By Khaled Al-Abdulhadi

KUWAIT: Kuwait University hosted an event titled 'Youth Driving Ambition 4 Climate Action' to celebrate the anniversary of the United Nations on Wednesday under the sponsorship of Foreign Minister Sheikh Salem Al-Sabah. "The youth can make a positive impact to push the wheel of development when given knowledge and the opportunity they need to gain the necessary skills to participate in a productive economy, as they need to reach the work market that can handle their abilities," said Rabaa Al-Juma, UN Senior Stakeholder Office and UN Resident Coordinator Office in Kuwait and Country Manager Kuwait and Qatar at United Nations Global Compact.

"UN's Global Compact gives local and international opportunities in cooperation with private, government and union entities about sensitive issues where they can find solutions for development as well as exchange experience and practical strategies to face their problems," Juma said. "Leading projects initiated by the youth aim for social development and are centered on development principles so they can learn through experience," she added.

"Marine and freshwater science experts from the Center for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Sciences of the UK government are working with the Kuwaiti government and across the region. We deal with climate change, biodiversity loss, antimicrobial resistance and sustainability issues," said Rachel Mulholland, regional principal scientist at the British Embassy. "We are here because we want to do some outreach for the youth in Kuwait, such as education and raising awareness about these issues. We've come here to show everyone what we are doing and to talk to members of Kuwait University as well as other groups," she added.

KUWAIT: Rachel Mulholland, regional principal scientist at the British Embassy, poses for a photo.

"Our booth today is about the fifth smart city forum, which we have been having since 2017. This year's theme is smart solutions for city issues," Jinhang Nah, first secretary of economic and commercial affairs at the Korean Embassy said. "Smart city is a platform where we solve smart city issues in a smart way. It can cover environmental, sustainability and traffic issues, as this year's event covers smart infrastructure to make cities more sustainable, and Kuwait has an ambition for sustainability," he said.

"Kuwait and South Korea have a lot in common. We are strong and small. As we overcame wars, we became vibrant economies. If we communicate and work together, we can resolve many issues and overcome many problems. Hopefully through the event, Kuwait and Korea can solidify the friendship and move forward in the future."

Kuwait Times also spoke to members of youth societies and companies who showcased their ambitious role in helping Kuwait become more sustainable and environment friendly. "We are considered the connection point between Kuwait and the UN, where we prepare studies and strategies related to climate change as well as monitor climate change, "Environmental technologist Shoug Al-Tawajir from the Environment Public Authority's climate change tracking section said.

"Our aim is to spread environmental awareness, and our role is to make studies from local companies that aim to reduce carbon emissions, prepare studies for them and send them to the United Nations. Over the past five years, awareness has been gradually increasing, and today, we have many people from different sectors that come to cooperate with us to participate in improving the environment," she added.

KUWAIT: Attendees during the event titled ‘Youth Driving Ambition 4 Climate Action’ at Kuwait University on Wednesday.

Member of the sustainability and youth council at the Public Authority for Youth Taif Al-Enezi said: "We are here to participate in our initiatives including one to develop an application that connects farmers to consumers directly, which aims to improve the production and provide us with a database of most consumed products and least farmed products to avoid future problems. Our second initiative is to gather all environmental societies in Kuwait under the umbrella of the youth council, where they can combine their ideas and share their experiences."

Engineer Hessa Al-Fadghoush, project manager at non-profit organization Refood said: "Our aim is to reduce food waste in Kuwait by a unique sustainable program to deliver surplus food to low-income families in Kuwait. We began in 2014, where we contact private and public food institutes who have extra food and consumable products in their inventories. We then distribute them with the help of volunteers under our supervision. There are two types of surplus products - products that we collect from co-ops and markets, and making use of surplus products in private companies instead of throwing them away."

Network Engineer Abdullah Lafi of Kuwait Forest Initiative under the supervision of Dr Eisa Al-Eisa of Asnan Tower said: "Our project, which we started this year is to plant and care for the first forest in Kuwait. We have achieved great results so far, which will be evident during our first anniversary on February 19, 2023. We first heal the ground by using organic materials to improve biological life in the soil, so that they can grow and spread as much as possible, as well as protecting the underground water from evaporating. We have finished two forests in the south of Kuwait as well as other smaller forests in residential and other areas."

The aim of the exhibition was to strengthen the strategic ties between the UN and Kuwait in light of the essential role Kuwait University plays in supporting youth ambitions and creative initiatives on sustainability in Kuwait, in line with the New Kuwait 2035 vision.