Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia
The International Environment Forum, a Baha'i-inspired professional
organization for environment and sustainability, held its 20th International
Conference at Nur University in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, on 7-9
October 2016. The theme of the conference was "Implementing the Sustainable
Development Goals as Communities and Individuals. About 20 specialists in
the field from academia, government, international organizations and
non-governmental organizations participated throughout the conference, while
the opening session attracted over 170 people including many students. See
the full report on the IEF web
site.
The city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra
in the eastern part of Bolivia, with a population of about 1.5 million, has
a beautiful old town centre with a central square and cathedral, and a
lively night life with many celebrations and music in the square.
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The cathedral; central square; city hall on the square
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There are always many people in the square; Nur University where the
IEF conference was held
IEF Conference
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Opening ceremony; part of the audience; some of the keynote speakers
from Costa Rica, Norway, Sweden and Colombia
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The opening; welcome by William Shoaie, Rector of Nur University;
university faculty
First Plenary Session
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Introducing the first plenary session, with the UNEP representative
and myself as main speakers
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Since the conference was entirely in Spanish, Javier Gonzales
translated for me; half of the audience
Saturday Conference
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The audience on Saturday; keynotes by Rector William Shoaie and
Victoria Thoresen; mug made for the occasion
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Speakers came from government and civil society; the conference
poster
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There was a lively discussion with the audience
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A festive dinner in a local restaurant encouraged informal exchanges
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The presentations touched on many dimensions of local sustainability
Sunday general discussion
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Sunday morning was devoted to a general discussion on possible future
directions and potentials for collaboration
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A set of questions to consider helped to structure the exchanges,
which everyone found useful
The International Environment Forum held its Annual General Assembly after
the close of the conference.
Everyone went away feeling that they had looked at the Sustainable
Development Goals in a new and constructive way.