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First ITA and ITACUS workshop at the new ITA HQ is great success

First ITA and ITACUS workshop at the new ITA HQ is great success

20 February 2020

On Valentine's Day, 14 February 2020, ITACUS showed its passion for cities and sustainability by inviting NGOs, UN officials and others, to an interactive workshop in Geneva. Clean energy, green growth, and development in harmony with nature were key themes presented with applied case studies. The event was held in the International Environment House where ITA-AITES has its new headquarters after moving from Lausanne. In her opening remarks, ITA President Ms Jenny Yan commented on the importance of underground space use for cities. Mr Sheng Fulai, head of the Economic Research Unit at the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) said he looked forward to working with ITA and ITACUS on a policy document about to start its consultation phase. The ITACUS co-chairs Han Admiraal and Antonia Cornaro then talked to an attentive audience on how the use of underground space can contribute towards delivering the sustainable development goals. This was further underlined by presentations on Underground Green Farming and Underground Data Centres by Mr Klaus Wachter (SCAUT) and on Underground Space as Renewable Energy Source by Dr Azad Koliji (BG Consulting Engineers). ITACUS tutor Abidemi Agwor was interviewed on Think Deep Naija and the lessons learned. How to reach out to others was a question posed as part of the interaction with the audience. Dr Marilu Melo, ITACUS Activity Group leader for Urban Integration, moderated the lively audience interaction.The ITA Executive Council also attended the workshop before starting their all weekend council meeting. Discussion continued over lunch and valuable new contacts were made. Mr Chris Swaine, Activity Group leader for the National Action Program was also present and remarked: 'Fantastic workshop with great case studies on the opportunities that are available for our society to sustainably develop the underground space for our communities'.