President's Message: July 2023
The climate during the summer of this year has particularly heightened our sensitivity and concern about climate change. It also reminds us of the urgency and importance of enhancing knowledge and technological capabilities in the landscape industry and academia, as well as accelerating community awareness and cooperation.
The IFLA President also recognizes the importance of this issue. Bruno actively engages in cross-disciplinary collaborations and participates in various organizations such as UN-Human Settlement, UNESCO-Cultural Heritage Conservation, and Oceania ISUH (International Society for Urban Hearth) to promote interdisciplinary exchanges and cooperation.
As the current President of IFLA-APR, I was invited to participate in the "Accelerating City Energy (ACE)" project. Unfortunately, due to an important workshop I have to lead, I won't be able to attend physically the regional workshop in Sydney at the end of August. However, IFLA APR Secretary Chris Tidswell, based in Australia, will join the event. Moving forward, I will actively contribute to experience sharing and mechanisms acceleration.
The reason is that in the APR, most of us are from Oceania countries and states, and climate change poses a significant threat to many vulnerable coastal settlements and towns. By 2050, 60% of the global population will live in urban areas. Therefore, the pursuit of ecological justice and human justice in creating healthy cities is also our professional responsibility.
Therefore, I hope that the upcoming elections for new Exco Members will bring in new perspectives and accelerate the strengthening of multidirectional communication among various Working Groups. We should actively propose nature-based solutions (NBS) to influence rapid decision-making both from the grassroots level and from the top-down in terms of public policies, crossing borders and professional decision-making.
Furthermore, countries are actively pursuing net zero standards by 2050, and landscape professionals play a crucial role in this rapid transformation. Clearly, the landscape profession and lifelong learning education must keep up with the times, allowing us to contribute to sustainable architectural planning and design, becoming multi-faceted professionals. Former President Damian Tang is a paradigm of this type, as he actively integrates and improves collaboration with the business sector.
I wish everyone to have a comprehensive green and sustainable mindset in the future and become exemplary professionals at the forefront of the times.
Regards, 