Obama Leaders to give talks at UOG Conference on Island Sustainability
Four Obama Leaders from the Asia-Pacific region and one Obama Scholar will deliver sustainability-focused talks today, Thursday, at the 2021 University of Guam Conference on Island Sustainability. The speakers come to the conference’s virtual stage through a partnership between the UOG Center for Island Sustainability and the Obama Foundation Leaders program, which identifies and empowers emerging leaders to make an impact on critical issues in their communities and around the world.
The conference’s “CIS SEED Talks: Ideas Worth Cultivating” series has a similar format to TED Talks, which are influential talks of 18 minutes or less meant to spread ideas on range of topics.
The CIS SEED Talks will begin at 9:30am today.
This year’s CIS SEED Talks speakers are:
• Julian Aguon, international human rights lawyer, Blue Ocean Law (Guam);
• Kirsten Brosbøl, former member of Parliament and minister of Environment for Denmark and founder and CEO of 2030Beyond (Denmark)
• Liangyi Chang, asia managing director, 350.org (Taiwan)
• Phillip Dy, chief of staff, Office of the Vice President of the Philippines
• Te Puoho Katene, executive director, Te Pūtea Whakatupu Trust (New Zealand)
• Yolanda Joab Mori, coordinator, Blue Prosperity Micronesia
The segment will be moderated by Maya Soetoro, a consultant on the international team at the Obama Foundation and a faculty specialist at the University of Hawaii. Soetoro was previously the director of the Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa. During last year’s conference, she was a special guest and discussed the importance of looking to the past to address the issues of the future.
The 12th annual University of Guam Conference on Island Sustainability is taking place as a virtual event through Friday this week with “Islands Are Rising” as its theme. General conference registration is available for $20 and $10 for students. Learn more about the UOG Virtual Conference Series on Island Sustainability at https://www.uog.edu/cis2021/. (PR)