The heads of ACM and BCS will join UNESCO’s Assistant Director for Communication and Technology and top IFIP executives to commemorate IFIP’s 60th Jubilee in an online global event on Tuesday 21 December 2021.
An address by UNESCO’s Tawfik Jelassi will be a key element of the event, underpinning IFIP’s on-going relationship with the global body, under whose auspices IFIP was first established back in 1960.
Another highlight will be a fireside chat session moderated by IFIP President-elect Anthony Wong, with two IFIP Member Presidents, ACM’s Gabiele Kotsis and BCS’s John Higgins on the highly topical issue of the role of ICT professionals and professional societies in dealing with the climate crisis.
BCS has previously advocated the benefits of ICT technologies like AI and Machine Learning as vital tools in the climate change kitbag, while urging governments to strengthen their commitment to fund the sector to tackle climate change. ACM also recently released its “Computing and Climate Changes” report, stating that, “Computing can help mitigate climate change but must first cease contributing to it.”
With the recent agreements on net zero pledges at COP26, there is renewed focus on how technology can assist in mitigating the impacts of climate change. At the close of the summit, UN Secretary-General said the planet was “hanging by a thread”, so this conversation will explore how we can better harness advances in technology to weather the coming storm.
The December 21 event chaired by IFIP President Mike Hinchey and Past IFIP President Leon Strous will also include:
- Professor Don Passey (chair of TC3 – Education) and representatives to outline the outcomes on the highly significant Zanzibar Declaration, which is focused on “Sustainable Education in a Digital Age of Rapidly Emerging Technologies”;
- An exploration of the IFIP Code of Ethics involving Professor David Kreps (chair of TC9 – ICT and Society), Professor Don Gotterbarn (globally respected ethics researcher), Moira de Roche (chair of IP3) and Margaret Havey (CIPS);
- A closing address by IFIP President Mike Hinchey on the #ifip60 celebrations;
- The awarding of IFIP Fellowships by IFIP VP Jan Gulliksen;
- And more.
The event, which will run from 2.00pm to 5.30pm (CET), is the final episode in IFIP’s eight-month celebration of its 60th Jubilee.
IFIP is finalising the details of the event. To register your interest in the event and other upcoming events, please join the IFIP mailing list “Friends of IFIP” https://www.ifip.org//insights_register/index.php.
UNESCO’s Tawfik Jelassi
