SF Chair at the Launch of the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) Youth Adaptation Network
The launching of the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) Youth Adaptation Network took place on 8 September 2020. The event was inaugurated by H.E. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and H.E. Ban Ki-moon, 8th Secretary-General of the United Nations and Chair of the Board of Global Center on Adaptation. Our Chairperson, Ms. Saima Wazed as the CVF Thematic Ambassador for Vulnerability, participated in the event along with Prof. Dr. Patrick Verkooijen, Dr A.K.M. Rafique Ahammed, Dr. Saleemul Huq, Mr. A. Shamim Al Razi, and prominent experts including youth representatives from across South Asia. They shared the platform for an insightful discussion concentrating on the many areas where adaptation is important to the people of South Asia. The launching ceremony was showcased live on social media platforms, namely Facebook and YouTube. Ms. Wazed in her speech mentioned how today’s youth plays an essential role in shaping the climate movement and deserve to have their voices heard when it comes to decisions about their future. The young people are strong agents of change and bring new ideas and radical ambition which is imperative while developing the adaptation solutions and implement them at a larger scale. As the Climate Vulnerable Forum’s Thematic Ambassador for Vulnerability, she dedicated her work to changing the conversation. She emphasized that the youth have the caliber to change the conversation and drive real action and change and was pleased to announce the launching of the GCA’s Youth Adaptation Network or ‘YAN’. YAN aims to act as a global umbrella platform to engage, empower and amplify the role of young people around the world, including here in Bangladesh and across South Asia, in the adaptation agenda. By creating an environment where young people are engaged as equal stakeholders in climate adaptation actions, incorporating mechanisms that connects other issues affecting their overall wellbeing, and providing them with opportunities to learn from one another through participation in a global network, YAN will help to translate knowledge into action and advocate for adaptation to be accelerated at the national and global level.
