When thinking about the future, it is inevitable that the environment and the impact of climate change on citizens’ daily lives must also be taken into account. Imagining the coming decades, no one dares to ignore sustainability and engagement with rural communities. For this reason, PRISA Media América and Santillana, together with the University Externado de Colombia, the Regional Autonomous Body of Cundinamarca (CAR) and the Andean Development Corporation (CAF) – Development Bank of Latin America, organized the first International Summit on Sustainability and Eco-Innovation this Wednesday at the Convention Center Agora in Bogota.
The installation will be directed by Sergio Díaz-Granados, President of the CAF; Joseph Oughourlian, President of Prisa Group; Luis Fernando Sanabria Martínez, Director of the Central African Republic; Hernando Parra Nieto, Rector of Externado University; Susana Muhamad, Colombian Minister for the Environment; and Iván Name Vásquez, President of the Colombian Congress.
22 high-level speakers will then discuss the challenges the region faces in transitioning to a more sustainable and resilient world.
First, the Director of EL PAÍS, Pepa Bueno, will speak with Juan Carlos Mora, President of Bancolombia, about the responsibility of the private sector and the environmental, social and economic challenges facing the region. This conversation will serve to provide a broad picture before more specific discussion rounds.
The first of these will be “The challenges of education in the light of the Sustainable Development Goals” (SDGs), moderated by Diana Calderón, director of news program El Medio Día and Hora 20 of Caracol Radio. Gabriela Ramos, Deputy Director General for Social and Human Sciences at UNESCO; Jean Michel Blanquer, former French Minister of Education; Rosa Junquera, Director of Sustainability at PRISA; and Julio Cordero, Vice Minister of Education of the Dominican Republic.
Later, EL PAÍS America Director Jan Martínez Ahrens will chair Positive Biodiversity in the Face of Climate Change, a panel that will include Laura Chinchilla, former President of Costa Rica; Rita de Cassia Mesquita, Biodiversity Secretary of the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment; Alicia Montalvo, Manager of Climate Action and Positive Biodiversity at CAF; Fabio Arjona, Executive Director of Conservation International of Colombia; and Mario Pardo Bayona, President of the Board of Directors of Asobancaria.
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After a lunch break, there will be a lecture on “Sustainable Cities and Regions”. Alejandro Santos, Prisa Media Colombia’s Content Director, will speak with Jaime Pumarejo, Mayor of Barranquilla. Then there is the talk about the energy transition for the future, led by Gustavo Gómez, the director of 6 AM by Caracol Radio. Óscar Bravo, President of Terpel; Luz Stella Murgas, President of Naturgas; Eugenio Calderón, Manager of ENEL Greenpower for Colombia and Central America; and Oliverio García, President of the National Association for Sustainable Mobility.
The summit will end with the panel “Private sector facing the challenges of sustainable development” moderated by Gabriel De las Casas, Director of Caracol Sostenible and La Luciérnaga. They will participate with Gustavo Yepes, Director of Corporate Social Responsibility Management at Externado University; with Carolina Montoya, director of sustainability for Minsait Indra Company in the Andean region and the South Cone; with Daniela Puerta, Manager of Public Affairs, Communications and Sustainability for Coca-Cola in Colombia and Venezuela; with Samira Fadul, Vice President of Corporate and Legal Affairs at Bavaria Brewery, and with María Consuelo Castro, Sustainability Manager at Claro Colombia.
Likewise, Santillana Executive President Francisco Cuadrado will conduct a donation of school supplies to various educational institutions in Colombia, which he will present to Education Minister Aurora Vergara at the event. And there will be a speech by Ricardo Roa, President of Ecopetrol, on the topic of new energies to mitigate climate change.
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