BKMC Co-chair Ban Ki-moon and CEO Monika Froehler travel to the United Arab Emirates for a mission trip on climate change and agricultural adaptation.
Check out the photos from the visit on Flickr.
During 1-5 March 2022, the delegation held several meetings with government leaders, attended events, had private tours to key locations, and also spent a day at the EXPO 2020 Dubai to visit multiple pavilions. The Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens was excited to be in Dubai and Abu Dhabi to promote its advocacy work on agricultural adaptation and global citizenship education.
On the first day of the trip, Co-chair Ban Ki-moon and CEO Monika Froehler met Minister H.E. Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri وزارة التغير المناخي والبيئة Ministry of Climate Change and Environment. They discussed UAE’s leadership on climate action and also the importance of financing climate adaptation.
As an end to the day, Co-chair Ban Ki-moon joined a panel to discuss recovery from COVID19 and accepted the Social Humanitarian Award at the Asian Business Leadership Forum.
Starting the second day with a visit to the UAE Special Envoy for Climate and Minister of Trade and Advanced Industry Co-chair Ban commended H. E. Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, for UAE’s pledge to an economy-wide reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 at the COP26.
In the afternoon, the delegation was welcomed at the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in Abu Dhabi. Co-chair Ban Ki-moon and CEO Monika Froehler had a VIP tour of the agency together with DG Francesco La Camera and Deputy DG Gauri Singh as well as a discussion on how crucial renewable energy is in our path towards a sustainable and green future.
In the evening, H.E. Lee Seok-gu, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the UAE hosted a warm dinner reception at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea to the UAE.
Starting the day with an extensive visit at the GEMS School, Co-chair Ban Ki-moon and CEO Monika Froehler had a meeting with GEMS World Academy CEO Dr. Saima Rana to discuss how to better implement global citizenship education around the world and best practice examples from their curricula.
As Ambassador of the Model United Nations (MUN) of the GEMS World Academy, Co-chair Ban Ki-moon delivered a keynote at the MUN opening ceremony. He addressed the students and Executive Committee with a clear and inspirational message:
“You are the young generation. Use your voice to speak up. You are soon going to be responsible for this world.”
Throughout the day Ban Ki-moon and CEO Froehler held several discussions with different student groups on topics such as How Koreans can have a global impact, Approaches to Leadership, Sustainable Development Goals, skills required to overcome challenges. Ban Ki-moon Centre contributor and CEO of GEMS Education Dino Varkey hosted a dinner reception welcoming GEMS World Academy CEO Dr. Samai Rana to discuss continued collaborations on quality education.
To end the mission trip the BKMC delegation spent the day at EXPO 2020. While visiting the Dubai Cares pavilion Ban Ki-moon met with CEO Dr. Tariq Al Gurg, discussing the future of education and the role of lifelong learning.
Amid the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia Co-chair Ban Ki-moon expressed his support for the Ukrainian people at the Ukrainian Pavilion. It was a delight to participate in a tour of the UN Pavilion where Co-chair Ban Ki-moon and CEO Monika Froehler saw how the setup inspired daily visitors to act for the SDGs. At the Korean Pavilion, the delegation learned about the future of smart cities and listened to a concert to experience Korean culture and Kpop.
An intimate gathering organized by BKMC Program Officer Viola Christian who was also part of the delegation allowed BKMC Fellow alumni Nada Al Turifi and Huda Al Salah an opportunity to discuss their achievements with Co-chair Ban Ki-moon in person for a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
