Water Warriors: Combatting the Climate Crisis to Save Our Seas and Rivers
This session will feature the globally acclaimed voices of Dr. Sylvia Earle, Dr. David Suzuki, and environmental activist Severn Suzuki. As humanity continues to deplete natural resources and burn fossil fuels, global temperatures rise, exerting significant pressure on water supplies and directly impacting communities worldwide. This escalating crisis also devastates our oceans and rivers. In this session, we will explore the critical issue of water and the immense responsibility we bear to address it with urgency.
Speakers
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Dr David SuzukiGrandfather and Co-Founder, David Suzuki FoundationDr David Suzuki
Counsellor
Grandfather and Co-Founder, David Suzuki Foundation
David Suzuki FoundationDavid Suzuki has made it his life's work to help humanity understand, appreciate, respect and protect nature. He is familiar to television audiences from his 44 years as host of the CBC science and natural history television series The Nature of Things. In 2020 David received The Canadian Academy of Cinema and Television's Lifetime Achievement Award. He has been recognised by BC Achievement in partnership with the Lieutenant Governor of BC for his extraordinary work as a recipient of the 2021 BC Reconciliation Award. Dr Suzuki is a Companion to the Order of Canada and a recipient of UNESCO's Kalinga Prize for science, the 2009 Right Livelihood Award, and UNEP’s Global 500. He is Professor Emeritus at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and holds 33 honorary degrees from universities in Canada, United States and Australia. His written work includes more than 56 books, 20 of them for children. Dr. Suzuki lives with his wife and family in Vancouver, B.C.
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Dr Sylvia EarlePresident and Co-Chairman, Mission Blue and The Sylvia Earle AllianceDr Sylvia Earle
Counsellor
President and Co-Chairman, Mission Blue and The Sylvia Earle Alliance
Mission Blue, The Sylvia Earle AllianceMarine biologist Sylvia Earle has spearheaded research on marine ecosystems with emphasis on exploration and conservation. Earle developed an appreciation and empathy for the natural world at a young age by exploring the woods in her hometown of Camden, New Jersey. She carried her early passion for nature throughout her career in which she explored phenomena of the sea. As one of Time magazine’s “Heroes for the Planet”, Earle is recognised for her research in marine biology and development of new technologies for deep-sea and remote environment exploration. Earle broke barriers in her career being the first woman to serve as the chief scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the first woman to become National Geographic Society’s Explorer-in-Residence. Her over one hundred expeditions, more than 7,000 hours underwater, and over 190 publications have furthered oceanic health and productivity restoration.
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Severn Cullis-SuzukiExecutive Director, David Suzuki FoundationSevern Cullis-Suzuki
Counsellor
Executive Director, David Suzuki Foundation
David Suzuki FoundationSevern Cullis-Suzuki is a lifelong activist and public speaker for intergenerational justice. From a young age, she has spoken widely about intergenerational justice, the need for ethics in our economics, and respect and recognition of Indigenous rights and title. Rooted on the West Coast of Canada, she is part of the global movement to shift our human path toward sustainability and survival. Severn married into the Haida Nation, and has lived on Haida Gwaii for many years, where she and her family have been focusing on learning and helping others learn the critically endangered Xaayda kil (Skidegate dialect of the Haida language) from elders. She is a Vanier Scholar pursuing a PhD at the University of British Columbia, researching Indigenous language revitalization. She holds a B.Sc. in biology from Yale University and an M.Sc. in ethnoecology from the University of Victoria. Severn hosted Aboriginal Peoples Television Network’s Samaqan: Water Stories and was a founding board member of the Haida Gwaii Higher Education Society. She is a member of the Earth Charter International Council and, after serving on the David Suzuki Foundation board for over 15 years, is now the Foundation’s executive director.
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Ashraf GardaThe Converation Architect, Founder of Champion South AfricaAshraf Garda
Counsellor
The Converation Architect, Founder of Champion South Africa
Ashraf Garda is The Conversation Architect - he uses the art of story telling and asking the questions that matter to break down concepts and to build consequential impactful conversations
He is an authoritative talk show, an lengaging Programme Director and MC as well as an impactful keynote speaker and also a host on multiple digital platforms
It is a measure of Ashraf Garda’s national stature that he was appointed to serve his country as the MC for the opening day of the BRICS Summit of both 2023 and 2018
Ashraf Garda’s purpose is to champion people because “champion people build champion nations” . Understandable then that he is at the Centre of conversations to find and embrace South Africa’s national purpose. The Champion South Africa project of which he serves a Chief Champion Spotter is a movement for change with the end goal to inspire the building of South Africa into a champion
Nation.He is a member of the prestigious Council of Champions that forms part of the Centre for Social Justice chaired by Prof Thuli Madonsela , South Africa’s former Public Protector and he also serves on the judging panel for the annual Social Justice Champion Awards
In 2023 he was chosen by the Treeshake movement as one of their 27 Changemakers working towards a more United nation .