Under the motto ‘Don’t feed your monster’, the Greencajt festival has commenced for the fourth time. International and domestic speakers and panelists gathered in Pavilion 13 of the Zagreb Fair, and visitors filled the hall to capacity. Over three days of the Greencajt festival, discussions will cover as many as thirty different sustainable topics. The festival was officially opened by Marija Vučković, the Minister of Environment and Green Transition.
– Decarbonization and green transition are priorities for this Government. Considering all pillars of sustainability, we can preserve the most valuable resources for the future. We face many challenges, and I hope we will respond to them. It is an honor for me to open this valuable festival – said Minister Vučković, thus expressing clear support for the festival.
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– Excessive consumption threatens sustainability. All of this has led us to an unsustainable model that we must put an end to. I am glad that we are gathering more than 70 speakers at the festival and have a program that covers numerous topics – said Vinko Filipić, the director of the Greencajt festival.
The Mayor of the City of Zagreb Tomislav Tomašević also supported Greencajt as a project that promotes sustainability, green transition, positive climate goals, and ecological solutions.
– I am glad that Zagreb has a festival where key challenges are discussed, and the fourth edition shows that the program gets better and better every year. It is important that we all work together on the green transition because the time for change is not today or tomorrow; it was already yesterday – emphasized Tomašević.
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Marc Buckley, a UN advisor and author of the manifesto on sustainable development goals, delivered a lecture titled ‘Revitalization Instead of Sustainability: A Vision and Plan for the Future of the World’. He emphasized that sustainability is just the first step and that revitalization of the planet is crucial for creating a healthier and sustainable world.
– Revitalization means we must ensure conditions for life to renew itself. It is not enough to hug trees; sustainability is life; it must be lived – said Buckley, adding that it is not about the strongest surviving but those who adapt best to changes.
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He also commented on artificial intelligence, which can help us in revitalizing the planet.
– Many fear that AI will take over the world, but we have never asked how fungi and bacteria, which have threatened us for billions of years, can do that – said Buckley, sharing his golden rule with a full hall – treat others and the planet as you would like to be treated.
Buckley also participated in the panel ‘We Don’t Have a Crystal Ball, but We Have a Vision…’ with experts Andreas Rörig from E.ON Croatia, Zoran Stanković from Atlantic Group, Stanko Kršlović from Philip Morris Zagreb, and Dine Baenninger from Charisma Nova, who discussed innovative solutions and strategies that will shape the future of sustainable development. They agreed that consumers are becoming more aware of the products they consume and purchase, and it is up to companies to leverage the knowledge and technology they have to provide better solutions for consumers and a sustainable future.
The rest of the program announces a series of interesting lectures and panels by leading experts in the ESG field. Dr. Wasim Sarwar Dilov from Rimac Energy will speak about the future with renewable energy sources, while Dr. Lučka Kajfež Bogataj, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and leading expert on climate change, will discuss the challenges of living on a planet with limited resources in her lecture ‘How to (Sur)vive on a Planet That Doesn’t Grow?’. Helen Carlström from EON will present Swedish initiatives to achieve zero emissions, and Violeta Bulc, global president of G100 WWEF and former vice president of Slovenia, will share her vision of an ECO-civilization.
On the first day, Greencajt will host young IT expert Gorjan Jovanovski, creator of the largest climate data platform Earthcare.ai, who will tell us all about artificial intelligence in ecological challenges. The panel “The Eleph(AI)nt is in the room! Who has the key?” will gather leading experts in technology and innovation – Nikola Dujmović, CEO of SPAN, Adrian Ježina, CEO of Telemach, Matija Žulj, CEO and owner of Agrivi, and Jan Štedula from Mindsmiths, who will present innovative solutions that transform our daily lives. Samah El Hage and Paolo Nardi Fernandez will take the stage at the Greencajt festival to explain to the audience the future of technology and the potential of AI to contribute to a green future. The Greencajt festival will take place from May 22 to 24, and all information can be found at www.greencajt.hr, with updates available on FB and IG profiles.
