GEPC 2026: CEREMONIE D'OUVERTURE OFFICIELLE — Transcript

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1. 0:17God gave us this land with a dual
2. 0:19mission: to cultivate it and to keep it
3. 0:21. That's what Genesis chapter 2, verse
4. 0:2815 says: to cultivate to feed, to keep
5. 0:30to preserve. We cannot develop
6. 0:34agriculture by destroying the
7. 0:36environment that sustains it. The two
8. 0:40are closely linked. And this land that
9. 0:45feeds us today, we must not leave
10. 0:46barren for our children tomorrow.
11. 0:50>> Tomorrow.
12. 0:51>> And that is the whole point of this
13. 0:52conference. To find out how to produce
14. 0:56better without destroying it. How to
15. 0:59make our agriculture both productive
16. 1:00and sustainable. How to preserve this
17. 1:05environment that God has given us. Mr.
18. 1:11Chief of Staff representing the
19. 1:13Minister of the Environment, Forest
20. 1:15Resources, Coastal Protection and the
21. 1:17Environment, this conference will be
22. 1:23structured around the following program
23. 1:25. In a moment, we will have a welcome
24. 1:29address from one of the departmental
25. 1:31heads of compassion. Then, we will hear
26. 1:38from the Commissioner General of SALO
27. 1:40because this 3rd edition, like the
28. 1:42second and previous ones, was organized
29. 1:44in partnership with SALO. After that,
30. 1:50we will have a short interlude with the
31. 1:52musical group. The national director of
32. 1:56Compassion International Togo will give
33. 1:58us his speech, which will be followed
34. 2:00by our slam interlude. And to give
35. 2:08credit where credit is due, the chief
36. 2:09of staff will do us the honor of
37. 2:11delivering the speech of the Minister
38. 2:12of the Environment, and we will then
39. 2:14have a tour of the stand that will mark
40. 2:16the end of this opening ceremony. So,
41. 2:25without further ado, allow me to invite
42. 2:27Mr. Jean d'Almeda, who is the head of
43. 2:29the Central Plateau region of
44. 2:31Compassion, to give us the welcome
45. 2:33speech, under the theme of climate
46. 2:57protection, creation, and household
47. 2:58resilience. Moving from awareness to
48. 3:04action. Your large presence this
49. 3:10morning is a strong signal to us. It
50. 3:19demonstrates the growing interest that
51. 3:21we collectively place in preserving our
52. 3:23environment, protecting our common
53. 3:24natural heritage, and the
54. 3:26responsibility that we bear towards
55. 3:27future generations. I would like to
56. 3:36express my special gratitude to His
57. 3:44Excellency the Minister of the
58. 3:45Environment, who is representing us in
59. 3:47the face of the degradation of natural
60. 3:49resources, pollution, loss of
61. 3:51biodiversity and the multiple
62. 3:52consequences of climate change. We have
63. 4:00a duty to act together with
64. 4:02determination and responsibility. This
65. 4:07conference is much more than a forum
66. 4:08for reflection. It is a space for
67. 4:12dialogue, sharing, experience and the
68. 4:14construction of concrete solutions. It
69. 4:26is also an opportunity to renew our
70. 4:27common commitment to the I hope that
71. 4:29the discussions of this day will be
72. 4:31enriching, inspiring and that they will
73. 4:32lead to strong recommendations and
74. 4:34concrete actions for the good of our
75. 4:35communities and our country.
76. 4:45>> To each
77. 4:46>> and every one of you,
78. 4:49>> thank you for responding to our
79. 4:51invitation. On behalf of Compassion
80. 4:56International Togo, I extend a warm
81. 4:57welcome and wish you an excellent
82. 4:59conference. May our work contribute to
83. 5:06building a greener, more resilient and
84. 5:08more prosperous Togo for all. Thank you
85. 5:14. We can still give more generous
86. 5:29thanks to Mr. Jean d'Almeda, the head
87. 5:31of the Plateau Centrale region, for
88. 5:33this welcoming speech in which he
89. 5:34warmly thanked, through the Ministry of
90. 5:36the Environment, the entire Togolese
91. 5:38government for the actions that are
92. 5:40being carried out to preserve a quality
93. 5:42environment, so that future generations
94. 5:44can also enjoy a greener Togo than it
95. 5:45is today. Following on from this, and I
96. 5:59mentioned this when introducing my
97. 6:01initial remarks, this 3rd conference is
98. 6:03organized in partnership with the
99. 6:04international food and agriculture fair
100. 6:13SALO, which is in its 13th edition. The
101. 6:20two initiatives bring together the
102. 6:22technical and financial partners of
103. 6:24Compassion International Togo. Dear
104. 6:33partner churches of Compassion
105. 6:35International Togo. and honorable
106. 6:42guests, I would like to, on behalf of
107. 7:01the organizing committee of the
108. 7:03International Agriculture and Agri-Food
109. 7:05Fair of Oman, which will be in its 13th
110. 7:06edition this year, first of all, greet
111. 7:08you fraternally in the beautiful and
112. 7:10precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ
113. 7:12and then extend a cordial welcome to
114. 7:14this official opening ceremony of the
115. 7:163rd EPC conference on the issue of the
116. 7:18environment, the protection of creation
117. 7:20, in light of environmental issues, in
118. 7:38light of the challenges that are linked
119. 7:44to the environment today. Before the
120. 7:51most authoritative voices come here to
121. 8:02intervene, I would like to invite you
122. 8:03to each act at your own level in
123. 8:05relation to your role, which is
124. 8:06difficult for you, in the context of
125. 8:08environmental protection and management
126. 8:10. Why? As an actor in the promotion of
127. 8:23Oman's culture and agri-food today,
128. 8:32faced with the challenge of climate
129. 8:34change, it is impossible to develop
130. 8:36policies, programs, and agricultural
131. 8:37projects without referring to the
132. 8:39concept of the environment. And when I
133. 8:52say the concept of the environment,
134. 8:54today, before projects are developed or
135. 8:56implemented, we should hold, if we meet
136. 8:58on such platforms, to develop actions
137. 9:00that we will now implement through the
138. 9:02various panels which, I know, are based
139. 9:04on very good themes. I would like
140. 9:16everyone to leave on the evening of
141. 9:18October 24, 2024 with a decision. I
142. 9:27will act deeply and effectively in
143. 9:29favor of our planet that has been
144. 9:30entrusted to us and the well-being or
145. 9:32betterment of each individual of us
146. 9:34humans. It is on these words that I
147. 9:43would like to congratulate you once
148. 9:44again for this initiative and wish you
149. 9:46a very pleasant time in the company of
150. 9:48Compassion International Togo. Thank
151. 9:53you.
152. 9:59>> Thank you very much to Mr. Atico who
153. 10:01wished us to spend a very pleasant time
154. 10:03in the company of Compassion but also
155. 10:05in the company of SALO. Hallelujah! Can
156. 10:41you stand on your feet to praise the
157. 10:43Lord with? Oh my God, you made me
158. 10:59tomorrow. I can't keep it. So I'm going
159. 11:05to testify. Well done in my life, his
160. 11:11feeling, I can't keep it. So, I'm going
161. 11:15to take it. Oh my God, you've done me
162. 11:22good, I can't keep it. So, I'm going to
163. 11:27testify. My benefits in my life,
164. 11:32feeling, I can't keep it. So, I'm going
165. 11:37to celebrate. My God, for what you've
166. 11:45done me good, I don't know, your
167. 11:46benefits are so, so become firm, I
168. 12:07don't know, Hallelujah! I know myself,
169. 12:20Oh yes, I'm grateful, my grateful God.
170. 12:32Oh yes, I'm powerful. I'm grateful. I'm
171. 12:43grateful. I'm grateful. We have a
172. 12:54responsibility to maintain. Mr. Chief
173. 12:57of Staff. Many people wonder what the
174. 13:01link is between what Compassion
175. 13:03International does and the environment.
176. 13:08Because at its core, Compassion is an
177. 13:10organization that cares for children in
178. 13:12a holistic way. But if we want children
179. 13:18to develop, we agree that this
180. 13:19development cannot take place in a
181. 13:21degraded environment. That is why at
182. 13:26some point, Compassion says that the
183. 13:28environment must become one of the key
184. 13:30areas of its action. By acting on the
185. 13:35environment, we act on the well-being
186. 13:37of children. And at the level of
187. 13:42Compassion International Togo, the
188. 13:43various actions carried out in this
189. 13:45direction and in many other areas are
190. 13:47masterfully managed by its national
191. 13:49director. Gentlemen, heads of the
192. 13:53various departments of Compassion
193. 13:55International Togo. Sirs and Madams,
194. 14:01heads of state structures present among
195. 14:03us this morning. Dear stakeholders from
196. 14:12partner churches, dear reverent pastors
197. 14:14, dear presidents of the management
198. 14:16committee and dear facilitators and
199. 14:18young people represented here. Ladies
200. 14:28and gentlemen in your respective ranks
201. 14:30and capacities, I take the floor to
202. 14:32first of all thank you sincerely for
203. 14:34coming. And welcome to this edition of
204. 14:42the conference on environmental
205. 14:43management and protection of creation.
206. 14:51We want to say at the outset, thank you
207. 14:53to the Ministry of Envy. As a result,
208. 14:58we know that records are no longer up
209. 15:00to scratch. And when records are no
210. 15:05longer accurate for families who depend
211. 15:13on agriculture, we see that the issue
212. 15:15of poverty remains and it is important
213. 15:17and urgent that the leaders of the
214. 15:19churches of creation. And the leaders
215. 15:29of the churches are those who have
216. 15:31received, are those who have received
217. 15:33this instruction from the creator, and
218. 15:34you are on this instruction from the
219. 15:36creator, and you are in contact with a
220. 15:43large number, in contact with a large
221. 15:45number, and this must be part of the
222. 15:47education, and this must be part of the
223. 15:49education or training that we give our
224. 15:51members at the level of our assemblies.
225. 16:00And so in this vision, we have the
226. 16:02conference And so in this vision, we
227. 16:04have the conference which was born
228. 16:06since 2023 and we are at the 3rd
229. 16:08edition. We want to create a space for
230. 16:17dialogue between public authorities,
231. 16:19communities, partner churches, experts,
232. 16:21including the young people who are
233. 16:23represented here in this room, and
234. 16:25other development stakeholders so that
235. 16:27together we can address these issues
236. 16:29and find practical solutions that are
237. 16:31useful in our different communities.
238. 16:42Today, we can say that, with previous
239. 16:44editions, in a structured manner, we
240. 16:46have been able to support partner
241. 16:48churches and today more than 300
242. 16:50partner churches with the Utat
243. 16:51development centers and in the field.
244. 17:00Beyond the figures, we have seen a
245. 17:02change in mentality and children of
246. 17:04young people who are becoming
247. 17:05environmental ambassadors in their
248. 17:07families. We have young people who are
249. 17:16developing projects, green projects in
250. 17:18their communities, and we have churches
251. 17:20that are implementing concrete actions
252. 17:22to preserve their living environment.
253. 17:34Mr. Director of the Office of the
254. 17:36Ministry of the Environment, dear
255. 17:38partners, the climate challenges facing
256. 17:40our country require the mobilization of
257. 17:42all of us and your presence here in
258. 17:44this energy room. We are going to talk
259. 17:51about Corp 30, the action that we are
260. 17:53called to develop together. We are
261. 17:58going to talk about youth and
262. 18:00innovation because of agroecology,
263. 18:02restoration ecology and landscape
264. 18:04restoration. This is an opportunity to
265. 18:13talk about it and I believe that at the
266. 18:15end of these three days, we will leave
267. 18:16with concrete actions to return to our
268. 18:18communities. I cannot end my speech
269. 18:33without once again thanking all the
270. 18:35stakeholders. All the work that you do
271. 18:45on behalf of 93,000 children and young
272. 18:48people. You are changing this country.
273. 18:57You are transforming this country. You
274. 19:01are transforming communities. We are
275. 19:05grateful for this work and this effort.
276. 19:10We are grateful for the work and effort
277. 19:12that you are making in your different
278. 19:14communities. Today, there are 27
279. 19:17prefectures in your different
280. 19:19communities. Today, there are 27
281. 19:21prefectures in which the churches, you,
282. 19:24me, who urinate everywhere even when it
283. 19:27is written in large letters: "No
284. 19:29urinating here, fine 55,593 CFA francs"
285. 19:32, but you continue to do it. No, well,
286. 19:39ladies and gentlemen, we just ate the
287. 19:41fruit and now we have cut down the
288. 19:43whole tree, we have ravaged the garden.
289. 19:50And well. And
290. 19:51>> then we were able to, we
291. 19:53>> put
292. 19:57>> to God this old philosopher who said
293. 19:59that nature itself keeps away from us
294. 20:01three big words.
295. 20:03>> Hm hm.
296. 20:04>> Health.
297. 20:04>> Health.
298. 20:05>> Fertility. Fertility.
299. 20:06>> Vitality.
300. 20:07>> Vitality.
301. 20:09>> What is fascinating about the story is
302. 20:11that this problem is not a
303. 20:12discriminatory agent. It is not a
304. 20:14person of God like young people,
305. 20:16adolescence, childhood, old age,
306. 20:18everything. So, let's make decisions to
307. 20:22target and since
308. 20:30>> and since since coastal protection and
309. 20:58climate change which drives the overall
310. 21:00dynamics of the government under the
311. 21:02authority of the President of the
312. 21:04Council so that our environment and
313. 21:05everything around it can truly breathe
314. 21:07better. I would therefore like to
315. 21:15invite, to your ovations, the chief of
316. 21:17staff representing His Excellency the
317. 21:19Minister to come and present the speech
318. 21:21of authority for this occasion. Thank
319. 21:37you, dear Lord, for the moderation and
320. 21:42the motivational setting. The national
321. 21:55director of Compassion International
322. 21:57did not allow him, so he asked me to
323. 21:59come and lend my voice to his speech
324. 22:08since the word preceded the action. And
325. 22:15curiously, the son of the word preceded
326. 22:18me. So I quote the minister, the
327. 22:30minister of the environment without
328. 22:31precedent. According to international
329. 22:38scientific analyses, extreme weather
330. 22:40events are becoming more frequent and
331. 22:42more intense. The African continent,
332. 22:49although it contributes to the
333. 22:51reduction of certain water resources
334. 22:53and the increase in extreme weather
335. 22:55events. These challenges directly
336. 23:02affect populations, particularly
337. 23:04children, young people, farmers and
338. 23:06rural communities. In response to this
339. 23:16situation, the government is
340. 23:18implementing forest reforestation and
341. 23:20forest cover with the aim of planting 1
342. 23:23billion trees by 2030 to increase the
343. 23:25national forest cover rate to 26%. It
344. 23:32is also working to restore 1.4 billion
345. 23:39hectares of degraded land, protect and
346. 23:42secure protected areas, promote
347. 23:44agroforestry and agroecology, and
348. 23:46promote international development and
349. 23:48compassion for the GPC conferences.
350. 24:00Since the first edition organized in
351. 24:032023, followed by the one in 2025,
352. 24:05these conferences have helped to
353. 24:07strengthen environmental awareness
354. 24:09among children, young people, families
355. 24:11and community leaders. They have
356. 24:21enabled the dissemination of good
357. 24:23practices in environmental protection,
358. 24:25sustainable management of natural
359. 24:27resources and climate resilience.
360. 24:34Thanks to this momentum, several
361. 24:35initiatives have been developed within
362. 24:37the communities. Reforestation
363. 24:41campaigns, raising awareness among
364. 24:43children and young people, promoting
365. 24:46environmentally friendly agricultural
366. 24:48practices, sanitation initiatives,
367. 24:50protecting local resources and
368. 24:52encouraging green entrepreneurship
369. 24:54activities. These initiatives are a
370. 24:59concrete expression of communities’
371. 25:01commitment to protecting creation and
372. 25:03building a more sustainable future. The
373. 25:092026 edition is particularly important
374. 25:15because it will not only provide an
375. 25:18opportunity to assess the GEPC
376. 25:202024-2026 strategy but also to initiate
377. 25:23discussions on future directions. It
378. 25:29will also provide an opportunity to
379. 25:31capitalize on the lessons learned from
380. 25:33major international climate meetings,
381. 25:35including COP 30, in order to translate
382. 25:37them into concrete action for the
383. 25:39benefit of local communities. I am
384. 25:46particularly pleased with the focus on
385. 25:48young people this year. Young people
386. 25:53should not be seen solely as the
387. 25:55primary victims of climate change. They
388. 26:00must be recognized as major players in
389. 26:02solutions. Their creativity, capacity
390. 26:08for innovation and civic engagement are
391. 26:10essential assets for building the
392. 26:12resilient communities of tomorrow. Dear
393. 26:19partners, the protection of creation is
394. 26:21not the sole responsibility of public
395. 26:23authorities. It is everyone's business:
396. 26:29the State, local authorities, the
397. 26:32private sector, civil society
398. 26:33organizations, religious communities,
399. 26:36families, young people and children.
400. 26:41Every tree planted, every water source
401. 26:49preserved, every piece of waste
402. 26:51recycled, every space restored
403. 26:53represents a tangible contribution to
404. 26:55the preservation of our common heritage
405. 26:57and to the well-being of future
406. 26:59generations. I hope that this
407. 27:06conference will allow the emergence of
408. 27:08new ideas, new partnerships and, above
409. 27:10all, new concrete commitments capable
410. 27:12of strengthening the climate resilience
411. 27:15of our communities. With these words, I
412. 27:23officially declare open the work of the
413. 27:26conference on environmental management
414. 27:28and protection of creation GEPC 2026.
415. 27:31End of quote and it is my turn to thank
416. 27:33you for your attention. Thank you very
417. 27:46much to Mr. Diateur for his speech,
418. 27:53which speaks for itself, in which the
419. 27:55entire perspective of our highest
420. 27:57authorities in terms of environmental
421. 27:59protection was fully outlined. And we
422. 28:05are particularly pleased with what is
423. 28:07currently underway, particularly the
424. 28:09conference on environmental management
425. 28:11and the protection of creation.
426. 28:18Following these speeches, Mr. Chief of
427. 28:20Staff, Mr. National Director, as we
428. 28:22have said, this 3rd GEPC conference is
429. 28:25organized in partnership with Sialo
430. 28:27because the two initiatives share
431. 28:29common ground and, currently downstairs
432. 28:39, there are exhibitions of a number of
433. 28:42achievements and productions in the
434. 28:44fields of agriculture, agri-food, and
435. 28:46the preservation of our ecosystem. We
436. 28:54will therefore very humbly invite you,
437. 28:56while the musical group is entertaining
438. 28:58the room, to a short tour of the stand
439. 29:00to continue this opening ceremony. We
440. 29:07will therefore remain seated and ask
441. 29:09our authorities to stand up to visit
442. 29:10the stand.