TALANOA dialogue process plays an important role in understanding and coming to common ground when it comes to addressing climate change.
This was the gist of the message highlighted by the Minister for Rural and Maritime Development, Inia Seruiratu in his address at a High Level Dinner held on the occasion of the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) Resilient Cities Congress preceding the Climate Talks in Bonn, Germany.
Mr Seruiratu is in Bonn, Germany to attend the Bonn Climate Change Conference known more formally as the 48th Sessions of the United Nations Climate Change (UNFCCC) Subsidiary Bodies, which will take place from tomorrow to May 10.
By applying the Talanoa spirit in the dialogue process , Mr Seruiratu said that stakeholders could exchange experiences, knowledge, ideas, learn and better understand one another.
“When we talanoa, everyone constructively contributes, everyone respectfully listens, and everyone openly engages to collectively identify solutions and to take action to address the problem at hand. This atmosphere of consensus and solution building is created through a common understanding and respect for each other’s stories and contributions,” Mr Seruiratu said.
Also present at the event was the UNFCCC executive secretary Patricia Espinosa and the State Secretary of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety, Jochen Flasbarth.
