Opening Ceremony and Plenary on Social Challenges and Demographics

The world’s largest international science conference dealing with societal aspects of global change was held from the 26-30 April, 2009, at the World Conference Center Bonn. Entitled the 7th International Science Conference on the Human Dimensions of GlobalEnvironmental Change, the conference addressed the "Social Challenges of Global Change” and provided an essential platform and meeting place for scientists, practitioners and policy makers. 938 international scientists, journalists and leading representatives from the private sector, institutes, international organizations and NGOs, as
well as government officials and decision-makers from various fields attended this landmark meeting. The conference was one of the largest UN meetings in Germany in 2009 and is organised by the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change (IHDP).

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Opening on a Great Note

The great German lyric tenor Christoph Prégardien interpretted some of his most renowned songs for an audience of top-level scientists and policy-makers at the Opening Ceremony of the IHDP Open Meeting 2009. Photo Copyright Mike Le Gray 2009.

A full plenary hall watches the inaugural ceremony of the IHDP Open Meeting 2009. 38 percent of the Open Meeting participants are female, and at least 43 percent come from developing or least developed countries. Photo Copyright Mike Le Gray 2009.

Representatives from 380 universities gathered to join in the IHDP Open Meeting 2009. Photo Copyright Mike Le Gray 2009.

Enthusiastic participants from around 80 countries registered early in the morning. Photo Copyright Mike Le Gray 2009.

Andreas Rechkemmer, IHDP Executive Director, welcomes the audience at the IHDP Open Meeting 2009 opening ceremony. Dr Rechkemmer praised the role of the International Scientific Planning Committee for the Open Meeting for wisely deciding to envisage and address the set of threats, challenges and opportunities of an era of unprecedented, rapid and large-scale environmental, economic and demographic changes.

Hebe Vessuri, Chair, United Nations University (UNU) Council, Venezuela, representing one of the three IHDP Institutional Sponsors. Photo Copyright Mike Le Gray 2009.

Oran Young, Chair of the IHDP Scientific Committee welcomes the human dimensions community. Photo Copyright Mike Le Gray 2009.

Mayor Bärbel Dieckmann, welcomes the audience to Bonn, emphasizing the importance of this city as a hub for environmental research and international networking. Photo Copyright Mike Le Gray 2009.

Frieder Meyer-Krahmer, Germany's State Secretary for Education and Research, addresses the audience about the role of education in raising awareness for the Social Challenges of Global Change. Photo Copyright Mike Le Gray 2009.

Photo Copyright Mike Le Gray 2009.

Heide Hackmann, Secretary General, International Social Science Council (ISSC) on behalf of International Council for Science (ICSU), and ISSC, France. Photo Copyright Mike Le Gray 2009.

Xizhe Peng, Dean, School of Social Development and Public Policy, Fudan University, Shanghai, China. Photo Copyright Mike Le Gray 2009.

Flavia Pansieri said that volunteering does not necessarily require travelling to exotic or dangerous locations: everyone can have a volunteer spirit, even from home. A free service connecting volunteers and development organizations to collaborate online for peace and development is now available at onlinevolunteering.org. Photo Copyright Mike Le Gray 2009.

Wolfgang Lutz, Leader of the World Population Program, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Laxenburg, Austria, presented the demographic challenges of global change. Photo Copyright Mike Le Gray 2009.

Lori Hunter, Associate Professor, Sociology and Environmental Studies Faculty Research Associate, Institute of Behavioral Science, Programs on Population, Environment & Society, USA. Photo Copyright Mike Le Gray 2009.

Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Germany captivated the audience with his remarks about the social and economic consequences of global environmental change. Photo Copyright Mike Le Gray 2009.

Yanhua Liu, the Vice-Minister, Ministry of Science and Technology, China presents the challenges of urbanisation and industrialisation in his country. "Technology is developing fast, but not fast enough to meet all the challenges of global change," he said. Photo Copyright Mike Le Gray 2009.

All conference photographs are copyright Mike Le Gray 2009. For information on licensing please contact him directly at mikelegray@mac.com or +49 1757 283 084. For examples of Mike Le Gray's work visit www.flickr.com/photos/black-dog or www.digitalperspective.biz