Guernsey: Sustainable Finance Week Will Inspire And Educate Islanders Of All Ages

Sustainable Finance Week, organised by Guernsey Finance, will inspire and educate the community with dedicated arts and student events.

The island's sixth-form students will have the opportunity to hear from industry-leading climate scientist Professor Martin Siegert.

Professor Siegert is Co-Director of the Grantham Institute. Previously, he was Director of the Bristol Glaciology Centre at Bristol University, where he is now a visiting Professor, and Head of the School of GeoSciences at Edinburgh University, where he now holds an Honorary Professorship.

He will speak at The Ladies' College and Grammar Sixth Form Centre on Tuesday, 20 September, about climate and environmental science, translating research into real-world impact and how the next generation will be able to support the industry in years to come.

A public lecture with Professor Siegert, organised by La Société Guernésiais, will also take place as part of the Sustainable Finance Week fringe schedule on Tuesday from 7-8pm at The Ladies College. He will talk about his research in Antarctica, what it tells us about climate change and the actions we need to take.

The island's students will share their views at the Great Climate Change Debate event, open to all secondary school students, which is taking place at The Ladies' College on Wednesday, 21 September, from 4:30-6pm.

Guernsey Finance's Head of Strategy & Sustainable Finance Stephanie Glover said: "We're delighted to be hosting Professor Siegert and have the opportunity to inspire the next generation. It's crucial that as well as educating today's leaders on green and sustainable finance, we ensure the transition is protected in years to come with Guernsey's future leaders."

Sustainable Finance Week will also include local art and music exhibitions. A networking event on Tuesday, 20 September, will host a nature and biodiversity-themed art exhibition supported by Art for Guernsey, which will also showcase Guernsey's connection to Renoir and Victor Hugo. In addition, there will also be a guided walk through Moulin Huet on Monday, 19 September.

Tuesday's networking event will also feature music composed by Alice Boyd, a London and Bristol-based composer. Her music exhibition is inspired by her artist residency at the Eden Project. She built a device that detects changes in the electrical current across a plant's leaves and spent time in the rainforest biome, collecting musical data from the plants. These changes were translated into musical notes that are played by synthesisers and musical software.

On Thursday, 22 September, award-winning polar explorer and photographer Martin Hartley will present his work photographing the polar ice caps and the impacts he has experienced due to the changing climate.

"Martin has conducted over 20 polar expeditions and assignments in the Arctic and Antarctic, several of which have focused on collecting data to help scientists better understand our planet," Stephanie said. "His work is a stark reminder of why we need to mobilise global capital to reach net-zero targets; this exhibition will focus our minds on the enormous task we face."

More information on the Great Climate Change Debate can be found here: https://bit.ly/3ACRzlv