Representatives from 12 UAE universities and higher education institutions have launched the University Climate Network, aimed at encouraging young people's participation in Cop28 at the end of this year.
The network, chaired by New York University Abu Dhabi, includes Khalifa University, Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, and the American University of Sharjah, among others.
It aims to promote the principle of inclusion in the conference work system in a way that stimulates the participation of young people to prepare them to lead climate action.
In a statement, Ambassador Majid Al Suwaidi, Director General and special representative of Cop28, said: “The Universities Climate Network will support our goal of creating a more inclusive and participatory environment for young people to be leaders in climate action.
"Continuing the positive legacy established at previous COPs, the Universities Climate Network will mobilise young people through meaningful dialogue and amplify the efforts of the COP28 Presidency including our Youth Climate Champion.
"Incubators of the next generation, universities play a key role in nurturing innovation and providing young voices platforms to express their views and to contribute to policy shaping discussions that are most important to their needs.”
The University Climate Network’s activities will begin with the “Ramadan Talks” series, which includes a number of seminars in which various educational institutions host prominent speakers in the field of climate and related topics, such as climate diplomacy, the hydrogen economy, modern urban life in Gulf countries, and the importance of Cop28.
Cop28 will be held from November 30 to December 12, at Expo City Dubai, and is expected to be attended by about 70,000 participants, including heads of state, government officials, leaders of global industrial sectors, representatives of the private sector and climate experts.
Tuesday's fixtures
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
The specs
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2.15pm: Handicap Dh80,000 1,950m
Winner: Hello, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ali Rashid Al Raihi (trainer).
2.45pm: Handicap Dh90,000 1,800m
Winner: Right Flank, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
3.15pm: Handicap Dh115,000 1,000m
Winner: Leading Spirit, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
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Winner: Chiefdom, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
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Winner: Ode To Autumn, Patrick Cosgrave, Satish Seemar.
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Winner: Last Surprise, James Doyle, Simon Crisford.
5.15pm: Handicap Dh85,000 1,200m
Winner: Daltrey, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihi.
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5