The Malta Sustainability Forum, organised by APS Bank, is Malta’s most forward-thinking event on sustainability and contributes to pushing the debate to the front of Malta’s national priorities. Following the success of its first edition last year, the forum will return between January 24-29, 2021 for a six-day online event. 

This new edition will be broadcast online in a TV studio format. There will be live interviews, keynote speeches, panel discussions and pre-recorded videos with sustainability experts and practitioners from all over the world. The public will have the possibility to interact through Q&As and live polls.

‘The Time is Now’ is the overarching theme of the Forum. It has the objective to highlight the critical need to accelerate and amplify our efforts to deliver towards the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. It will bring together more than 70 international and local speakers through 10 different modules targeting various groups, from the general public to the business groups also including the youth. 

Following a pandemic that took the world by surprise, the need to understand what is happening to our planet and society has never been so strong. At the same time, the feeling of vulnerability is on the rise and the fate of the future generations remains uncertain.

The forum will bring the facts, expertise and challenge the status quo. It will tell the stories of people who believe in a better future and have embarked on a journey to make it happen, sharing their passion and engagement. Finally, it will provide solutions on how to contribute to addressing what is the biggest challenge of the century.

The forum kicks off on Sunday, January 24 at 7pm with a one-hour live interview with the President of Malta George Vella and will be followed every day by two different modules addressing topics including ocean plastic pollution, the future of food, leading with purpose, sustainability reporting, and applicability of the doughnut model to Malta.

The floor will be given to the next generation, the one impacted by the decisions made today, where a group of young people will present their proposals for a better future.

Marcel Cassar, APS Bank CEO, addressing the 2019 forum.

The forum will bring a panel of foreign Ambassadors in Malta and representative of the European Commission and the United Nations to discuss the topic ‘How International Cooperation can Support Malta’s Sustainable Agenda’. It will also see the release of the first ever ‘Malta’s State of Sustainability Survey’ that will provide an analysis of how corporations are addressing the challenge of sustainability and their state of preparedness.

Among others, participants include MEP Catherine Chabaud, the first woman to sail solo and non-stop around the world, Maltese NGOs, Dr John Paul Grech, Ambassador for Malta in Poland, and planetary health and food sustainability experts Jasia Steinmetz from the US and Barbara Burlingame from New Zealand.

After its first edition, the Malta Sustainability Forum has proven to be a pioneering event, and this year’s line-up promises the same. Audiences can expect awareness-raising in which every citizen will be encouraged – as individuals and as part of organisations – to contribute to addressing the biggest challenge of the century.

Malta Sustainability Forum 2021 will run from January 24-29. For the latest updates, please visit www.maltasustainabilityforum.com.