8th Secretary-General of the UN Ban Ki-moon opens Global Center on Adaptation Office in Groningen
On October 17, 2018, Ban Ki-moon, the 8th Secretary-General of the United Nations, and the Chairman of the Board of Global Center on Adaptation, joined Global Center CEO Dr. Patrick Verkooijen, Peter den Oudsten, Mayor of the city of Groningen, Jouke de Vries, President of the University of Groningen, and Henk Pijlman President of Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen, to open the Groningen office of the Global Center on Adaptation and engage in a Q&A with students before a packed house.
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his office opening comes on the heels of the September 10 opening of the Global Center’s Rotterdam office. Groningen and Rotterdam jointly submitted the best plan to host the Center’s offices in the Netherlands. The Groningen office will be located at the Energy Academy Europe, the most sustainable educational facility in the Netherlands. In preparing the plans, the City of Groningen collaborated with Hanze University of Applied Sciences and the University of Groningen.
The opening of the Center’s Groningen office acknowledges the pioneering role of the municipality in achieving national and international objectives for climate adaptation. The municipality, province and knowledge institutes announced that they will contribute to the aims of the Global Center by organising a Climate biennale starting in 2020.
“Adapting to climate will require a complete transformation of policies, programs, and projects across governments, the private sector, and civil society to ensure the well-being of humanity. The expertise and resources in Groningen are significant and will help us achieve this critical goal,” said Secretary-General Ban.
Dr. Patrick Verkooijen, CEO of the Global Center, said “We are working with experts all over the world and partnering with collaborators and institutions across the globe. By bringing together governments, the private sector, civil society, intergovernmental bodies, and knowledge institutions we can address the obstacles slowing down adaptation action and surface innovative, breakthrough solutions. We are delighted to include our partners in Groningen in our mission.”
The Mayor of the City of Groningen, Peter den Oudsten, said “for me, it is very natural to host the Global Center, since Groningen is well known as the place in the Netherlands where the words “international”, “sustainability” and “creative” go hand-in-hand. Groningen is a truly international town.
At the ceremony to open the Groningen office, Dr. Verkooijen announced a new Young Leaders Program which will provide an opportunity for advanced students to engage with and contribute knowledge to the work of the Global Center, especially its mission to advance bold actions.
While in Groningen, SG Ban also was recognized with an honorary degree from the University of Groningen.
