Minister Counselor for Press and Public Affairs Gloria Berbena Gives Welcome Remarks at the SIOI Zero Hackathon Official Opening at FAO
Rome, November 30, 2016
(As prepared delivery)
Good morning! It is a pleasure to be here with you today to launch this important event that embraces collaborative problem solving with the goal of producing solutions to some of the most challenging issues we face today.
I would like to thank SIOI for sponsoring this event and FAO for providing such a beautiful and prestigious site. This is the second year that the U.S. Embassy has collaborated with SIOI on activities that involve hundreds of young people from around the world. Bringing together people and resources for a hackathon event such as this involves a tremendous cooperative effort on the part of the organizers.
I am very pleased to see that SIOI has so many enthusiastic participants for this week’s event. This just reinforces my belief that your generation is committed to a brighter future. Your participation in this hackathon demonstrates your commitment to address some of the greatest challenges we face: reducing world hunger, poverty, pollution, and other threats.
Climate change, health, and food security are some of the most pressing challenges of the 21st century. These are truly global issues that transcend borders, and no government or organization can work alone to address them. The only solution is to work together, share ideas, and best practices.
The future of the world is yours to shape; but you are not alone. The U.S. Government is committed to helping young people elevate their voices, work to resolve our shared challenges, and chart your own futures.
Your willingness to make a difference through teamwork, creativity and skills sharing is inspiring. We at the U.S. Embassy in Rome, together with our colleagues at the U.S. Mission to the UN Agencies in Rome, are very proud to support your efforts.
And on that note, I’m so glad that we have Nicol Perez, the U.S. UN Youth Observer, here with us today. Nicol embodies the spirit of young people as change agents. We are all very excited to hear from her in just a few moments. I hope she will inspire you to apply for SIOI’s UN Youth Delegate program and to play a role in the important work of the United Nations.
I look forward to hearing about your innovative approaches at the end of the hackathon. Buon lavoro!
