The Center of Urban and Regional Planning for Postgraduate Studies at the University of Baghdad organized a scientific symposium entitled (The Effects of Current and Future Climate Changes on Children and Youth) in cooperation with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
The symposium aimed to adopt sustainable approach and address climate change after keeping pace with global developments, and to mitigate and adapt to climate changes in the future. It also stressed the importance of youth participation in addressing climate issues and changing collective behavior after spreading the concept of greening, especially in Iraqi universities, and partnerships between the public and private sectors. .
The Dean of the Center, Professor Dr. Kareem Hassan Alwan, presented his research paper, which shed light on the global and humanitarian challenges regarding climate change and its environmental repercussions, in conjunction with the trend towards adopting concepts of sustainability according to studied scientific foundations concerned with greening and environmentally friendly areas.
In the same context, UNICEF, represented by the Director of its Planning Department, Klaus Johansson, in his speech during the symposium, stressed the importance of supporting the University through scientific and applied research related to planning for environmental sustainability after analyzing the climate situation of children and adapting to it. The role of youth and adolescents in their awareness campaigns was also emphasized to promote sustainable behavior among everyone, spread a culture of green environment and invest in clean energy.
As for the recommendations of the symposium, they focused on the necessity of creating a climate change committee within the framework of the University of Baghdad and under the supervision of the Center of Urban and Regional Planning, provided that the research and technical orientation is focused on clean energy. Other recommendations included benefiting from UNICEF’s support for graduate student research focused on planning to mitigate the impact of climate change after providing the University and the Center with research titles that UNICEF needs and whose outputs can be benefited from and perhaps applied on the ground. This can be done through concluding scientific agreements and research partnerships between the University and the Organization, as well as holding workshops, seminars and joint scientific conferences.
It is noteworthy that the symposium included a tree planting campaign carried out by members of UNICEF, as well as representatives of some Ministries, in addition to the participation of the Assistant Rector of the University of Baghdad for Scientific Affairs, Professor Dr. Marwan Abdel Hameed.
The symposium witnessed broad participation and attendance from the Ministry of Housing and Construction, the Ministry of Environment, Baghdad Municipality, professors from various universities, and other stakeholders who participated in providing the symposium with their scientific propositions and expanding its horizons.
