The UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment hosted a session today entitled “Women and Youth: The Catalyst to Solve Global Challenges”, to explore how women and youth can be leveraged as powerful agents of change. The session was part of the ‘Climate Change Forum – Climate Action Now’ at the World Government Summit (WGS) 2018 in Dubai.
In this discussion, Forest Whitaker, Founder and CEO of Whitaker Peace and Development Initiative (WPDI) and UNESCO Special Envoy for Peace, joined Her Excellency Hessa bint Essa Buhumaid, UAE Minister of Community Development, to address the disproportionate impact of climate change on women and youth. Adnan Amin, Director General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), moderated a session focusing on ways to mitigate climate change impacts and capitalize on solutions that women and youth could offer for the humanitarian-climate nexus.
Opening the dialogue, Amin stated: “We are going to have more – not fewer – climate-linked disasters, and they are going to be more dramatic in their scale. We will, therefore, see a stark increase in the number of women and children whose lives will be lost or stunted.”
Women and youth excessively bear the impact of environmental, economic and social shocks, and are 14 times more likely than men to die during a disaster. While women and youth are often victims, evidence from humanitarian situations collated by agencies and NGO boards unmistakably indicate that women and youth know their own needs, and typically have the best ideas on how they should be met.
Forest Whitaker founded WPDI in 2012 as a non-governmental organization with an international scope and reach. WPDI works to empower and inspire youth, women, and global citizens to promote peace across the planet.
‘Women and Youth: The Catalyst to Solve Global Challenges’ was the second session at the Climate Change Forum – Climate Action Now, hosted by the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment at WGS 2018.
Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the World Government Summit 2018 is running from February 11 to 13 at the Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai. The landmark event convenes more than 4,000 participants from 140 countries, including heads of state and governments, as well as top-tier representatives of 16 international organizations.
Hosting more than 130 speakers across 120 interactive sessions, WGS 2018 features six distinct forums that examine the challenges of vital sectors for the future with a view to finding the best resolutions for the greater global good. Furthermore, over 20 specialized global reports spanning key sectors and topics of the summit are being launched during the event.