Report (Part 1): Sustainable Development Convention 2002

Welcome and Opening

Time: 30 October 2002, 9:00-9:45 Location: A Chair: Peter Sissons Presenters/ Participants: Cheryll Gerelle, CEO IBEX Reporter: Makoto Fujiwara, Danielle Darsoren (ICVolunteers) Languages: English Key words: Sustainable development, partnerships, knowledge era, new technologies

Cheryll Gerelle, Founder and CEO of IBEX Investment Group, opened the sustainable development Convention SDC02, with a warm welcome. "I would like to welcome each and every one of you." She thanked the World Meteorological Organization and International Conference Volunteers for their help. "The convention is a brain child of IBEX and the Bellagio Forum," said Gerelle, who explained the structure of the convention consisting of speaking sessions in the main auditorium and project sessions in each room.

Following Cheryll's opening remarks, noted BBC Journalist Peter Sissons, the conference moderator of SDC02, gave a brief speech highlighting the goal of the conference.

"I have been in broadcasting for nearly forty years," said Sissons, who in this period of massive changes has reported on issues ranging from the nuclear era to globalization. "Sustainable development is in many ways the ultimate issue," stressed Sissons. " If development is not sustainable, then mankind has a bleak and uncertain future."

He hoped this convention would be one of many to follow up Johannesburg, a recent UN World Summit on sustainable development. He added the second focus of the convention is "Sustainable Development in the Knowledge Era," pointing out that in the last 20 years, especially in the "North," knowledge has become the most important part of the economy, "the driver of economic growth." While recognizing their limitations, he hopes that the new technologies such as the Internet and the Web will enable new forms of partnering, and facilitate new projects at this convention.

"Pollution knows no frontiers," said Sissons. He drew on the example of river management, where it has become clear that multi-disciplinary approach is essential. He stressed the need for putting people together in global partnership, which is the main goal of this convention.

Sissons highlighted the 25 projects which participated in the convention in the 8 separate categories: Environmental Monitoring, Sustainable Communities, Sustainable Agriculture, Health Network, Micro-financing and Business, Rural Development, Public-Private Partnerships, and Enterprise Development and Training.

Finally, he gave a brief description of the organizers of the convention: IBEX Investment Group, and The Bellagio Forum.

Conclusions
"What unites the people in this room is the common interest in doing something about sustainable development," Sissons concluded. The participants in this convention wish to make a contribution to the wave of sustainable development through their projects and partnerships, and "that's what this convention supports."