SIDE 2023 - MONTREAL WILL WELCOME TARANA BURKE, FOUNDER OF THE #METOO MOVEMENT, AND BAN KI-MOON, 8TH SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS, DURING THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL ECO-CITIZENSHIP SUMMIT Français
Ticket reservations for participation in this event have begun at www.side-mtl.com/en.
Places are limited.
MONTREAL, Dec. 13, 2022 /CNW Telbec/ - The Jasmin Roy Sophie Desmarais Foundation and embedded event agency Oxygène are pleased to welcome the founder of the #MeToo movement, Tarana Burke, in order to highlight five years of global mobilization, and Ban Ki-Moon, 8th Secretary-General of the United Nations, during the first International Eco-citizenship Summit (SIDE – Sommet international de l'écocitoyenneté). This federating event's mission is to accelerate the achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the UN, thereby Mobilizing our World. Under the patronage of UNESCO and the Canadian Commission for UNESCO, this Summit will mobilize, on June 8th and 9th, 2023 at Montreal's Palais des congrès, over 90 speakers and panellists from here and abroad (over 13 participating countries), including renowned names from UNESCO and the UN.
For its first edition, the Summit will cover three main themes: 1) Climate change and the rights of future generations; 2) Responsible entrepreneurship; 3) Healthy emotional and relational lifestyle habits within social ecosystems (gender equality, racism, and intersectionality). Inequalities having multiplied within several spheres of our society, models need to be reinvented and brought in line with sustainable development objectives. The current context of post-COVID-19 economic recovery is a unique opportunity to implement changes within the economy as a whole, as well as within social systems. The full program of the International Eco-citizenship Summit will be available in February 2023.
"The main objective of the 2023 SIDE is to bring together communities that are active in the scientific, professional, entrepreneurial and student fields, as well as civil society and youth groups, in order to generate public debate around the issues related to the 17 SDGs and to make recommendations to the different levels of government", declared Jasmin Roy, President of the Jasmin Roy Sophie Desmarais Foundation. "We are already aware of the economic issues that affect and will affect society, therefore let's get together and forge the solutions that will allow us to overcome these challenges collectively, in the best way possible. Of course, this will require more than shared determination. This will require action plans that need to be accepted by global actors and put into motion in a tangible way for the common benefit of different economies and societies across the world. These are the solid foundations this first Summit intends to lay down in order to achieve what comes next."
"Our goal is to promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, to foster international and local trade as well as sustainable economic development, and to prepare future generations to meet the challenges of the 21st century", added Danie Deschênes, President of Oxygène. "Nations have been collaborating economically on a global scale for centuries now, but during these present times when communications and economies are more deeply interrelated and interdependent than ever, international collaboration is fundamentally necessary to prepare the future. We are pleased that Montreal will be the meeting place for this Summit which could influence the whole world."
Urban areas are where over three quarters of Quebec's population resides. These are living environments, places where material goods are produced, services are provided, and goods are consumed; they also represent over 70% of global CO2 emissions relative to fossil fuels. Cities have front row seats to the impacts of climate change, as confirmed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in Edmonton in March 2018. Consequently, cities play a dual leadership role in 1) reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in order to avoid runaway climate change, and 2) managing the growing consequences in order to learn how to live with the unavoidable aspects of climate change, or in other words, adapting to a new reality. Adaptation is therefore just as much a priority as reducing GHG emissions. The rights of future generations are divided along two main aspects: on one hand, environmental rights in their most inclusive sense (including sustainable development), and on the other hand, bioethical rights (the protection of the human condition). The very idea of future generations is intrinsically linked to that of sustainability: this implies the extension of the temporality of law in order to integrate the long-term protection of populations and species.
In the current context of accelerated imbalances, the quest for sustainable development appears more and more as a necessity. Entrepreneurs are greatly concerned by this, since part of the solutions will necessarily come from their capacity to invent new business models that are more respectful of the environment or offer efficient solutions to societal issues; when it comes to their consumption of goods, people are becoming increasingly sensitive to these aspects. The matter of responsible entrepreneurship relative to sustainable development goals is therefore raised. It is essential to highlight the role of entrepreneurs in pursuing these sustainability goals, as well as highlight the main levers that allow responsible entrepreneurship endeavours. For example, savers and investors want access to equity portfolios that include environmentally friendly companies and exclude mining companies, oil companies, etc. There are increasing calls demanding accountability from entrepreneurs and leaders, and asking that they use their resources and leverage their influence in the name of responsibility and sustainability. New projects must now meet social acceptability criteria despite their compliance with current governmental requirements, which is an undeniable sign of change.
In our country, since the beginning of the health crisis, a higher number of women and racialized persons live in more precarious economic situations than other Canadians. Around the world, violence against women increased in many countries during the pandemic. In Canada, one out of 10 women is very or extremely worried about the possibility of suffering domestic or family violence within the context of the COVID-19 crisis. Across the country, many domestic violence shelters and call centres have reported an increase in the number of calls received from women and girls. The economic repercussions on racialized persons, both during and after the crisis, are greater. In Canada, non-racialized persons have more access to wealth than racialized persons, and on average, they earn better salaries; they are also overrepresented in the best-paid positions.
The Sommet international de l'écocitoyenneté (International Eco-citizenship Summit), presented under the patronage of UNESCO and the Canadian Commission for UNESCO, is a two-day event bringing together youth groups, the scientific, professional, entrepreneurial and student communities, as well as civil society, with the purpose of creating public debates pertaining to entrepreneurial, educational, legal, relational and climatic issues in order to establish strategies relative to the 17 SDGs. For its first edition, the Summit will address three main themes: 1) Climate change and the rights of future generations; 2) Responsible entrepreneurship; 3) Healthy emotional and relational lifestyle habits within social ecosystems (gender equality, racism, and intersectionality). Thanks to its many partners who also care deeply about eco-citizenship, the SIDE will become a key global event offering practical, concrete, and innovative measures that will allow citizens to develop 21st century skills in the most optimal way, as recommended by the OECD, the UN, and UNESCO.
SOURCE Fondation Jasmin Roy Sophie Desmarais
Media contact: Rose-Marie Ménard, [email protected], 514 317-5715, ext. 217
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