Expo 2020 to host Sustainability Week opening, Zayed Sustainability Prize awards ceremony

Dubai - The ceremony will take place at the Dubai Exhibition Centre on January 17, 2022.

The Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) opening ceremony and the Zayed Sustainability Prize Awards ceremony will take place at the Dubai Exhibition Centre on Monday, January 17, 2022.

ADSW, a global platform for accelerating sustainable development, hosted by Masdar, announced the new collaboration, which will bring elements of the week to Expo 2020 Dubai.

The announcement was made during Expo 2020’s Climate and Biodiversity Week, the first of 10 thematic weeks at the Expo. However, all other Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week events will take place in Abu Dhabi or will be hosted virtually.

ADSW is one of the largest of gatherings of its kind, which welcomes more than 45,000 participants from more than 170 countries every year. The week will return between January 15-19, 2022 and feature a series of high-level in person and virtual events.

The 2022 program will include the ADSW opening ceremony, Zayed Sustainability Prize Awards ceremony, ADSW Summit, IRENA Assembly, Abu Dhabi Sustainable Finance Forum, Atlantic Council Global Energy Forum, Women in Sustainability, Environment and Renewable Energy (WiSER) Forum, Youth 4 Sustainability Hub, and the World Future Energy Summit – Exhibitions and Forums.

Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, special envoy for climate change, and chairman of Masdar, said, “The combination of ADSW’s experience as a convenor with Expo 2020 Dubai’s global reach will help expand partnerships, drive innovation and open up new economic opportunities.”

He added, “As the UAE marks 50 years of progress, with the Principles of the Fifty, sustainability will remain a cornerstone of plans for future growth, creating new knowledge, new skills, new industries and new jobs.”

The ADSW opening ceremony and the Zayed Sustainability Prize Awards Ceremony, will bring together more than 600 VIPs from around the world, including heads of state, government ministers, industry leaders and country ambassadors. Dr Al Jaber will deliver a keynote speech.

Reem Al Hashimy, UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation and director general of Expo 2020 Dubai, said, “As one of our three sub themes, sustainability is integrated across the entirety of Expo 2020 Dubai.”

She added, “As a long-standing platform for sustainability, Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week has a legacy of bringing together the global community, facilitating dialogue and accelerating sustainable development. These qualities align with the aims of the Programme for People and Planet at Expo and our goal of catalysing a one-of-a-kind movement to shape the legacy that Expo 2020 leaves the world.”

Launched at the 2008 World Future Energy Summit by Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, the Zayed Sustainability Prize is a tribute to his father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, and his sustainability legacy.

Over 352 million people have been directly or indirectly impacted by the sustainability solutions and school projects of the 86 recipients of the Zayed Sustainability Prize winners since the first awards ceremony in 2009.

• Dubai