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December 8, 2022

The Future is Now

Nordic Talks

Canada, Norway, Sweden, Trinidad and Tobago

The culmination of our Nordic Talks series features a Sustainability and Social Impact Consultant, Norway’s Ambassador to Canada, a top 30 under 30 Sustainability Leader and an International Environmental Lawyer to discuss society’s role in the next seven years.

The Future is Now

This event is a Nordic Spotlight, part of Nordic Bridges.

Overview

In 2015, at the start of a three-day Summit on Sustainable Development, an ambitious new global agenda to end poverty and pursue a sustainable future by 2030 was unanimously adopted by the 193 Member States of the United Nations. At the heart of this agenda are the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) and the 5Ps of the SDGs: People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace and Partnership. Are we on track to transform the world in seven short years, and what does the future hold for 2030 and beyond? 

About Alicia Richins

Alicia Richins is a Sustainability and Social Impact Consultant based in Toronto and a fierce advocate of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). With extensive experience in international development, nonprofits and community organizations, she works with forward-thinking organizations to assess, amplify and embed their desired social and environmental impact, using the UN SDGs as a guiding framework.   

As the Partnerships and Standards Lead at the Common Approach to Impact Measurement, Richins leads the development and adoption of the Common Approach’s four flexible standards for impact measurement. She also serves as Director of Programming for Leading Change Canada, an organization focused on activating youth sustainability leadership for transitioning to a low-carbon economy within a generation.  

A dual citizen of Canada and Trinidad and Tobago, Richins holds a Master’s in Environmental Studies, Planning Concentration and a BA in Economics and Social Science (Honours), both from York University.

About Jon Elvedal Fredriksen

Before becoming Norway’s ambassador to Canada, Jon Elvedal Fredriksen was a diplomatic advisor to the Prime Minister of Norway (2016-2020). Prime Minister Solberg, at the time, co-chaired the UN Secretary General’s Sustainable Development Goals Advocates group with President Akufo Addo of Ghana. Positions currently held by PM Trudeau of Canada and PM Mia Mottley of Barbados, who took over in 2021. Fredriksen travelled globally with PM Solberg to advocate the goals and worked with the Secretary General’s office and UNOP on planning outreach and events for the advocacy group.  

Fredriksen has previously been Norway’s Ambassador to Ukraine and Consul General of Norway in Murmansk, Russia, and has extensive experience with Arctic affairs and security policy. Fredriksen is a graduate of the University of Tromsø, Norway, in Russian studies, world literature and structural linguistics. 

About Chúk Odenigbo

Proudly Franco-Albertan, Chúk Odenigbo is passionate about how the environment impacts human health and the role of justice in our understanding of how our societies function. This passion manifests in his work as one of the founding directors of Future Ancestors Services, where he focuses on environmental and climate justice in his efforts to make green spaces accessible for everyone. Chúk fights environmental racism in all forms and works to popularise the understanding that you cannot create an environmentally-friendly society if that same society isn’t just.  

He is a Ph.D. candidate in medical geography. His research seeks to build on several forms of knowledge to understand better the impacts of the environment (biophysical, socio-cultural, socio-economic and socio-political) on a community’s vulnerability to disease.  

Chúk has worked in various industries, including oil and gas, fashion retail and academia. He is interested in the multidisciplinary nature of our existence and in exploring new solutions that respond to recurring problems. Chúk was ranked among the Top 30 Sustainability Leaders under 30 by Corporate Knights, the Top 30 Change-Making Albertans under 30 by the Alberta Council for Global Cooperation, the Top 10 Franco-Albertan Leaders by Radio-Canada and the Top 25 Environmentalists Under 25 in Canada by the Starfish. He was MEC’s ambassador for the outdoors and is an alumnus of the first Ocean Bridge cohort, a group of young Canadians leading ocean health and literacy projects across Canada. 

About Clarisse Kehler Siebert

Clarisse Kehler Siebert is a Canadian-Swedish international environmental lawyer with expertise in climate change research, intergovernmental negotiations and impact investment. For a decade, she managed a broad climate impacts research portfolio at the Stockholm Environment Institute and contributed to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as a nominee of Sweden. Recently Kehler served as Executive Director of a Cambodia-based organization that catalyzes public and private finance for small-scale renewable energy and clean water solutions in South-East Asia. She holds degrees in international relations and common and civil laws from McGill University. She lives in Stockholm with her husband and daughters and is a Swedish Environmental Protection Agency civil servant. 

Access Info

Access an ASL vlog here.

Dates & Times

December 8
7pm – 8:30pm

Please arrive at least 15 minutes early to check in by providing your name at the door. In the event there is a waiting list, unclaimed seats will be released just before the event starts, though standing room could still be available.

More Info

245 Queens Quay W is a large gallery space located in a large brick building, separate from the Harbourfront Centre main building. The venue is Wheelchair Accessible

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