Gro Brundtland Week of Women in Sustainable Development in Taiwan

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National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) in Tainan had from February 21 to 26 a weeklong science event featuring female scientists in sustainable development. More then 250 scholars, researchers and a young audience of students participated in four plenary sessions, symposiums, panel discussions and exhibitions about global issues related to sustainable development in public health. Many travelled long distance to join the event.

 

The five Gro Brundtland Award recipients also attended the event. They are Bushra Khalid from Pakistan, Chia-Hsin Ceng from Taiwan, Erlyn Rachelle Macarayan from Philippines, Mst Marzina Begum and Towfida Jahan Siddiqua from Bangladesh. Bushra Khalid had a symposium where she presented her research work.  (http://web.ncku.edu.tw/files/14-1000-150452,r1932-1.php?Lang=en- )

The Gro Brundtland Week for young scientists in sustainable development is a generous and visionary initiative from the Tang Prize Foundation as well as Dr. Brundtland, said NCKU President Huey-Jen Jenny Su. – It is hoped that we will be able to plant in the minds of our students the seed of believing in the value of sustainable development and that they will become the sustainable cadets in the endeavors for a sustainable future.

The event moved to the Academia Sinica in Taipei on Feb. 25. Academician Chao-Han Liu had a speech about how to reach the Sustainable Development Goals; the eight anti-poverty targets that the world committed to achieving by 2015. He brought up two points for discussion, one is how can universities cultivate students with the ability to work in an integrated, multidisciplinary environment to solve real challenges; the other is how can we attract and convince accomplished scientists to start work for sustainability sciences.

Prof. John D Spengler and Prof. Akira Yamaguchi from Environmental Health and Human Habitation at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston had talks on what to do for sustainable development that focuses on natural and human assets. The center is partnering with corporations, NGOs, governments and other academic institutions to advance human and ecological wellbeing as an immutable tenet of sustainability.

Prof. Spengler provided a new formula for sustainability, S=f(MHN)s*k, which involved Materials(manufacture capital), Human Capital(well-being), Natural Capital(eco-services+), Social(Integrity of Institutional structures), and Knowledge(capacity to innovate).

– I am hopeful for a sustainable future, not by national government but by cooperates and companies that have good values, Prof. Spengler said. – And that’s why I said we have to get closer to companies so they will go forward together with the best of our research knowledge putting into practice,” he added. – This young audience utilizing technology and social networking could rapidly accelerate the reinforcement of good behavior. When you have the network, you have purchasing power, and you have the decision on what company you want to work for. Now companies are distinguishing themselves from values.

More information on
Gro Brundtland Week and Gro Brundtland Award can be read at www.brundtlandweek.web2.ncku.edu.tw/bin/home.php.

In 2014 Gro Harlem Brundland received the Tang Prize in Taiwan and met together with her husband president Ma Ying-jeou of Republic of China. More information about her and the Tang Prize, se https://www.norwaynews.com/en/~view.php?73bzoB58d6okc672Pa0353Btaa84bxO54544Obr084gRR688eWQ838

Mr. Geir Yeh Fotland – Taiwan National Correspondent NORWAY NEWS.com
Email: – [email protected], or [email protected]

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