR, BCG, WEF, WFF, FairTrade, EmpoderClima, YPARD, and PACJA and participate as speakers in many more.Join us in person or virtually to discuss accelerating agricultural adaptation for smallholder farmers, hear climate adaptation demands of our Youth Agri Champions toward world leaders, find out how young entrepreneurs shape the lives of female farmers in the Global South, and more. To see the schedule of all COP27 side events click here. All side events will be available in real time on the UNFCCC Youtube account. The list of events is being updated by UNFCCC and will be updated on this page simultaneously. 

 
 

 
Saturday, November 12, 13.00 – 14.30 CET | 14.00 – 15.30 CAT @Blue Zone, Room Lotus
“Implementation Lab on Resilient and Adaptive Food Systems”

The roundtable addresses the co-benefits of resilient and adaptive food systems, targeted climate finance, and enabling policy solutions. BKMC COO Katrin Harvey and Program Manager Angela Reithuber participate in the discussion to answer the question “How do we ensure that the political commitment to strengthen resilience and upscale adaptation to impact on climate change for food systems is reaching the most vulnerable communities on the ground?”

Co-organizers: BKMC, FAO, CGIAR, BCG, WEF, WFF
 
 
 
Monday, November 14, 12.30 – 13.30 CET | 13.30 – 14.30 CAT @Children and Youth Pavilion
“Seeds for Equality – Young Women Shaping Regenerative Agriculture and Empowering Female Farmers in the Global South”
A multimedia session highlighting innovative solutions, led by young women, to shape regenerative agriculture and foster gender equality, youth empowerment, and climate justice in the Global South
Co-organizers: BKMC,Empodera Clima, YPARD
 
 
 
Monday, November 14, 14.00 – 15.00 CET | 15.00-16.00 CAT @Blue Zone,  Room 1, Akhenaten
Accelerating Climate Adaptation in Agriculture – A Youth Perspective
A multistakeholder dialogue addressing the biggest challenges African youth smallholder farmers are facing in adapting to climate change. Global leaders and young African agripreneurs from the BKMC network exchange innovative & just solutions in their local communities. The Youth Agri Champions who worked together over the summer, also launch their climate adaptation demand paper.
Co-organizers: BKMC, CGIAR, FAO, FairTrade
 
 
 
 
Tuesday, November 15, 11.00 – 12.00 CET | 12.00-13.00 CAT @Green Zone HALL A
Elevating the Voices of Women in Agriculture – Challenges and SolutionsToward Women Farmers’ Empowerment in the Face of Climate Change
Panel discussion to highlight the significance of women farmers to achieve SDGs 2 and 13, particularly in the context of Africa. Hearing from experts and practitioners and showcasing youth-led best practice initiatives, the side event will raise awareness and inspire concrete and direct action to empower women farmers on the African continent in the face of climate change.
Co-organizers: BKMC, Panafrican Climate Justice Alliance
LINK COMING
 

The 2. SDG Dialogforum Austria features multistakeholder discussions to accelerate the implementation of the Agenda 2030

October 12, 2022

On October 6th and 7th, 2022 the Austrian Federal Government, SDG Watch Austria and the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens convened the 2. SDG Dialogforum Austria to discuss current opportunities and prospects for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.

 
Copyright: BKMC/Martin Krachler

“It’s promising to see that this year’s Forum will go beyond promoting solutions and will aim to build and enhance implementing partnerships among government, private sector, and civil society at eye level.” – 8th UN Secretary-General and Co-chair of the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens Ban Ki-moon said in his opening remarks of the 2nd SDG Dialogforum

 

The two-day forum “2. SDG Dialogforum Austria”  featured multistakeholder discussions in various formats aiming to accelerate the effective implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Copyright: BKMC/Martin Krachler

Starting on October 6th with opening remarks moderated by BKMC CEO Monika Froehler, welcoming Franz Wirtenberger from the Austrian Chancellery and Annelies Vilim, CEO of AG Globale Verantwortung. Thereafter, to curate cutting-edge ideas, solutions, and partnerships, for decision-makers in so-called “Innovation Pools”, a public multistakeholder discussion, comprised of participants from the federal administration, civil society, academia, and the private sector discussed the topics:

  • How much energy does Austria need? Ways towards a social and nature-based energy transition
  • Skills for the 21st Century
  • Equal Opportunities – wellbeing and social Inclusion of children and youth
  • Austria’s development policy. Reacting to multiple crises. Fostering resilience

The closing of the first day featured a summary of the highlights from each Innovation Pool in anticipation of the second day of the SDG Dialogforum 2022, where a high-level panel would pick up the results.

On October 7th, official welcome messages from Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal, Secretary General in the Federal Ministry of European and Foreign Affairs; Ban Ki-moon, BKMC Co-chair; Thomas Alge CEO of ÖKOBÜRO; and lastly Achim Steiner Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme opened the floor to a ceremony of Regional Best Practice Cases awarding projects of effective SDG implementation in Upper Austria, Lower Austria and Styria with the help of the Austrian Sustainable Development regional coordinators.

On October 7 2022 Federal Minister Karoline Edtstadler (3.f.l.), Federal Minister Leonore Gewessler (2.f.l.), Gerd Müller (UNIDO) (l.) and CEO of ÖKOBÜRO, Thomas Alge (r.) at the press conference of the 2. SDG Dialogforum Austria. Copyright: BKA/ Florian Schrötter

At the 2. SDG Dialogforum press conference, Minister Karoline Edtstadler announced the commitment of the Austrian government to work on the submission of the next Austrian Voluntary National Report by 2024. This will be done by broad consultations with all relevant stakeholders including government, civil society, academia, private sector, and youth.

 

“I can announce that we are currently working on the 2nd Voluntary National Implementation Report and will decide in the coming weeks in the Council of Ministers to present it by 2024.“ – Federal Minister for EU and Constitution Karoline Edtstadler

   
 
Copyright: BKMC/Martin Krachler
Moderated by PULS 4 News Chief, Corinna Milborn, a high-level panel welcomed speakers Karoline Edtstadler, Federal Minister for the EU and Constitution, Leonore Gewessler, Federal Minister for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology, Johannes Rauch, Federal Minister for Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection, Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal, Secretary General in the Federal Ministry of European and Foreign Affairs and Gerd Müller, Director General of UNIDO.  

The ministers and high-level representatives addressed the partnerships suggested by the Innovation Pools and reflected on Austria’s efforts to implement Agenda 2030 and its 17 SDGs to date.

Main points of the discussion were an increased need for energy security, energy efficiency measures, and alleviating financial measures, the enhancement of early childhood support, mapping of the skills for the 21st century for Austria and the countries responsibility to focus some efforts of its development cooperation activities on resilience and food security particularly in the global south. The two-day event underlined the importance of partnerships and dialogue to not only achieve the SDGs but also to fight global challenges. The SDG Dialogforum has allowed for the government and civil society to formulate meaningful partnerships within the years ahead to accelerate the implementation of the SDGs until 2030.

2. SDG Dialogforum Austria
Copyright: BKMC/Martin Krachler

Access our Flickr Album from Day 1 HERE

Access our Flickr Album from Day 2 HERE 

Overall, the event saw over 1000 participants (live and virtual) and additionally reached over 20.000 through social media. 

The BKMC thanks all co-organizers for their tireless efforts to make the 2nd Dialogforum Austria such a success. 

Read the event report in German.

Watch the highlights of the 2. SDG Dialogforum below!

Watch the full recording in German of Day 1.

Watch the full recording in German of Day 2.

“The beautiful dream of a world without war and poverty” President Van der Bellen, Ban Ki-moon, and Heinz Fischer in Krone Zeitung

September 12, 2022

 

On September 8th, the President of Austria, Alexander Van der Bellen, visited the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens office in Vienna. The meeting was hosted by the Co-chairs of the Centre, the 8th Secretary-General of the United Nations and the 11th President of Austria Heinz Fischer.

Following a brief introduction with the team and of the Centre, the three government leaders held a discussion on recent global affairs in private and then spoke with Krone Zeitung. You can read the full interview below in English or here Krone220911 in German.

“The beautiful dream of a world without war and poverty”

The former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen and his predecessor Heinz Fischer met with the “Kronen Zeitung” for an in-depth conversation.

What they are wishing for was the final question posed to the former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen and his predecessor

Heinz Fischer after a long joint conversation with the “Krone”.

A world where people listen to each other and their rights are respected, a world where no one is poor, where men and women have equal rights and where wars are forbidden.

Ban even dreams of global citizenship. Just like John Lennon in the year 1971 in his peace ballad “Imagine”:

Imagine there are no countries, no possessions, nothing to kill or die for…

Unfortunately, this is unrealistic, as Ban explains on the basis of his Korean home country. As a child, he was an internally displaced person, and the state of war between North and South Korea continues to this day, and the former Secretary-General does not see a reason for optimism at this point. A reunification is simply unrealistic. All summit meetings at the highest level have been unsuccessful.

The same applies to Taiwan, which considers itself an independent state but is seen by China as a renegade province. “One solution,” says Heinz Fischer, “is not in sight.” One could only hope for reason and that there is no reason for war.

Van der Bellen: “Dangerous developments”

The issue today, according to Alexander van der Bellen is that there are so many crises at once. The pandemic is not yet over. No one knows what winter will bring. The Russian war in Ukraine is driving up energy prices. This is a problem for the economy, as well as for individual people.

All of these are dangerous developments. 

“People are worried”, said the Federal President.

“And they have every reason to be.” Still, he tries to reassure.

The EU is reacting in a coordinated manner and holding talks with Russia in one unified voice: “This surprised Putin. He did not expect that.” Nevertheless, we shouldn’t foster any illusions: “The war will last for a while.”

Consequently, we shouldn’t only get away from fossil fuels for this reason. This should have happened decades ago.

Hence, we would not be dependent on Russian gas now.

Ban: “The role of politics is to give people a voice.”

“With regard to climate change, we were acting a bit like sleepwalkers,” explains van der Bellen. “We didn’t take it seriously for decades.”

Not only on this point do we need a “global vision”, says Ban. There is so much frustration in the world: “Yet, it’s the role of politics to give people hope.”

Fischer: “In the end, there are only losers.”

The lesson from history is that war does not solve problems, adds Fischer: “In the end, there are only losers. Even the winners are in truth, losers.” After all the deaths. And Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen concludes: “We all want peace.”  This brings us back to John Lennon’s beautiful dream.

COP27 is a Crucial Moment to Join Efforts in Advancing the Global Goal on Adaptation

September 9, 2022

An exchange between all-female global leaders called for an increase in cooperation between countries to upscale action in climate change adaptation. In the lead-up to the COP27 climate change conference, the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens (BKMC) in Austria hosted a hybrid high-level ministerial roundtable on climate adaptation under the patronage of the 8th UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Watch the full event on Youtube.

Dubai/Berlin/Cairo/Vienna 8 September 2022 – “As we move towards COP27 in Egypt and COP28 in the UAE, it is of utmost importance that the work on adaptation accelerates, especially in advancing on the Global Goal on Adaptation within the framework of the Glasgow-Sharm el-Sheikh Work Programme,” said Ban Ki-moon, Co-chair of the BKMC, as he welcomed high-level guests to the ministerial roundtable.

On the heels of the African Adaptation Summit in Rotterdam, Ban Ki-moon convened a hybrid roundtable event in Vienna, moderated by BKMC CEO Monika Froehler, on “Climate Adaptation: The Road Beyond COP26: COP27 & COP28” at the ministerial level with Leonore Gewessler, Austrian Federal Minister for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation, and Technology; Yasmine Fouad, Egypt’s Minister of Environment and host country representative of COP27; Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, Minister of Climate Change and Environment of the United Arab Emirates – the COP28 host country, and Jennifer Morgan, German State Secretary and Special Envoy for International Climate Action.

“Our efforts towards adaptation must accelerate. COP27 this year will be decisive. Only in the past couple of months we experienced the most severe drought in East Africa for 40 years, devastating floods in Pakistan, and wildfires around the globe. These events further escalate global energy and food insecurity. We need to advance the Global Goal on Adaptation within the framework of the Sharm el-Sheikh Work Programme as a priority,” said Ban Ki-moon.

Agreeing with the importance of such an acceleration, Austrian Minister Leonore Gewessler gave examples of how Austria is contributing to international and national efforts in tackling climate change. She mentioned the importance of data collection to better manage climate mitigation and adaptation efforts, stating that “we have to bring the solutions we have already identified on paper to life.”

The 8th UN Secretary-General took the global community to task: “At COP15 in Copenhagen in 2009, developed countries committed to mobilizing 100 billion US dollars a year by 2020 in climate finance for developing countries. Despite their efforts, according to the OECD, only 83.3 billion US dollars were provided by 2020.”

The governments of Germany and Canada are co-leaders in the development of the progress report on the Climate Finance Delivery Plan, a report to be published before COP27 which will outline how this commitment can be met. German Climate Envoy Jennifer Morgan underlined that climate finance remains a core issue in the debate, where more transparency and better use and access to finance is much needed. This includes an equal share of financing between mitigation and adaptation.

“The focus on adaptation, finance, loss and damage is essential. Germany remains committed to the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. This includes fulfilling the Glasgow commitment to double adaptation finance collectively by 2025,” stressed Jennifer Morgan.

UAE Minister Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri said she finds the Glasgow-Sharm el-Sheikh Work Programme promising. Looking ahead to COP28, she emphasized that the UAE is keen to continue accelerating climate adaptation efforts and exploring opportunities for effective global partnerships. She added: “One of our priorities is to enhance the adaptive capacities of the agricultural sector. We want to demonstrate how the UAE-USA joint initiative, the Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate, advances food systems innovation and supports smallholder farmers.”

In a video message, Dr. Yasmine Fouad, Egypt’s Minister of Environment and COP27 Ministerial Coordinator and Envoy, reaffirmed Egypt’s preparedness to host COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh on November 6-18th 2022. She noted that adaptation and climate were both top priorities for the Egyptian presidency, emphasizing that “now is the moment to stand up and keep progressing on the Global Goal on Adaptation. We must show the success stories that protect and keep our local communities climate resilient.”

Ban Ki-moon concluded the event by saying that “the upcoming COP27 in Egypt is an African COP. This presents an ideal opportunity to come together and ensure that adaptation is tackled comprehensively. It is a crucial topic to so many people in Africa, including the estimated 33 million African smallholder farmers.”

8th UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY BAN KI-MOON COMMENDS AUSTRIA’S LEADERSHIP FOR THE WORK ON THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS and CALLS FOR INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION

September 9, 2022
During a mission trip to Vienna, Austria, Former Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met with Chancellor Nehammer and Minister Karoline Edtstadler and discussed the war on Ukraine, soaring energy prices, efforts towards climate change and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Vienna, 7 September 2022 – “Austria is more visible in its work for the Sustainable Development Goals than ever. In times of increased stresses worldwide including the climate crisis, the ongoing pandemic, the war in the Ukraine and the energy and food crisis, the commitment to multilateralism and to international collaboration for the Global Goals is more important than ever” said H.E Ban Ki-moon, Former Secretary-General and Co-chair of the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens (BKMC), who is currently in Vienna for bilateral meetings with high-level representatives of the Austrian government.

Ban Ki-moon met with Chancellor of Austria Karl Nehammer to discuss recent global affairs including climate change, the current inflation and energy crises around the world, the long-lasting impacts of the pandemic, and the Russian aggression on Ukraine. Mentioning his recent trip to Kyiv, Ukraine in August, Ban Ki-moon said “I visited Kyiv to emphasize that support for Ukraine comes from all over the world. I offered my support to President Zelenskyy and the people of Ukraine and reaffirm the centrality of Ukrainian sovereignty, territorial integrity, and its right to self-defense.” Also having visited Ukraine in April this year, Chancellor Nehammer called for the end of all combat action, aiming for a cease-fire – and voiced his concerns over the looming food security and energy issues. The Chancellor mentioned that energy independency is Austria’s priority. Ban Ki-moon commended the leadership of Austria stating, “Strong multilateral response and international cooperation and partnership are required to deal with these crises. I thank the Secretary-General for his commitment as Chair of the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens for the excellent cooperation with the Federal Chancellery. Together we have implemented numerous projects to promote the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals. The BKMC certainly takes a leading role in this area. I am pleased that Austria has risen to 5th place worldwide in the SDG implementation ranking this year. This positive development is an incentive for us to continue working closely together to further advance the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.”

 

During the bilateral meeting with Federal Minister for the EU and Constitution, Karoline Edtstadler Ban Ki-moon referred to the long-standing cooperation between the Chancellery and the BKMC emphasizing that, “It is highly encouraging to see Austria taking a leading role for the SDGs and supporting dialogue between civil society, academia, and decision-makers with its annual SDG Dialogforum.” Over the course of the last three years the Austrian Chancellery and the BKMC have worked very closely on advancing the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals in Austria, and through various activities have elevated to Austria in the ranks from 9th to 5th on the SDG implementation ranking score of Bertelsmann Stiftung.  Especially in the light of major global challenges such as the Ukraine crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change, Ban Ki-moon mentioned that the comprehensive and interlinked goals of the 2030 Agenda are becoming increasingly important. He said, “I look forward to the concrete suggestions deriving from the second SDG Dialogue Forum on 7th October involving four Austrian Ministers and many representatives from Civil Society, as well as youth. Austria´s work on the SDGs is hopefully inspiring for other nations around the world”.

The Demand Paper Presentation Brings the Youth Agri Champions Webinar Series to a Close

August 29, 2022

After a month of working together, the efforts of the Youth Agri Champions came to a culmination in the final workshop of the Youth Agri Champions Peer2Peer Webinar Series. Coming together for the last time in this series, the participants presented their demand paper and reflected on the past few weeks and what is still to come. 

Opening the workshop this week was the BKMC’s Co-chair, Dr. Heinz Fischer, who praised the Youth Agri Champions for their ‘ambition, dedication, and enthusiasm for fighting climate change. He supported the demands created and outlined his willingness to amplify the voices and ideas shared over the last weeks. Thereafter, three Youth Agri Champions, Richard Kachungu, Mercy Philips, and Usman Kibiya, officially handed over the demands to the BKMC, covering their demands in the areas of social risk management, finance, and capacity building.  

Furthermore, Co-chair Ban Ki-moon also sent his words of congratulations to the Youth Agri Champions. “Your work plays an important role in fighting climate change, improving food security, and bettering the future of our planet for your communities at large,” emphasized Co-chair Ban, referring to the Youth Agri Champions’ demands. He very much looked forward to pushing for and elevating the demands at the global level and encouraged the Youth Agri Champions to continue their collaboration in tackling the climate crisis. 

For some of the Youth Agri Champions, it was their first time engaging in cross-border cooperation, with many signaling their enthusiasm to become further involved in solving global problems. After weeks of learning from each other’s diverse experiences and hard work in building up their demands, the final demand paper from the Youth Agri-Champions is now ready to help Ban Ki-moon and the BKMC team advocate for agricultural adaptation to climate change at COP27 and beyond. 

 

Upcoming Event: Climate Adaptation – The Road Beyond COP26: COP27 & COP28

August 26, 2022

We are excited to announce that the High-Level Ministerial Roundtable: “Climate Adaptation – The Road Beyond COP26: COP27 & COP28″ will take place on September the 6th 2022 between 16:30 – 18:00 CEST. This event will be hosted by Ban Ki-moon, the 8th Secretary General of the UN and Co-chair of the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens. Several ministers from key countries in the fight against the climate crisis will join us for a stimulating discussion on climate adaptation.

Discussions will take place on the state of climate adaptation, adaptation needs, climate financing, and the roadmap and progress on climate adaptation as we make our way from COP26 to COP28. We are excited to welcome Mariam bint Al-Mheiri (Minister of Climate Change and Environment, United Arab Emirates), Yasmine Fouad (Minister of Environment of the Arabic Republic of Egypt), Leonore Gewessler (Federal Minister for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology, Austria) and Jennifer Morgan (State Secretary and Special Envoy for International Climate Action, Germany) as speakers at the event.

Join us on the 6th of September via http://www.bankimooncentre.org/RoadtoCop to hear high-level insights on the world’s efforts to adapt to climate change. We look forward to having you with us for this engaging conversation on climate adaptation.

Concretising the Demands: what needs to change to help smallholder farmers adapt to climate change?

August 18, 2022

What do smallholder farmers need to adapt to climate change? That was the question posed to the Youth Agri Champions as they went about developing a set of demands on what can be done to improve support for climate adaptation in the agricultural sector. Taking place two weeks after the first workshop, the second workshop gave the Youth Agri Champions a chance to consolidate their ideas and demands. In between the first and the second workshop, the Youth Agri Champions continued to work virtually in their working groups, social risk management, funding/finance, and training/capacity building, where they built upon the ideas that came up in Workshop 1.

 

In Workshop 2, our expert guest, Denis Kabiito, the CEO and Founder of the Young Farmers’ Federation of Uganda, shared his knowledge and experience with the participants. He touched upon the challenges facing women farmers and encouraged smallholder farmers and the agripreneurs supporting them to overcome the obstacles posed by climate change and various other factors. Along these lines, Kabiito urged the Youth Agri Champions to, “start small, [and] start from somewhere from where we can convince those around us to support us.”  

After the participants posed their own questions to Kabiito, the Youth Agri Champions reconvened in their three working groups. Once again, they engaged in lively discussions and worked on further substantiating their demands. At the end of the workshop, representatives from each group presented their demands for the topic area they were working on.

The social risk management group focused on insurance schemes and providing more information and help to smallholder farmers to reduce uncertainty. The focus in the funding/finance group was on responsive funding and ensuring that funding schemes are contextualized to suit smallholder farmers. The Youth Agri Champions in the training/capacity building group developed a demand focusing on the ease of access to training, strengthening female access to training, and the adaptation of trainings and resources to reflect local social, economic, cultural, and environmental circumstances.  

Over the coming week, the demands will be consolidated. The Youth Agri Champions will then present these final demands at the next workshop where the best-practice projects from the participants will also be announced. At the final workshop on the 25th of August 2022, the Ban Ki-moon Centre Co-Chairs, Ban Ki-moon and Heinz Fischer will join them to bring the webinar series to a close and accept the demand paper to help amplify the voice of smallholder farmers and agripreneurs in Ban Ki-moon’s and the BKMC’s advocacy work to call on global leaders to take action on adaptation in smallholder agriculture.