ABU DHABI, (Pakistan Point News - 13th Oct, 2023) Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan Bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, Founder and CEO of Alliances for Global Sustainability, visited the exhibition of the International Council on Archives (ICA) Congress – Abu Dhabi 2023, which was held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court.
In her speech during the ‘Stainable knowledge and a sustainable planet: archives, records and climate change’ session, Sheikha Shamma highlighted the importance of knowledge in making the world more sustainable, the connection between sustainability, archives and records, and the ongoing challenges facing the world today, especially climate change.
She also noted: “Sustainability is a priority in the UAE, and an approach inherited from fathers and grandfathers who were able to coexist with the harsh nature of the country through their understanding of the secrets of this land. Their presence on this land and their prosperity in it embodied sustainable knowledge. Archives are much more than just repositories of information, they are the tangible threads connecting us to our roots, they are the memory of our nation, and a treasure that must be constantly discovered.”
She said: “climate change represents a challenge that threatens the entire world, stressing the importance of research in archives to help confront this challenge.''
During the session, Sheikha Shamma touched on the topic of hydroponics, and the importance of food and water security for the country, as she pointed out UAE's first hydroponics farm in 1969, a project championed and supported by the late founding father, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan.
She noted to the recent studies that emphasize the pivotal role of hydroponics and food security, and indicate a significant decline in groundwater aquifers compared to their levels decades ago.
Sheikha Shamma explained that this generation bears the responsibility of supporting and expanding the scope of the sustainable vision pursued by our ancestors when they gave priority to the sustainability of water and food sources, in order to ensure a better future for the coming generations. She stressed that sustainable knowledge is not just a concept, but rather a serious call to action and commitment to understanding the past, drawing lessons from it, and building on it in order to better manage the present and pave the way for a sustainable tomorrow.
