Juan Dávila y Verdin, MBA 2021, participated in the COP26 in Glasgow last two weeks.
The United Nations Climate Change Conference, popularly known as a COP – “Conference of Parties” – is the most important global event to evaluate and major the achievements related to the preservation of our global environment.
Once a year, governments from all over the world, the private sector, and the civil society can meet, dialogue, and work together for almost two weeks a year to define the best routes and steps to follow to ensure sustainable development. This year more than 30,000 people from more than 200 countries and territories attended the event, which took place in Glasgow, United Kingdom.
What are your motivations to attend the COP26?
It was an absolute honor to be invited to attend this conference because I had the unique opportunity to participate in some interesting debates and panels with world-leading experts in Climate Change and sustainable development, and most importantly, as an observer I had been part of the Plenary Sessions where were discussed the preliminary drafts of the final document that was released as a conclusion of the COP26.
Since my professional background is in international relations, finances, and education, I recognize that those first-hand conversations were absolutely inspiring about what people can reach collectively if working together for a better world.
In this unique context, I personally feel very proud to support the International University of Monaco and be the first official representative of the institution to attend this event.
What have you experienced and learnt?
During the COP26, I had the unique opportunity to meet and chat briefly about education and sustainable development with various Latin-American Presidents, including HE Carlos Alvarado Quesada, President of Costa Rica and the First Lady, Mrs. Claudia Dobles Camargo; HE Guillermo Lasso Mendoza, President of the Republic of Ecuador; and HE Laurentino Cortizo, President of the Republic of Panama.
Also, invited by the BBC, I had the pleasure to attend the official global premiere of “The Green Planet”, the new series of Sir David Attenborough.
Sir David Attenborough is a living legend worldwide. He is a prestigious British broadcaster, natural historian, author, a pioneer in environmental education. It was an honor to meet him in person and to listen to his thoughts about the future of education.
Furthermore, I represented the International University of Monaco at the event entitled: “Carbon conservation and sequestration in ocean. Nature-based and technology solutions.”
The event was coordinated by Dr. Nathalie Hilmi, Section Head of Environmental Economics at Centre Scientifique de Monaco, and organized by the Fondation Prince Albert II de Monaco and the Centre Scientifique de Monaco, in partnership with the Fondation BNP Paribas, World Ocean Council, Future Earth, University of Bergen (UiB), Fundación Meri, among others.
Finally, I shared the experience of the students participating in the Monaco Ocean Protection Challenge, and some institutions were potentially interested to support the event.
What would be your personal commitment in the challenges addressed there?
During the global pandemic, as a part of my MBA experience in Monaco, and inspired by the sustainability efforts carried in the country, I have founded a start-up, FuturED.
FuturED is an international educational online platform founded to contribute to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. In addition, we support the UN Global Compact and the SME Climate Hub.
FuturED is an online learning platform producing and curating academic content in Spanish and English in a 360 model. We operate 96% paperless, and 100% online. We motivate people, organizations, and their communities to become the best version of themselves through a wide range of online courses, masterclasses, and programs.
We have launched our platform to the market in April 2021, and at the moment we have more than 400 users from Latin America, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States, and other markets, and are ready to continue to grow! In our catalog, we have more than 30 courses and masterclasses, and we are currently developing academic content with more than 20 organizations, companies, and universities from 9 countries.
Among our partners we can mention, Monaco Foundry, Green Cross – the foundation created by the Nobel Peace Prize Mikhail Gorbachev -, the Interamerican Scout Foundation, the British Argentina Chamber of Commerce, Eco House Global, and many more!
From this perspective, the COP26 gave me the possibility to continue to learn about the latest technological developments in sustainable development and to discuss more the latest trends in education, so more people can be part of the change that the world needs.
In addition to being the Founder and Managing Director of FuturED, Juan Francisco Dávila y Verdin also serves as a Senior Consultant for TESH Invest S.A., where he is a Board Member of the company. He is also a Board member of the prestigious British San Martín Institute (BSMI), where he manages Communication and Events.
Multilingual, with a background in Finance and Administration and over ten years experience in Project Management, PRINCE2 certified, Juan worked in international environments with private, public companies, and non-governmental organizations. He has a deep understanding of organizational structure along with the breadth and depth of international experience, which proves his keen ability to navigate through extraordinary challenges. Juan is currently taking part in the International Law and Diplomacy program jointly organized by the University for Peace – United Nations Mandated – (UPEACE) and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR).
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