Virtual Mobility Conference by UTAR and ENGAGE

The Department of Soft Skills Competency of Sungai Long Campus once again hosted the Virtual Mobility Conference this year titled “Understanding SDGs 13 Climate Action”. Themed ‘On the Road to Glasgow Via Kunming’, the conference was held on 13, 14, 20 and 21 November 2021 via Voov and Zoom platform.

The conference was organised by UTAR and ENGAGE ‘Towards an Inclusive Society’, a non-profit organisation based in Nepal, that focuses on the promotion of youth empowerment, especially youth living with disabilities. The conference aimed to provide a clear understanding of UN Kunming and UN Glasgow, as well as the links between biodiversity and climate change to the participants. Furthermore, it aimed to highlight the two key global events that will shape the destiny of humanity besides providing a better understanding on the roles of new technologies, such as AI.

From left: Welcome and opening speech by Dr Lai and Simone

The opening ceremony took place on 13 November 2021 via Voov. Division of Community and International Networking Director Assoc Prof Dr Lai Soon Oon was invited to deliver a welcome speech. Thereafter, Engage Co-founder Simone Galimberti was invited to deliver a speech as well.

The conference was divided into eight sessions which took place on the weekends.  Participants were given the opportunity to share, discuss and reflect on what they have learnt over the week and each participant was asked to share their thoughts.

Simone during session 1, session 2 and session 3

The first session saw Simone providing an introduction to SDG 13 (Climate Action). The conference then continued with session two on “The Stakes” followed by session three on “Achieving Climate Social Justice”.The conference ended with a group discussion on the first day.

Simone during session 4 and session 5 of the conference 

Both session four and session five took place on the second day of the conference. During session four, Simone gave a brief introduction to the “UN Kunming Biodiversity Conference”, which is also known as the “15^th Conference of the Parties (COP 15)”. Simone explained that the main objective of the conference was to adopt the post-2020 global biodiversity framework and address the underlying causes. In session five, Simone shared the details of the Kunming Biodiversity Conference and talked about replicating the success of the Paris Agreement on climate change. The sessions ended with group discussions among participants.

Simone during session 6 and session 7

Participants at the end of the conference

The conference on the third day focused on the UN Glasgow Conference on Climate Change, 26th Conference of the Parties (COP 26) as well as details on the Glasgow Conference. On the last day of the conference, Simone spoke about the roles of new technologies. According to him, the development of new technologies can help save lives. “Technology is inevitable in our everyday lives. It improves work and makes the world better. Technology has played a very important role in how we live in the world today and how we communicate in the atmosphere with everything around us. Impact of technology is higher than what we have expected,” Simone said at the last session of the conference.

Group photo at the end of the closing ceremony

The conference ended with a closing speech by Dr Lai, followed by another speech from Simone. It also witnessed the participants from UTAR, University of Batangas Lipa Campus and Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology sharing their experience of attending the four-day conference. Finally, the conference came to an end with a closing video and a group photograph.