Opening and welcome by Albertus Louw

The event was opened by master of ceremonies Albertus Louw, a South African television personality and award-winning presenter of the long-running environmental TV show 50/50.

Louw, the producer of many documentaries, told the audience that he hoped the day would “tell a story that will bring hope”. He described Mpumalanga as a region of South Africa with a “complex story” – home to vast coalfields and critically important wetlands in a water-scarce country that receives just half of the global average rainfall.

Climate 369 was launched in 2021 to tell the story of the climate emergency and of climate-smart solutions to the myriad challenges posed by climate change, he said.

Through an online quiz it was determined that conference delegates hailed from a number of European countries such as France and Denmark, and also from across South Africa, with many from Mpumalanga, but others from Johannesburg and Limpopo. They represented government institutions, development partners, the information and communications technology and renewable energy sectors, and also civil society.

The variety within the gathered audience provided “all the material for a very interesting story”, Louw said.