Natural resource management

I run Hong Kong's only alternative international school (founded 2005) and we have made SDG/2030 Agenda-oriented sustainability education a big part of our learning options, launching to coincide with the UN 75th anniversary. Our older students (16-18 years) are mentored through social initiative start ups within an SDG context. On 18th September 2021 we launched the first Youth Ambassador Asia Pacific Programme in partnership with UNITAR. With this group in particular, we are implementing Bonnici & Rayner's Systems Work of Social Change and will feed back to their research. I have taught Geography for over 25 years and this is the first I am seeing youth action being realised into impactful, organisational processes. We deliberately identify potential changemakers and mentor them on the basis of creating scaled impact through seeding their ideas, building replicability and facilitating their network of collaborations. 

Very interested in learning from/collaborating with anyone with an interest in how youth can play an ever more important and explicit role in bottom-up, community-level social initiatives that address the development issues which form the basis of their lived experience.

Experienced development professional with over 20 years of success leading international donor-funded (EU, USAID, UN) programs across sectors such as tourism, ICT, agriculture, light manufacturing, and creative industries. Proven expertise in program and project management, human and institutional capacity development, stakeholder engagement, and public-private partnerships. Strong track record in advancing workforce development through strategic collaboration with universities and vocational institutions, developing and launching new certification and training programs, and building skills aligned with market needs. Skilled in SME development, export promotion, trade facilitation, and strengthening quality infrastructure and standards.

EUTR / FLEGT / EUDR
Forstassessor
M. Sc. Forest Sciences

Dr. Florent BLANC, Ph.D. is Director of the “Negotiators of Europe” research and training program at ESSEC Business School.
He is the consortium team leader for the implementation of the Framework Contract (HR/R1/PO/2019/024 - LOT 3) covering the conception and delivery of negotiation-related trainings and services for the European institutions. This consortium joins the teams of College of Europe and the European Institute for Public Administration (EIPA).
As part of ESSEC IRENE’s negotiation training team, Florent delivers negotiation-related modules for the European Commission, public institutions in France and around the globe as well as private sector clients.
He contributed to capacity4dev activities as a member of the pool of trainers delivering Policy Dialogue and Negotiation as well as Context for Development modules under recent training contracts. For over 7 years, he also contributed to develop and adapt dedicated training modules for EUD teams (Nepal, Ivory Coast and Barbados). He also advised EUD on contractual negotiations for large infrastructure projects.

He contributed to the EU-PALOP-TL partnership by proposing a reflexion on the dialogue mechanisms and necessary capacity-building for Members of the partnership.

Florent holds a PhD from Northwestern University where he was George Lurcy scholar (Fulbright Program 2004-2005) and adjunct professor between 2006 and 2010. With a focus on national security policies and counterterrorism, Florent taught also courses in immigration policies, social changes, legal studies and journalism methodologies. From 2011 to 2016, he was West African Program manager for a French NGO where he oversaw and delivered projects on social cohesion, crisis prevention and education policy reform, with a focus on Mali. Florent also holds a doctorate from SciencesPo Paris.