The next generation of interfaith leaders will play a critical role in the fight for climate justice. As the world prepares for the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) taking place in Glasgow, Scotland; the Parliament’s Next Generation Task Force invites you to join us on the road toward COP26 for an intergenerational conversation featuring discussions on the role of high-level government work, grassroots youth leadership and local interfaith activists in shaping the future.

The Road to COP26: An Intergenerational and Multilateral Conversation on Climate Justice will be hosted Wednesday, March 24th at 10 am Central, where participants are invited to reflect on:

• The critical importance of the COP26 and how their climate work relates to this international initiative

• The role of leaders at different levels of engagement in the success of COP26 and the climate movement

• The role of interfaith activists and organizers in the critical post-COP26 work

Featuring:

Susan le Jeune d’Allegeershecque, Britain’s High Commissioner to Canada

Susan le Jeune d’Allegeershecque has been Britain’s High Commissioner to Canada since August 2017.

Her 30 year diplomatic career has taken her to three continents, and exposed her to issues from the EU, to nuclear non-proliferation, anti-narcotics work and the corporate challenge of the Foreign Service’s HR policies. She has lived through a coup in Venezuela, and the immediate aftermath of the Brexit vote in her last post as Ambassador to Austria and Permanent Representative to the UN organisations in Vienna. A career highlight was taking part in the negotiations which led to the JCPOA nuclear deal with Iran.

Susan speaks French, German and Spanish and is married to Stéphane a former journalist and teacher. They have two grown-up sons.

Dr. Magdalen Lambkin, Interfaith Glasgow

Magdalen is Development Director at Interfaith Glasgow (IG), a multi-award-winning Scottish charity promoting and facilitating constructive engagement between Glasgow’s diverse faith and belief communities. Alongside other interfaith dialogue and cooperation projects, Magdalen leads on IG’s work in relation to COP26. IG is working to engage local faith communities in collaborative climate activism during COP26 and to connect them with the world-wide interfaith movement. The planned focal point of this action is an interfaith prayer and meditation vigil in Glasgow’s main square the day before COP begins, and live-streamed all over the world. IG also acts as secretariat for the Glasgow-based COP26 Interfaith Working Group and is an active member of the Interfaith Liaison Committee to the UNFCCC. Originally from Belfast, Magdalen has a PhD in Theology and Religious Studies and an MTh in Interfaith Studies from the University of Glasgow. She is also a trained facilitator and mediator and a volunteer practitioner with Place for Hope – a charity assisting faith communities experiencing conflict.

 

Itinterunga Rae Bainteti, Co-Founder and Chair of the Kiribati Aotearoa Diaspora Directorate Charitable Trust

Itinterunga Rae Bainteti is of Banaban and Kiribati origins, and has pioneered climate change and youth development programs in Kiribati, advocating for youths at the national, regional and international levels over the past nine years. Now based in Auckland, New Zealand, he recognises that climate justice and social justice are linked to the histories and future of his people. He is the co-founder and Chair of the Kiribati Aotearoa Diaspora Directorate Charitable Trust, Member of the Technical Advisory Group for the Pacific Youth Council and an awardee of Her Majesty the Queen Point of Light Award.

Erin Isabel, Outreach Officer of Green Hope Foundation

18-year-old Erin Isabel is the Outreach Officer of Green Hope Foundation. She has been working on the ground with the Green Hope team in marginalized communities, particularly areas affected by climate change-induced disasters such as the Sunderbans, the Rann of Kutch and the Amazon Rainforest. Her work centers around the implementation of the SDGs, with a special focus on peace, climate justice and gender equality. During the pandemic, she has been playing a very active role in speaking at and organizing several Green Hope webinars. She has conducted myriad online academies with the Green Hope team, reaching out to young people, corporates and government entities.