S3i's Centre Talks brings together experts from diverse fields to contribute to our open community on their experience, drive, and passion for a better future. Each month, guest speakers will share their stories of the pitfalls, successes, and the most promising ideas on accelerating the transition to a sustainable business. We will invite speakers from the private and public sectors as well as colleagues from the UN. With these virtual talks, we look forward to sparking inspiration, motivation, and illustrating tools to drive concrete actions you can take towards a sustainable future.

These experts are invited as they share our values around sustainability and innovation. However, each contributor expresses their individual and company views in an open discussion on the topic in question and does not represent the views of S3i Innovation Centre in Sweden.

ABOUT THE TOPIC

Overfishing, climate change and pollution are not only threatening the integrity of our oceans. It also threatens the ocean economy worth around 2.5 Trillion USD, which is crucial for 40% of the world's population who are living from the ocean. In addition, one of the effects of human activity on the environment is the rising of oceans sea level to unprecedented levels. During sea level rise, salt marshes transgress inland invading low-lying forests, agricultural fields, and suburban areas resulting in increased soil salinity levels. This effect puts more pressure on nearly two billion people living in areas at risk from severe water scarcity, while the water crisis is seen as one of the greatest risks to the global economy. It is clear that threats to our oceans and water resources are a devastating combo.

With only 10 years left to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, accelerated efforts are needed to boost sustainable solutions to the biggest challenges we face. The Decade of Action asks for transformative economic, social, and environmental solutions across all industries - we will need inspiration and creativity at global, local, and individual levels from national and local governments, civil society, the private sector, academia, and youth.

THE SPEAKERS

Laverne Walker, Senior Project Officer for CLME Project - UNOPS

Laverne Walker, a national of the island of Saint Lucia, is the Deputy Project Coordinator with the

UNDP/GEF CLME+ Project Coordination Unit. She has been working with the Caribbean and North BrazilLarge Marine Ecosystems for over 9 years. Before joining the UNOPS family, Laverne worked with the Government of Saint Lucia. Laverne has over 20 years experience in the area of coastal and marine management and governance with special focus on small island developing States. She has a first degree in Marine Biology and a Masters of Marine Management both attained from Dalhousie University in Canada. Laverne is also experienced in project management and is a certified Project Manager Professional (PMP).

Silvia Gallo, Senior Programme Manager - UNOPS

In December 2019, Silvia Gallo, of Italian nationality, opened the new UNOPS office in Yaoundé. The office represents UNOPS in Cameroon as part of the Sub-Regional Unit based in Kinshasa. Mrs Gallo got a background in architecture and urban planning from the University of Florence, Italy, and the University of Polytechnic of Mons in Belgium. She started her international career 15 years ago, and before her assignment in Cameroon, she was based in Suva, representing UN-Habitat in Fiji and the Solomon Islands. She has also represented UNOPS in the Central African Republic. Her work has revolved around integrated urban and rural development projects and the reinforcement of resilience in contexts characterized by violence and extreme poverty (slums). She has further been involved in peacebuilding, disaster risk reduction, climate change, community capacity building, and the full range of infrastructure projects, including WASH.

You will be able to ask both speakers questions along the way, which will be answered in a Q&A session at the end.

The Talk will be broadcast live via Zoom.

We look forward to seeing you!