Global Impact Conference 2021 featured practical solutions for global challenges

The main theme of GIC 2021 was the role of trust and partnership between countries, corporations, civil society, and people from different generations in their response to the challenges of our time.

MOSCOW, Dec. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Global Impact Conference 2021 (GIC 2021) took place on December 1 under the Bridging the Gaps theme. The conference was held with the support of ROSATOM, Euronews, Europe's leading news channel, UN Global Compact, and VK as digital partner.

To view the Multimedia News Release, please click: 
https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8992151-global-impact-conference-2021-practical-solutions/

More than 50 eminent experts from 30 countries took part in GIC 2021, including government officials, international organizations, corporations, NGOs, development institutions and local expert communities. The event was moderated by Jaya, an AI virtual host.

ROSATOM Director General Alexey Likhachev addressed the conference's role in his opening remarks:

The good news is that it does seem that global leaders are taking action, as was seen at the recent COP26 UN Climate Change Conference. What the Global Impact Conference reveals is that you don't need to be a President or CEO to make a huge positive impact. Our expert speakers clearly showed that leadership is being democratized. The right combination of skills and ideas can change the world through many small steps.

Conference participants shared their proactive approach to dealing with the world's most pressing challenges, including:

• Development of an accessible urban environment and digitalization of agriculture.
• Business strategies to conserve the planet's biodiversity and fight global warming.
• Integrating employees of different ages and with different values in response to the workforce crisis.
• Designing cities of the future and sustainable transport infrastructure.
• Sustainable practices in human resource management by leading companies.

Linn Caldas, Lead Mental Health Specialist at Spotify, Sweden. Linn put together an international team of mental health experts, known as Heart & Soul ambassadors, who work to support the mental health of employees in their companies and organizations around the world:

The COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences — the necessity of self-isolation, and social and financial instability — all of this has led to a global mental health crisis. Companies quickly have realized the importance of creating a safe environment that supports the mental health of its employees. But to create this environment requires fundamental changes in how workplaces are organized, as well as increased awareness and additional education for the employees who perform this work. Addressing mental health issues in the workplace and changing corporate culture accordingly has become and will continue to be indispensable for maintaining a sustainable workforce in any organization.

• Adaptive cities of the future.

Nora Berra, President of the Union of Global Health, France. Nora talked about her experience of bringing accessible healthcare services to the disadvantaged population of South Africa's provinces:

The two-year COVID-19 crisis has taken a toll on everyone, even on the most advanced healthcare systems, and has revealed profound inequalities. However, we saw the interdependence of all countries on each other as a result of globalization. It is unsurprising that the global crisis has generated a global response in terms of solutions and solidarity, leaving no country behind, not even among the poorest. This has become a real catalyst for innovation in the field of patient care, access to education, and digital services. The time has come to collectively shape a new course in global healthcare around the entire world by means of forming a partnership between innovative, public, and private enterprises and civil society.

• Clean energy and equal access to electricity.

Gary Lawrence, Senior Vice President of the Power and Grid Segment at Schneider Electric, Hong Kong. Gary described how the company is restructuring to adapt ambitious green strategy:

The competitiveness of renewable energy sources will increase but it will be limited by a number of fundamental factors, including dependence on weather conditions. From this point of view, the load on centralized electricity generation will continue to be necessary to ensure stable operation and maintain an efficient and safe supply network for many consumers and customers in large cities and industrial clusters. We have selected a strategy that will be key to improving the entire production and distribution chain by 2023. By 2025, we will be conducting carbon-neutral operations and carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere will be reduced by about 800 million tonnes. By 2030, the number of CO2 consumers will be three times less, and by 2040, carbon emissions into the atmosphere will be completely eliminated.

• Building diverse and inclusive organizations.

Elena Manaenkova, Deputy Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization, Switzerland. Elena shared a story of WMO's organizational transformation to unleash the talents and creativity of all employees :

It is without a doubt that women do a lot for science. It is just necessary to give them an opportunity to realize their full potential. Women continue to be insufficiently involved in decision-making and management processes for reasons related to historical bias that are too deeply rooted in organizational structures. Sometimes it is indeed necessary to start from scratch. WMO did not miss this opportunity and in 2019 embarked on a major reform of the management body. We updated our organizational structure to ensure gender balance and regional representation, as well as diversity in terms of scientific background.

These and other best practices will become a part of the Global Impact Conference platform and will be available to participants around the world at https://youtu.be/9yoezX3QaMs?t=1.

Along with young visionaries working to achieve sustainable development goals, top managers of major corporations such as ROSATOM, Nornickel, Rolls-Royce SMR, Volvo Group Trucks Technology, LʼORÉAL, Microsoft,  Spotify, etc took part in GIC 2021.

About the Global Impact Conference

The Global Impact Conference is an online case-based conference designed to accumulate and disseminate international best practices in the field of sustainable development.

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