The Sustainable Planet Film Festival returns from the Kingdom of Bahrain
The trip to the Kingdom of Bahrain was very successful, as the World Environment Summit and the Sustainable Planet film festival were well received.
I am back home in other words … and arrived at JFK on Chinese New Year…. It feels like new beginnings indeed and in what follows is a brief journal that summarizes the Bahrain journey.
Day 1: January 26th
Some journalists are coming to my hotel for an interview. I am staying at the Golden Tulip Hotel and hereby thank management for all their service and support. I tell my story and feel that the quality of the environment is of importance to the people who interview me. I not only wish to highlight the interdependence between all choices in life, but also stress upon the importance of the social pillar as well, without the full understanding and adoption of sustainaility from the inside…. we can easily result in greenwashing. I also announce my plan for a sustainability excellence center in a botanical garden. Oil was found in the Kingdom in the thirties and changed the outlook of the world. Why not put Bahrain on the world map again and turn it into a green Kingdom, that will inspire the rest of the region to follow!
After lunch and introductions to a Canadian delegation ( Curtis Belton and Janice Zampautti from Winipeg ) it is time for a visit to the Commission for the protection of Marine Resources, Environment & Wildlife. I meet Dr. Adel K. Zayani, the Director General of the Commission and am impressed by his leadership and the initiatives the Commission has been developing. We are also invited to a unique event on the 30th, in the presence of the President of the Commission His Highness Shaikh Abdulla bin Hamad AlKhalifa and the Undersecretary General to the United Nations that will disclose a new air pollution control program. I accept.
After dinner, I am heading to the airport with my local partner Ms. Mina Leonora Lee and welcome HRH Princess Basma bint Ali to Bahrain. The Princess is a role model for many women and children in Jordan as she is the founder and chairperson of a number of grassroots not–for–profits in the field of environment and sustainable development. She is not only the chair of the Royal Jordanian Botanical Garden, but also of the National Environment Wildlife Society and the Royal Ecological Diving Society. She was awarded with the Time Magazine “Hero for Our Planet” award. The Princess will speak during the two days.
Day 2: January 27th
After three hours of sleep (some prepping needed to be taken care of ) I am heading to the Ritz Carlton in Manama. The countdown to the World Environment Summit has begun. Around 9.30 am, I am welcoming the Princess in the company of the Jordanian Ambassador. The Minister of Oil Dr. Abdul Hussain Ali Mirza takes over the meet and greet in the presence of tv crews and local journalists.
I officially open the Summit at 10.00 and will introduce about twenty speakers with a brief personal note all while connecting the most important knowledge facts that surface.
We hear from sustainability specialists from KPMG, BAPCO, as well as international Ambassadors, Solar and wind energy specialists, teachers and architects. ( see www.crystalenvironment.net for the full schedule)
I moderate a last panel and the audience is participating. We ask for solutions for the audience, and we hear “rain water collection”, to “ a “tribunal for environmental crimes”.
In the evening, some 25 people sit down for a private dinner in honor of the Princess offered by the Minister of Oil. A partner from KPMG invites the Canadian delegates and myself on a quick private tour through Manama and we marvel at the Fort.
Day 3: January 28th
It’s Sustainable Planet film festival time (the fourth country already!) and I am prepping my team. I now have a third screen to work with and I express my gratitude towards my local partner for bringing my film festival into such a grand location. My own 1001 Arabian nights have started.
H.E. Ambassador Dr. Dhafer Al Umran opens the festivities and I then screen an interview with Nadine Gouzee, the head of the Belgian Task force for Sustainable Development at the Belgian Planning Bureau, also a Belgian representative to the CSD at the United Nations. It is important for me to treat my audience to “best practices” that I have been able to identify internationally and this besides the more urgent “wake up calls”, that are the theme of the Belgian Documentary “Climate Change in the South, the Victims’ story”, directed by Geert De Belder. The interview with Nadine Gouzee ( thank you Dirk Theuns for the camera work in Belgium ) had been upgraded with my own photography on Belgium, as to give a visual aid to my audience on what Belgium looks like and what is sustainable about our country. I conclude that small countries can make bold steps and it is here that I underline the fact that Belgium – only counting ten million citizens - even has a Secretary of State for Sustainable Development, which shows the importance of this topic in our political agenda.
Next is the HRH Princess Basma bint Ali, who is sharing the need for protecting biodiversity all while revealing some of the latest plans for the Royal Botanical Garden. It is a wonderful opportunity for the audience to learn about initiatives that really take environmental preservation seriously.
The cartoon “The hybrid Union” by Serguel Kouchnerov is well received and represents in an original way how previously competing parties, now have a benefit in joining forces, because they have a common goal. More hybrid unions will follow shortly…
People are warming up and during lunch time, I produce several on-camera interviews and record some testimonials as well. The UNDP and UNEP are represented as well and by the time the last film is screened, the audience votes for their favorite film. The count is easily done as “Climate Change in the South, the Victims’ story”, directed by Geert De Belder is the absolute favorite!
One last panel discussion with the Spanish architect Jon Tugores portrays quite emotionally how the use of technology can either enhance or diminish our relationship with nature and as a closing to the two day summit and film festival, I announce the launch of the ECO HERO competition…..
More on the ECO HERO competition later this week ( what, who, how and so on ) to come as well as the “part two” of the Bahrain journey.
