HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — Gender equality and climate change are the focus of a forum to be hosted by the University of Guam School of Business and Public Administration on Wednesday.
“We are focused on two of the 17 sustainable development goals of the United Nations. One of the areas of concerns is gender equality and the climate change. The United Nations has these 17 relevant world issues that hope to educate the community as well as community outreach to talk about these issues and basically put these issues at the forefront so that we may get progress,” student Joey Lopez Jr. told The Guam Daily Post.
The Master of Public Administration, or MPA, program at UOG, nationally accredited and recognized by the National Association of Public Policy and Administration, is hosting the forum in line with the organization’s annual conference, which also is focused on United Nations sustainable development goals.
“Our professor tasked us with creating this forum, … basically hosting a platform for panelists to get together and discuss these issues,” Lopez said.
“I mean, we are just stepping out of Typhoon Mawar, the weather is crazy. … There’s a group of people that don’t think climate change is real. So we are trying to change the narrative. Gender equality, the times are changing. We have the first female governor of Guam, we have qualified women sitting in positions of government that are not just positions of authority, they are running agencies. So we are here to highlight,” Lopez said.
The climate change panel will feature SBPA Dean Roseann Jones, professor Ansito Walter, National Weather Service meteorologist Marcus Landon Aydlett, Palau Ambassador on Climate Change Ngedikes Olai Uludong, Lt. Gov. Josh Tenorio, Center for Island Sustainability Director Austin Shelton, Sen. Sabina Perez and the chair of the governor’s Climate Change Resiliency Commission, Vangie Lujan.
The gender equality panel features UOG President Anita Borja Enriquez, SBPA associate professor Gena Rojas, director of policy Rikki Orsini, Guam Community College President Mary Okada, SBPA Dean Roseann Jones, Department of Youth Affairs Director Melanie Brennan, UOG Senior Vice President Charleen Santos-Bamba and Department of Revenue and Taxation Director Dafne Mansapit-Shimizu.
The forum is scheduled from 3:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday in Room 131 of the UOG SBPA building in Mangilao. The event also will be streamed via Zoom.
The Jesus and Eugenia Leon Guerrero School of Business and Public Administration building is seen Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023, at the University of Guam campus in Mangilao.
