Coming up on this special edition of Hope Today, Life in a Post Role World, my wife and I have the privilege and honor of sitting down with Senator Judy Ward. You know, this is a pivotal and important election year and it's time for all of us to get off of the front row and to get on to the front line. She is gonna give us information on legislation and how you can be a part of this phenomenal pro-life movement. All that and a whole lot more on this special edition of Hope Today, Life in a Post Role World. Well, welcome. Where have you been all our lives? We're so glad to have you here on this special edition of Hope Today, Life in a Post Role World. I'm J. Anthony Gilmour. I'm here with my lovely, beautiful wife, Pastor Tiffany. Good to be with you. Yes, it's good to be here. I'm so glad we're here this morning together. Trying to lead the charge for pro-life. And we're so glad that you have tuned in and listen, let everybody know this is a special edition. And we've got a whole lot more coming up and you're not gonna wanna miss it. So what do we have coming up today, babe? So we, listen, I am so excited. We have an awesome woman of God and she's also a political leader, but she is doing some amazing work, Pastor Jay, in the area of pro-life. She's awesome. Senator Judy Ward is going to be great. And you know, it's kind of hard sometimes to put political or senator and woman of God together, but we have one in the house today. And actually that's the way that it should be, Pastor Jay. I mean, it shouldn't be a separate issue. We need to bring those two pieces together and roll according to the word of God. That's right. And listen, this is a very important and pivotal year. You're gonna wanna tune in because listen, we're gonna talk about some legislation. We're gonna talk about why it's important for you to vote, how you can get off of the front row and onto the front line. A lot of you watching wanna know what can I do to be a part of the pro-life movement? That's why you've tuned in and that's why this show is tailor-made and fit just for you. And speaking of legislation, you've got a great, not a great law, but some statistics that have come up from Judge Cheryl Allen that we wanna share with everyone. Well, this is just some news that she actually shared with me yesterday. And I wanted to make sure that you all are aware of what's going on because a lot of times we look at the fact that Roe v. Wade was overturned on the federal level. And we think, okay, well, that's it, that's great. Now that's a great victory, but there's so much more that we need to do. And this is, this gives one of the reasons why we need to kind of continue to move forward. And it says, P.A. Supreme Court has regrettably ruled in favor of abortion providers. They overturned the Fisher case, thereby ruling that abortion providers have standing to challenge the funding restrictions of medical assistance. They determined that restricting funding for abortion violates the Equal Rights Amendment to the P.A. Constitution. So Senator Judy Ward, she's actually gonna be kind of going in a little bit deeper in this and explaining this, but this is not a victory per se, but we know that we have victory in Christ. What does that mean for pregnancy centers this year? So that has to do with the funding of the pregnancy centers as well. And she's gonna talk a little bit more about that as well. And that's why we need your support and your help. Even right now, go to VoicesForTheUnborn.org if you wanna get involved and find out more information about this. And listen, we've got a whole lot more that we're gonna get into. And listen, there's something that I wanna share with you. Many times people talk about how that abortion is healthcare. But you know what babe, when you think about it, how can abortion be healthcare if pregnancy is not a disease? Yeah, you know what, that is so good. And I've been really trying to reconcile this point.  I was talking to you in the back and I was saying, if abortion is good healthcare, how come you have so many people that are in regret? How come you have so many women? When women come into our center, they don't come in, those who have had an abortion, all of the women that have come into our center, post-abortive, they have expressed some type of regret. They're not saying, well, you know what, this was great healthcare, but I'm regretful of this act. No, and in fact, the women that have chosen life, that have chosen not to abort, we have found that they have said, you know what, thank you so much for sharing with us the truth. They look at their child once they're born and they say, I couldn't imagine life without this little one. I couldn't even believe that I actually did even consider aborting. You know what I mean? So I mean, if it's good, if it's healthcare, and if it's good healthcare, what is the reason why we have so many women that are in regret? That's right. Well, you know what the good news is, ladies and gentlemen, you may not know this, but since our last show that we've been with you guys, we have saved two more babies and the possibility of two more on the way. So listen, we need you to be praying right now because there are lives literally hanging in the battle. So keep on praying and we're gonna keep standing there on the front lines and rescuing the lives of the unborn. Now stay tuned because we got Senator Judy Ward coming up right after this. I saw my unformed body all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. This screams designed to me. Somebody made this and made it work to think that this happened by random chance or by coincidence is unbelievable to me. To follow the development of the baby and its delivery is one of the most exciting experiences I think we have on this earth apart from the word of God.  The plan, the big picture here of how God does this is absolutely amazing. It should boy the faith of everyone who looks at this to see God has miraculously and wonderfully made us. Well welcome back everybody. We have Senator Judy Ward with us today. Senator Judy Ward was elected to represent the 30th district in the Pennsylvania Senate on November 6th, 2018 after serving two terms representing the interests of local communities and the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, 80th district. In addition to her committee appointments, she also serves as chair of the maternal and infant health caucus, the state community pharmacy caucus and the PA rare disease caucus. And as a member of several other caucuses including the pro-life caucus and the second amendment caucus, Judy is here today to share her insight on the pro-life movement. Senator Ward, welcome to the special edition of Hope Today with us. Thank you, it's such a pleasure to be here. Yes, well I'm so excited.  I know that when we saw her on the march, we didn't even make the connection, but I knew that I was gonna like you. I knew that I liked you from the door. I didn't even know you initially.   Yeah, so I initially ran for the Pennsylvania House, really had no political experience, none of that. And I felt that I was, everything just seemed to fall into place, right? I prayed about it and I said, Lord, if you want me to do this, I'll do this, but you have to give me the tools I need, you have to give me what I need and I'll do whatever you ask me to do. And so that was my promise. We have this, God and I have this, you know, we've got this relationship. And so, but I didn't know what, like I knew he wanted me there, but I didn't know why.  Would you co-prime this with me? And let's do it together. And I thought about it. I got off the phone and I wept. I mean, I got tearful because I knew that's what God called me to do. So that's what I've been doing ever since I got into the legislature and it's some, I just do what God calls me to do truly.   Well, first let me say this. We take our hat off to you just for your stance and your willingness to stand. It's not an easy thing to do. You did a phenomenal job at the PA March for Life, which was just outstanding moving the people and mobilizing them. But talk a little bit more about the legislation that you just hear us talking about and what that means for pro-life pregnancy centers. Like, let me say this to you before you do that, just so you all know, she's not just here for TV time. She's already been to our center. She does so much and she is just awesome. You need to make sure she's on your prayer list. When I say she's on the front lines, she is on the front lines and you're standing for legislation, standing for pro-life, but speak to us about this legislation that we just talked about. Sure, so there's two separate things that have happened. And yesterday was the, it's Allegheny reproductive services versus the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services. They are essentially suing the state because the state does not allow Medicaid dollars to be used for abortions. And actually most people, if you talk to them, you say, do you think your tax dollars should be used for abortions? They say no, I mean, that's just, but that's what they want. They want these tax dollars to be used to provide abortions. So it had been in the Commonwealth Court and then it got bumped up to Supreme Court. And yesterday, the decision by the Supreme Court was to take it back to Commonwealth Court. They felt it belonged there. It was a 212 page finding. So it's still, we're still getting worked out. We're trying to get things worked out, but it will go to Commonwealth Court. They have been in the past favorable, we'll see. I mean, and that's where elections matter. That's where your vote really matters and it counts. People like to say it doesn't matter. It does because we've not been able to get conservative judges elected unfortunately. And so that has caused some real problems when it comes to these very conservative issues, these very, these issues of faith and our families. And I think that is one of the most important things we can do is vote and support our judicial candidates most especially. Let me ask a follow up question with this. I'm just curious, what do you see being on the Senate floor? What's the condition of our Senate in regards to faith and pro-life and marriage, things along that line, things that we consider very important? What do you see from your outlook in seeing all the people that are there, where are we at? Are we in a good place as a state? Are we in a bad place as a state? Where do you feel that we are? In the Pennsylvania Senate, right now we have a Republican majority, tends to be conservative, right? Right now we need to keep that. That's very important that we keep that. And we have elections that are coming up here this year. Half of the Senate is elected every two years, the other half, the other odd and even districts or certain years. We do have some members up. It's important that we keep that majority to, and I would say we're in a pretty good place as far as those values go. We tend to be the backstop for a lot of bad legislation. The House now is very divided and we do have a Democratic governor. And so if those House bills that are really, some of the things coming over, some of the legislation being proposed in the House is really outrageous.  I mean remember he was the abortionist who dirty and women got infections and died and it was a house of whores they called it. We put some protections in to have, they have to have the same medical standards that other clinics have, right? I mean they need to have a medical clean medical facilities. They need to be inspected. While some of the legislation coming over from the House is saying we don't need any of that. We just need abortion doctors. We just need free reign on abortions. And it's troubling. I mean we're talking about people's lives and people care a lot about their pets. You know, we don't want anything bad to happen to our pet. But my goodness, you're gonna put a young lady in an abortion clinic that is dirty and filthy and she might never be able to have children again because of it and she may never even live. So this is, it's important. People don't, I think they don't wanna think about it but it's very important. And it's so true.  That you're using your voice to represent the people and I'm glad you clarified all that as well. Senator, the area that we're in and when you stand up for righteousness, when you're standing up for the right stuff, when you're standing up and you're pursuing what's on God's heart and his agenda. I feel that sometimes it can be in some aspects, it can be like you feel alone sometimes, like it's all you, especially depending on who's all around you. Have you ever felt that way when standing up for this issue and if so, you know, how did you deal with that? You know, can you speak to that a little bit? Sure, I'm blessed. I'm truly blessed. I have a family that's very supportive of that. I have a church community that's very supportive of that. I have colleagues in the Senate that are very supportive of that and our leadership in the Senate is very supportive of that. So there's a lot of people out there to kind of lift you up when you're feeling kind of low because it does, you know, you get a lot of arrows and a lot of pushback and a lot of people don't understand and I think that's one thing that we can do as, I heard you speak earlier about wanting to do action. You know, what can we do? Yes, that's right. And I think one of the things that we can do is to discuss it, understand the issue and talk about it very comfortably in our families, you know, to our children. I'm very fortunate. I have two sons, they both believe in life. They're very, and I didn't know if I could kind of get that to trickle down, but it's something we've just always talked about and how important it is. It's an important issue, but people need to be hearing it in their churches. That's right. That's how much it is. They need to be hearing it with friends, you know, and not in a judgmental way, in a way that is with love and, you know, I understand that you feel that way. This is how I feel. This is, you know, and these are the facts. This is what happens. There's so many women who regret their decision to have an abortion. It changes their life forever. There, I mean, some women never get over that. And I, you know, I don't know how you do any loss of a child. It's incredibly traumatic. It's incredibly traumatic. So these are, you know, just talking about voting pro-life. I mean, you know, I have always, for many, many years, voted pro-life because we need to support those candidates. And also, you know, when you're talking with candidates, ask them what mission, you know, what pro-life causes do you support?  But, you know, kind of keep them accountable because I like to donate to a lot of different pro-life organizations because I want to support them and what they need. So we've, and we are going to have some changes coming down the pike with pregnancy care centers because the governor has cut the funding that we've had in place for nearly 30 years. He's cut that funding and we're doing it a different way. And the funding will go to facilities that provide abortions and it's incredibly different than what you all do, right? When you're counseling women and telling them that there are options, there are other ways we can support you. Most women won't have an abortion if they know there's options. I mean, just, and that's how we're going to win this pro-life war. Just giving women options, supporting them. I mean, what can be better than supporting a young woman and a young family possibly in a time of trouble and uncertainty, right? They're uncertain, they're afraid. They don't know what this means. There's just so many ways that we can help them and they don't feel the need to have an abortion. So those are some very, I think, important ways that we can be helpful. Yeah, and then you make a generational impact. That's right. By doing that. Absolutely. You're big on that. You know, it's not just about just that particular family that you're helping, but it's all the generations to come after that. That's right. You know, one of the things I love that you do, you reach across the aisle. You know, I always say this, that ladies and gentlemen, that pro-life and abortion is not a political issue. It is a moral issue. It's a matter of murder. And you not only are very staunch and standing for pro-life, you also reach across the aisle. And one of the things I'd like you to take a minute and talk about is the maternal infant health caucus that you chair and what that is and what type of work you're doing concerning that. Sure. So just in the, you know, in the spring, we decided, my staff and I just decided, you know what, we want to support pregnancy care centers. How do we do that? So we decided, I wanted people, and hearing some of the, you know, some of the national folks are talking about how pregnancy care centers don't tell women the truth and that they're evil and that they, I mean, nothing could be further from the truth. And I want people to see what pregnancy care centers like yours do every single day, the good work, the material needs that they provide for, you know, diapers, wipes, formula, support to the mom.  These are just, they're doing such good work. So we started this caucus. I invite, we go to different areas of the state. We've been north. We've been to Philly. We've been, we came to Pittsburgh. We've been in Allentown. We've been different places and what I invite Republicans, Democrats, House, Senate members and come see this. We make it very non-partisan, non-judgmental but they see the good work that these centers are doing. And how can you turn your back on someone that has walked into this center and really needs you more than ever? And I think it's just such a wonderful way to showcase all the good work that you all do. Absolutely. And I'm so glad that you mentioned that, you know, as we are kind of moving forward, how can we pray for you? I know just like, you know, Pastor Jay shared that you all are really on the front lines in a variety of ways. How can we as the church really intercede and stand in the gap and pray for you all? So thank you. That's a great question. And the prayers are one of the best things people can do for us. Really and truly. But I, you know, so many times I'm coming out of the grocery store or in the grocery store and I'm trying to get my shopping list done. Then we'll come up and say, hey, thanks for what you do. You know, I'm very pro-life and thanks for what you do. It's such a shot in the arm to me. And I know to others, you know, just thank them for what they do.  It's a really tough profession. You're not going to please everybody, but you know, maybe you haven't agreed with them on everything else or, you know, maybe there's a vote they took that you're, I don't know why they would do that, you know, but understand it in totality and support these pro-life legislators because it's not easy to be out there, to be on the forefront. But you see at the march in Harrisburg, you all do such a great job, you get the crowd going. But many, many legislators come out to be vocal and to, you know, be seen in this crowd of people that are so high on life, right? They're high on life. And so thank you all for what you do and the light that you're shining on the pro-life movement.  We're going to take a minute and why don't you just pray for the senator as we're here on air. And I want you all there, just stretch your hands towards your TV screen and we're just going to take a minute and pray over her. Yes, well, Lord, we just thank you today, Father God, for who you are, Lord. We lift up before you, every senator, every representative, Father God, every political leader right now, Lord. We ask, oh God, that you just cover them, Lord God, that you would give them a kingdom, boldness, oh God, to stand up for what is right, God. To stand up, Lord God, for what is on your heart, Father God. I pray, oh God, that that boldness that you're giving them, that you're depositing into them, even right now, Lord God, that it's a boldness that can't be shaken by man's opinion, oh God. It's a boldness, Father God, that can't be shaken, Lord God, by any outward thing, but it's solidified, Father God, in you, Lord. So I just thank you, oh God, for bringing up and raising up, God, men and women in the political sphere that are gonna stand up for you, Father God.  I pray, oh God, that you would even just bless her socks off in Jesus' name, Lord God. We just thank you, oh God, for your presence, Lord God, that you would just bring forth in those political spheres, in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen, amen. I am so touched by you two. Thank you. Oh, listen, we're still left. We feel the same way. Thank you so much for joining with us today and just all that you're doing and we so appreciate you. Thank you, thank you for letting me be here. Well, ladies and gentlemen, listen, this has been a phenomenal time and listen, if you've been blessed by this show, I need you to contact and dial<PHONE_NUMBER> and let them know that you want more of shows like this. Listen, we wanna keep the pro-life movement going forward.  You can also go to our website, voicesfortheunborn.org and you can find out more information how you can support us or any other. Thank you for those of you that have called in, those of you that have already supported us financially. Some of you have called in, wanted to step up and volunteer your time. Thank you so much. We couldn't do it without him, babe. We couldn't do it without you. And I just wanna emphasize this point that you shared earlier, Pastor Jay, is that abortion is not a political issue. It's a kingdom issue. Our God is a pro-life God. There's so many women that are sitting in the pews that have suffered from abortion that are post-abortive that need us to talk about it. We need to talk about these issues. So I just wanna encourage you to make sure that you talk about these issues. Just allow God to really lead you in talking about these issues. And don't forget to pray, pray, pray, pray, pray for our senators, pray for our leaders that are moving forward in pro-life. Well, thank you all so much for tuning in. We so appreciate you. Thank you for joining us on this special Hope Today Life in a Post Role World. We need you to get off of the front rows onto the front line. Lives are at stake and you and I can make a difference in 2024. Go get them today. On Tomorrow's Hope Today, discover a life-changing blueprint that focuses on God's design for your talents and purpose. Freedom Prayer founder and president, Andy Rees, helps us to identify our spiritual giftings and the purpose God has for our lives. That's tomorrow on Hope Today. Cornerstone Television wishes to thank all our faithful viewers whose consistent prayers and financial support have made this program possible.


I would like to ask everyone to silence their mobile phone. Thank you. Dear graduates, honor guests, colleagues, and students, good afternoon. I would like to welcome you to the IHELF Institute for Water Education's graduation and closing ceremony of the academic period 2021-2023. Thank you very much, Suagatan Chakaborty, for your piano performance. Dear graduates, I am so happy to celebrate this moment with you. As IHELF alumni officer, I only welcome you to IHELF alumni community. Today, you will receive your diplomas. This is a recognition of your hard work. Well done. In the past 18 months, you have increased your professional skills and knowledge. You have expanded your world view.  Difficult, no doubts. You met so many new people from all over the world. You share classes and working groups. You live together, aid together, study together, and party together. And most of all, you learn from each other and you support each other.  You look at the world with different eyes. Your mind has expanded.  Congratulations. As of today, you are part of IHELF alumni community, the biggest network of water professionals in the world. It includes more than 25 southern alumni from nearly 200 countries. This is a privilege. You will see why when you get to know other alumni in your work, your country, your region, and maybe start to collaborate with them or work together. As alumni, you will benefit from lifelong learning and networking opportunities offered by your alma mater. Use them, benefit from them, and enjoy to stay connected. Alumni are the IHELF's most important ambassadors. You will be one of them. Thank you very much. Today, we have a full program. There will be speeches, more performances, and, of course, the moments so many of you have been waiting for, the awarding ceremony. That is why, without further ado, I invite Professor Eddie Morse, IHELF rector, to the stage to give his opening address. Thank you very much, Maria Laura. And I would like to welcome Excellencies, dear colleagues, dear family and friends, and especially you, I think, most important persons of this meeting, the students. Soon that will be not the name anymore that we will use. You will become alumni of IHELF, and I'm really looking forward to that moment. I would also like to thank the people and the institutions who made your study possible. And I just name a few. It's the Orange Knowledge Program, the SITSA, the MENA Fellowship Program, Rotary, Bill Melinda Gates Foundation, Rabani Foundation, National Funding, and, as well, in a number of cases, employees providing you with the study leave or even financially supporting you, or family and friends that have supported you. But also, I would like to thank the Meet the Dutch, who are also presented here, who in most cases also introduce you a little bit to the life in Delft and how you can survive. I know that they're always looking forward to keeping contact with you and to stay family of you also when you return home. But I think that the people that maybe you and we should also thank is the fact that your friends and family allowed you actually to come to Delft and to stay here with us for such a long time. And I think it's now time that you return and that you get back to the families that you missed. That's not always easy. And in some cases, even quite difficult at the moment. And I will come back to that in a second. But I do think this is a special day. And why is this a special day? There are different reasons. One, maybe you know about that, but it could also pass your mind because in the end, it's not that important for you. But for us, as IG Delft, it's quite an important stage. Is you're the last batch of students coming from the 80 month programs. And I think that is something that you will remember. At least I'm quite sure that everybody who has been lecturing you will keep that in their mind. So in that sense, you are also special to them and you're special to us. Another important part, like I mentioned, is international tensions. And they're always changing. Personally, I had hoped that with COVID, we would have found our common enemy. But clearly, that's maybe not enough for us as mankind. There are new tensions coming up. An important one is in Sudan that we're listening to at the moment, but also in other countries. Unfortunately, there are still tensions there. I was listening to the radio this morning and they explained a little bit about the situation in Sudan. And what I appreciated there is that the journalist who was talking there, he was also telling a little bit about what he knew from the country. And for a country like Sudan, but also for the other countries there, water is very important and especially denial. And what he did, he actually explained to connections that Sudan has with the neighboring countries, ranging from Egypt to Ethiopia and to South Sudan. And that water was the connecting material between them. And I hope that water is also the substance that will connect you with us, I.G. Delft. For sure, it's something that we appreciate and we try to cherish as much as possible. So why is water so important and why is this day so important? Now I go back a little bit to maybe the global situation and I know that you have had a number of lectures where that has been spoken about, but I do think that this last day and after that you can think about other things, but maybe this last day, a few words about water. Now one thing is, and I don't know if you follow that discussion, but in 2020, the Secretary General of the United Nations, he stated that if we ever want to achieve all our sustainable development goals and that are the 70 goals ranging from poverty, to food, to partnerships, to peace, to the environment. So there are quite a big number of those sustainable development goals that if we want to achieve them, we have to make sure that we are in order with our water so that we can live together in a good way with water, but that we treat water in a good way. And what he was also saying, that that's not the case. So he said, please, please be aware that we need more attention for water. So one of the reasons for that was that they started the Accelerator Framework, and the Accelerator Framework for the water sector consists about finance, it's about innovations, it's about capacity development, it's about governance, it's about how you can bring people together. And that was translated then in a meeting that was held last month in New York, which was called the UN Water Conference 2023, first time in 46 years that the General Assembly of the United Nations discussed the topic of water, and there more than 700 commitments were placed on the table. And I think that's where you will play a big role. And that's where I think it's so important that you manage to come to Delft, that you allowed us also to share knowledge with you, but also between yourselves, because I think if you return home, we do hope that you can play a role in implementing those commitments. Or if you're not on the implementing side, then please raise your voice and state to somebody who's responsible that they made such a commitment and that they should take care of water in the good way. So I hope that with that message that you will turn there and that you have a little help us to work in the water sector. And I think what for me is important is that you become a true leader for water. And with a true leader, I mean somebody who has acquired knowledge, but who's also willing to stand up and speak out about water and what he or she thinks is important. You can do that of course in your professionals around this, but I also think that you can do that in your community or in your family. So I hope that every one of you will become a water leader in his own rights. And I wish you a very, very good journey towards that leadership. I also hope that you will stay in contact with us. And I think to inspire you a little bit there, we found a very, I think, inspirational speaker for you today. Her name is Leon Paul. And apologies if I pronounce your last name incorrectly. But I think what makes her so interesting is she has done a couple of MSCs. So she's very much engaged with knowledge and knowledge transfer. She's also a university teacher. And she still does it. The business school here in the Netherlands, but also at Von Hollarenstein Professional University. So she has a background in ecology, business and philosophy. And I had a look at her website and she allowed me to say anything I wanted. So she can correct that later on. But what inspired me from her website is what she mentioned there under the topic of actions. She meant the things like connecting, initiating, writing, learning and teaching, creating, organizing, walking, hiking, gardening and speaking. The last part she will do today, but she already told me that she enjoyed her work coming here. What she also does is she mobilizes watersheds. So I think that's already a quite big thing because that's not so easy. Not everybody realizes actually that they're living in a watershed. And so by mobilizing them is a double challenge. What was most inspirational to me was her last statement there. And that was her dream of drinkable rivers. And that's what she would say a few words about. Liane, may I invite you to the stage? It's quite symbolic to hear the sound of the new generation, right? It's another why we're here, I think. But first of all, of course, congratulations to each of you, the students, the family around them and also the professors and teachers. Also congratulations for that support system. A beautiful achievement and wow, you are so beautiful. And also for the people at home, of course, they have supported you from a distance. And I am very curious with how many watersheds we are here, but maybe someone can make a quick estimate who's good at that. But I feel the richness of all the veins that we embody by being present here, by being aligned with our experience. It's such a synchronous program of 18 months having this journey and inquiring knowledge, language, and indeed what has been coming forth today as well, community. And so my name is Liane Poa, and actually the name has already some water in it. Poa means it's from Chinese and it is a place with a lot of water. So that's something. And we got the invitation today to wear something traditional. I'm wearing for the first time a dress from my grandmother. She was a nurse and grew up in Indonesia and they arrived here after the Second World War. So it feels like I have her a bit with me. Yeah, you are five different mayors of water-related MSCs. I carry indeed a background in business administration, holistic science and philosophy. And this holistic way of thinking is part of my doing actually. So I'm also the founder of Drinkable Rivers and I'll tell a little bit about that because I think nobody knows about me yet. So and then I'll tell a bit about my obstacles. So Drinkable Rivers, if we have a world with Drinkable Rivers, you might have thought about it and you might have even experienced it. I heard a professor, a teacher of you who have been drinking from a river in Sudan and also actually in South Africa, I just heard. So that was very helpful. But once we have a world with Drinkable Rivers again, it will mean that everything on the land is healthy and imbalanced and contributes to it. In a way, simple as that. But it's also very ambitious, of course, to go from our situation now to a world with Drinkable Rivers. For me personally, they started canoeing a river from source to sea in Northern Canada and that river was completely drinkable. I just finished my first study. I was 24 back then and for a month, I drink directly from the river for a whole month. That was such a touching and beautiful experience that tears run down my cheek when I took a sip like this and I remembered again that my ancestors were all drinking like that, but I had totally forgotten it. For me, opening the tap like that was normal. So how did you probably have heard about the shifting baseline syndrome of how normal changes? So I want that this reality, what is still in some places a reality, I want it back actually and I want that to be normal again. And so I think, and some of you might feel that urgency that Eddie Morse was also addressing to you and also how you can and start to play a role in it. But I think if now we are really as a civilization going towards economic growth, but if we are going the direction and having a shared compass of a drinkable river, also in our local personal actions, but also as communities and also as entire watersheds in collaboration upstream, downstream, a side river mainstream, that would mean a whole different world. And in that case, if, and that's what I'm with Drinkable Rivers, I'm suggesting if we change going from economic growth towards a world with Drinkable Rivers as a societal compass and also an economic compass, then your knowledge is essential. You will probably in the future will need to speak more with economists than other hydrologists had done before or with disaster or insurance companies. I think that change in the world and the potential that your skillset has will be enormous and it will be needed. And you might also be the refreshing other perspective if that would be the case. So in the meantime of doing that, I do it walking rivers like Eddie was introducing it. So about now I have walked 18,000 kilometers source to sea and I've been meeting all the people who are living there and seeing the landscape, how it changes, how it morphs and grows. And as a result of then the walks, I create that as a momentum to create action communities, but not with an idea in front of what should be happening, but I'll see what is alive and what emerges. And so for instance, walking the river most, the river that has fed me all my youth with drinking water, Mayer's network has now been created of Mayer's and Alderman in Belgium, France, Luxembourg and in Belgium, Malonia and Flanders and also in the Netherlands. And we meet every year and something like that didn't exist yet. And besides these action communities, we have a citizen science program worldwide. And there's a film about the river walk. There will be a Netflix film early next year and we've written a book that we're happy that will be in English from September onwards. But during this journey of starting as a student and then now having a worldwide movement, I also faced a lot of obstacles, of course. And one of the things was that I started writing like a job letter, job interview. And I know many of you don't need that because you will return to the places where you were already working, but some of you might do or you might do and to do it in the future. But I immediately got with my first letter, I got the reply, thank you for your letter, but there were hundreds of other submissions and I felt a bit like I'm ready for the world, but nobody's awaiting me. So it felt very much a bit lonely and also a bit of I had high expectations of being, ta-da, I'm here and no one was waiting for me. So I then acquired a skill which I'd like to put a seed in that you might nurture and maybe master in a few years. And that's called the art of inviting yourself. And so it's something we somehow are grown up with very being polite, like you don't ask to be part of the party. Like I feel very privileged to be part of your party but I was invited this time, I didn't, I didn't enforce myself. But it is something like that you know how to phrase a question that you can really honor the know but that you explore the yes. Because if you don't do that, you have to wait a long time probably. So just try and use the art of inviting and you as just students, we are already very privileged but it is a value, a valuta almost, a currency that you embody being young and having new perspectives again. Use it even to conferences or in situations that you would think, oh no, why would I? Let that voice simmer to the background. That's one thing that I'd like to give to you on your backpack, on your journey. Then another one which is a bit related to this, what I learned from the drinkable river and the watershed is that everyone matters. That's the ambition of a drinkable river, right? That all the actions need to be aligned and work towards a drinkable river. If there's one against it, it will likely start to lose that quality of drinkability. So in that sense, everything, everyone, everything you do matters and so do you. And so this voice that makes us smaller, tune that one to the background. You can understand that it's about respecting others, honoring others but also honor yourself and know you matter. Now it might not feel, now you feel like the center of the world today, which is I think a very good thing to now also keep, remember anchoring this emotion that you feel right now. In times when it will be more difficult, when you feel more alone, when you feel less understood or you don't feel that community like you have right now, know that we and this moment is always there as well. So make like a small gesture so to anchor this moment for yourself. Then the third thing and last thing that I'd like to give to you on your journey facing obstacles and festive moments like now is to take care of what takes care of us. That's something I learned from the many indigenous people I stayed with. And so this is also of taking care of our water because if we take care of our water and the circumstances it needs to create the qualities we would like, then the water will provide for us. But this, especially when you're very impact driven, right? It can exhaust yourself. So also remember if you think about taking care of what takes care of you, is one of the things is yourself. Make sure your heart is singing. It's a compass, an inner compass. So ask yourself what makes my heart sing. And then if you know the answer to that, allow yourself. Go spend time outside, rest. Spend time with people that really nurture you. Be in silence once in a while. I'm telling a few things that there are really, I have to make conscious efforts to do myself, to remember, but I will be much more effective when I do that.  It's about composting.  But we know, we do it on a daily basis, right? So we know how to nurture it into fertile soil. So it is to compost all the negativity in enthusiasm. It's enthusiasm that keeps us all together, that gives us the lightness to continue our efforts for tomorrow. It gives us the joy for all our young children who are dependent on our actions right now. So compost your hope. So again, congratulations. We move forward to that celebration. I will be there if you are wanting to interact more with me and also feel very free to adopt the drinkable rivers, to also walk a part of your river. I wish you a lot of good luck with your future endeavors in the work that you will go back into or the new challenges you will be facing and also a lot of return to all your loved ones. I hope you will anchor today these emotions, feel the enrichment of the experience, the knowledge, the language and the community and a lot of love and joy, yeah. Thank you very much, Lee-Anne Poix, for your lovely words. After so many uplifting and motivation words, we are ready for another musical interlude by Alma Mamovic Ivanov, Gabriela Castrellon-Romero and Suga Tancha Cavorty. They will perform two songs. The first one, Gracias a la vida, Sons to Life. From Violeta Parra, and they will follow the version of Mercedes Sosa and Joan Baez. And the second one will be Forever Young from Bob Dylan. Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto. Me dio dos luceros que cuando los abro. Thank you very much and a big applause for them. Now, I invite to the stage, Mila Velar Montesuma Cunha from Brazil and Amancio Malimad Melat-Zert from the Philippines. They are graduating students and former members of the Student Association Board. And they will give us the ES Student Address.  And what a journey. Maybe today, after all, a word that would be the word of the day would honestly be gratitude. Gratitude for the past, for having a dream. Gratitude for the present, for the process, where we are here now. And gratitude for the future, for the light of the future. So I would like to start from the past, from the dream. I'm sure that up to 2021, each of us here had a dream. And this dream was a synonym of a cause. This cause made us left more than 60 countries to be here today. And during one of the major global crisis of the 21st century, the pandemic, some of us here even came from war zones, including Afghanistan, including Myanmar, including Ethiopia, Colombia, and many others. I still remember, I still remember when we were still back home. That some friends from Afghanistan were really struggling to leave the country and be here today. And how we all tried to mobilize ourselves all the way possible to make sure that they would have the right to come here and they are here with us today. And I really think, I really think that it was just the prelude of what would be our spirit here in this journey. And then it comes to the process itself. And I would like to thank, on behalf of director Eddie Morse, all the students, now aluminized, that are here today, but also professors and staff that composed this brilliant cell of IAG that made us possible for all of us to be here today. We all managed to arrive to study and graduate at the largest water institute of the planet. Congratulations. This is such a privilege, honestly. And I remember that during our very, very first days here, Eddie Morse asked us a very simple exercise that was to look around and see who is next to you. And I'm pretty sure that that time you were completely strangers.  We represent complex stories. We represent multiple cultures, genders, sexualities, perspectives, and challenges. All these features would culturally, as we know, drift people, tribes, and even countries apart. And here, it united us with one main goal, water. Perhaps this is our legacy. As a UNESCO Institute. And honestly, it's such a complex and exciting human laboratory to be here today. And now, after parties, lots of exams, assignments, and thanks God, no more BBB sessions. If we look around one more time, I'm sure that we're going to see close friends. And perhaps this is a lesson for humanity. What we are doing here today. And in this lesson, water seems to be literally everywhere. It seems to be the core of conflict, but also cooperation that made us together here. And in this journey, we took some steps forward as a compassionate, concerned, and caring community of us all that goes far beyond technical knowledge. I'm sure of that. We found home in each other, even today. And this home was enough to question in our certain narratives, break some paradigms, and more important, share hope. Maybe all these ingredients together of action, challenges, relationships, and perseverance made all of us today this unique and very special class of 2021, 2023. We all made it in our own crazy and exceptional way, but we all made it. And today, when each of you reach this stage, you're not just bringing a tube or a diploma back home.  I honestly mean it. So, said that maybe I would like to ask all the graduates to one more time stand up and look around. If possible, look in the eyes. Look in the eyes of each of you. And this comes to the third part, maybe. Where we share a project right now, a project of hope. A project of the future. And on behalf of this hope, please keep standing. Just for now. And on behalf of this hope that lights our future, we thank to the existence of potential tools that are here built today. My friends, we have everything in place. We are seeing highly-trained water professionals here. We are seeing friends. We are seeing partners. And as we cross the doors of this church, a new cycle begins. The real life. And in this real life, we need to integrate all of our knowledges towards our shared challenges. And towards way more SDG6, maybe. Which is the better, safer, and more abundant water world. But mainly, making sure that no one is left behind. And diversity, just less the one that we have here, is central. As Clover, a friend said, we take action now for no greater reason than what we know what is right and what is wrong. We know that it's not right that every two minutes a child is still dying due to lack of access of clean water. It's not right that 33 million people in Pakistan are losing their homes due to flooding. Also, it's not right that still two billion people in this planet do not have access to safe and clean drinking water. It's also not right that we still have almost half of the planet without access to safely managing sanitation facilities. As we look at each other today, I'm sure that we are all activists by essence. And our goal here is more than put the good ideas. It's to bridge the gap between these good ideas and implementation. The project of the future of hope has already started here. And well, this is our collaboratory network. And each of us are seeds here of this future. And we need to spread this all over the world. And we know that time and speed are crucial actors right now. As Hank Oving said, today we're celebrating, but tomorrow we accelerate. And we just need to keep setting our hearts and minds toward the same, let's say, planetary, what is tip or chip. I do believe that we should let's keep building this net future that worth living for together. This future, hope, is all of us. It's here and now. Thank you all and congratulations. Thank you, Mila, for giving us the prelude to giving us this wonderful experience for all of us. You may all be seated. This family of international learners is destined to be here. Just like what Mila said, it is the water world that binds us all together. This journey together could not have been possible without the people whose warmth is felt no matter what decision is in the Netherlands. Mamaloie and Papa Junior, Taos Pusong Pasasalamat, sa inyong dedikason, at ngayong araw tayo ay muling nagtagongpai. Sa jib-bhai yem han sab ki jithen hams aishan bhai behenok kye liye kaskar ke tumari me kye liye jinkotum sab peb haut kav koha. Hermanos Álvaro y Daniel, nuestras familias latinoamericanas, especialmente en Bolivia y Colombia y, en particular, sus madres tambien, estan con nívidos y alegres por el logro de hoy. Omego Gerard, Karen y Dan, m'ya África, Naka Uganda, Ami yi yom totwali yi, Adwogi Abera Ju, mi Uganda. Indid, today is for our families all over the world, especially our parents and guardians who like Jennifer, Radha, Akmur, Blasco, and Yaseer want the best for their children. We also rejoice during the past two years the birth of IHE Dolph babies, of Michelle and Andrei, and Marwa and Jalal, yet for every birth also comes moments of pain and healing. In our high and low moments, we are each other's family. We also have lost loved ones in the process. We are also wholeheartedly grateful to the support of our sponsored turn families, including the Orange Knowledge Program, the Joint Japan World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program, the Water and Development Partnership Program, the Belinda Gates and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Punjab Irrigation Department of Pakistan, and the Department of Science and Technology of the Philippines. As for me and for the other 13 scholars, we would like to express our gratitude to the Rotary International and Rotary Districts in the Netherlands. Further, I'm also deeply thankful for Rotary District 3,800 in the Philippines, and now my mother club, Rotary Club of Marikina North, for the trust and confidence you unconditionally provided the dreamers like me. May you continue to support the IHE Dolph through your worthwhile investment. We hope in return to give back to our home countries and regions in greater capacities and help create hope in the world. Our journey at the IHE Dolph is like a pipe-playing job. It took a lot of maneuvering to accomplish demanding tasks. We needed to work harmoniously in a concerted manner. In order to minimize the links, this batch is truly appreciative of our world-class program coordinators, William Verbeek, who happens to be a great mentor to me together with Yongyan and my supervisor, Kisen Sevenbergen, Emanuele, Alessandro, Yap, Laszlo, Alvaro, Ayona, and Saroj, who imparted the wisdom to the programs to make things work despite the odds. To the members of the Student Association Board, Mila, Hassan, Aisaak, and the class representatives, Seth, Abdur, Axel, Sai, Jeddo, Liam, Murena, Poyon, Sharif, Sharif, and Zuma, Kudainanami Kali found the right mix of activism and charm to deliver in a timely manner the needs and demands of an international family. This gratitude also goes for individuals who were there when we have been vulnerable to shocks. For example, during a minor accident involving myself last year, my hermana Ivoine and Stefan made sure that I was not left behind. To brothersong, at that time, you also guided me to return safe and sound to my hominmina. Shefen kan shi ne. It is an understatement when one says that studying in a foreign country is our rainbows and butterflies. Of course, that's where there is an exception. So this also goes for some of us who found ways to provide or to save for the rainy days while getting our end academic degree. For example, I can relate to my neighbor, Kusco, who started his day as early as four in the morning to work while I also deliver my online classes for the La Salle University, participating Jampak module sessions after, and even work after group work. So we thank the Meet the Dutch program volunteers for ensuring our well-being during this rigorous academic calendar. As rotary scholars, we are also given host counselors that are there as our extended families. As for me, I would like to thank the Lean family of Ambersport, the Bikma family of Akmar, and the Bikma family of The Hague for treating me as your brother and son. One thing is true though about the Netherlands that its people are so practical. In fact, this reality has been embedded in its educational system. So one of the highlights of our respective programs was our fieldwork in other European Union countries. We would like to take this opportunity to thank our partners like AgriParitech in France who have made IHE our IHE journey even more enriching. Further, the IHE has opened doors for us to collaborate with water and environment industry leaders. For example, I would like to highlight my continuing partnerships with AOA in Zurich as we maintain water flow diagrams and Royal Hasconing DHV as we enhance society together through sustainable water and maritime programs and projects in the Asia and the Pacific. So as alumni of the IHE Deaf, the big question is, what is next? While we are in the estuary and the water world is our oyster, let us be reminded to be a sunshine for others. I would like to thank Alejandra Cuyapasión for connecting with the people despite the differences. I would like to thank Amira Alessi Tunisid for her direct al-moyl fat. It is like Karin who is no longer tired of sharing his knowledge especially with the needy. Ireen Ambayé Diplomasha Yaqui Imegemia Kenye Misingi Yaquali. Be like Tova whose mission is to fight against forms of discrimination. Jadilasa Pertisa Sa Yang Kempemininia Terilat Maluri Pelalian. And be who you want to be for as long as we continue to make an impact wherever we may be. This address may be unable to capture the gratitude for everyone who has been instrumental to our collective success. But let us not fail to recall for the significant others who in the course of this journey stand beside us despite the circumstances. To the yin Tumayang who did not attend her own graduation in Singapore, Brazil, and is now with me in this Alkirk, Daghang Salamat for being my con. To this end, we batch 2021 to 2023. Our living IHE DELF Institute for Water Education under the auspices of UNESCO to continue living and winning. Dankifel. Well, thank you very much Mila Namansio. I think that you deserve a big applause again. I didn't hear it very well. Really stimulating words. But now finally, the time has arrived. Thank you and welcome to our colleagues of the educational department, ready to take position. And we are about to start the diploma awarding ceremony. They had to pass. It's not easy. Are we ready? Very good. We will start a ceremony with the awarding of the Water Management and Governance Students. I would like to call Emanuel Fantini and Professor Swartefein on stage. Well, this is an important message for all the graduates. Please pay attention. Okay. When you come up to the stage, stand between your professor and your coordinator. Take your time, not so long. Pause and take your moment to take the picture with your diploma, your graduation picture. You get into this way, you go out that way. Okay? Good. I will call each of you one by one. Ready? And we would like to start by Ms. Goybar from, Al Goybar from Iraq. Ms. Al Ogaydi from Iraq. Ms. Arula from Kenya. Ms. Borom from the Philippines. Ms. Chan from Fiji. Ms. Crystal from United States of America. With distinction. Ms. Dehati from Afghanistan. Ms. Darsina from Haiti. Mr. Echesi from Nigeria. Ms. Garcia from the Philippines. Mr. Govindarajulu Ramalingam from India. Ms. Hamada from Jordan. Mr. Kamat from India. Mr. Koroma from Liberia. Ms. Lire from Guatemala. Mr. Mahanta from India. Mr. Melat III from the Philippines. Mr. Muchenba from Zimbabwe. Ms. Muhammed from Egypt. Mr. Rafika from Pakistan. Ms. Rabindran from India. Ms. Saeed from Pakistan. Mr. Tapsova from Burkina Paso. Mr. Tembe from Liberia. Mr. Tabe from Liberia. Ms. Trejo Solis from Mexico. Ms. Bansi from Belize. And Mr. Vicente Moreira from Portugal. Thank you, Manuel and Professor Suartefein. This brings us to the Water Science and Engineering Program. For the specialization in Hydroinformatics, Modeling, and Information Systems for Water Management, I would like to invite Joana Popescu and Skaljan Fernando to join me on stage. We would like to start with Mr. Abdelaziz from Sudan. Mr. Ahmad from Pakistan. Mr. Badolo from Burkina Paso. Mr. Bat from Pakistan. Mr. Diaz Mayorga from Colombia. With distinction, Mr. Fayaz from Maldives. Ms. Gebremichel from Ethiopia. Mr. Hutomo from Indonesia. Mr. Islam from Bangladesh. Mr. Kadwe from Zambia. Mr. Mirindi from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mr. Mohamed from Sudan. Mr. Nassar from Pakistan. Mr. Persot from Guyana. With distinction, Mr. Shasbeck from Lebanon. We will continue with a student of the Shoin International Masters in Hydroinformatics. We would like to invite Mr. Peñuel Escobar from Colombia. Thank you, Joana and Skaljan. For the specialization in hydrology and water resources, I call on a stage Jochen Werniger and Professor Shuvit. We would like to start with Mr. Bamidele from Nigeria. Mr. Brown from Jamaica. Ms. Do from Vietnam. Mr. Gerdges from Lebanon. Mr. Hasnain from Pakistan. Mr. Ibrahim from Sudan. Mr. Kamara from Liberia. Ms. Kifle from Ethiopia. Ms. Muriti from Kenya. Ms. Pastora Estrada from Nicaragua. Mr. Sardar from Pakistan. Ms. Trust from Uganda. Ms. Wilson from Jamaica. And Mr. Sifron from China. Thank you, Jochen and Professor. For the specialization in irrigation engineering and management for food security, I call on a stage Laslo Haide and Professor de Freiture. We would like to start with Mr. Linga from Philippines. With distinction, Mr. Mabak from South Sudan. Mr. Bamardi from Indonesia. Mr. Tembo from Zambia. And Mr. Sulwaga Velasquez from Colombia. Thank you, Laslo and Professor de Freiture. For the specialization in sustainable urban water management climate resilient cities, I call on a stage William Febake and Professor Rulfind. We would like to start with Avelar Montezuma-Cunha from Brazil. Mr. Dean from China. Thank you, William. For the specialization in coastal engineering and poor development, could Alvaro Emilio Semedo please join Professor Rulfind on stage. We will start with Mr. Mohamed from Maldives. Ms. Nairu from South Africa. Mr. Ruiz Arancivia from Chile. And Mr. Beau from Jamaica. Thank you, Alvaro and Professor Rulfind. For the specialization in hydraulic engineering and river basin development, I call on a stage Alessandro Catapan and Alessandra Crossato. We will start with Adur Rahim from Pakistan. Mr. Akram from Pakistan. Mr. Barua from Bangladesh. Mr. Bonda from Liberia. Mr. Chakraborty from India. With distinction. Mr. Elhendi from Egypt. Mr. Junaid from Pakistan. Mr. Makbul from Pakistan. Mr. Munir from Pakistan. Ms. Salsavila from Indonesia. Ms. Sheikh from Pakistan with distinction. Mr. Ishar Urhak from Pakistan. And we will continue with a student of the joint program in water science and engineering with specialization in hydraulic engineering and river basin development. Showing program with the University of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. We would like to invite Mr. Moksaki from Malaysia. Thank you, Alessandro and Alessandra. This brings us to urban water and sanitation program. For the specialization in sanitary engineering, I would like to invite Saroj Sharma and Professor Brajanovic to join me on the stage. I would like to ask a little bit of silence, please. We would like to start with Abak Odur from Uganda. Mr. Antesana Lopez from Bolivia. Mr. Blanco Gomez from Colombia. Mr. Dalus Lima Jr. from Brazil with distinction. Ms. Ferreira Borges from Brazil. With distinction. Ms. Jordan Sinisterra from Colombia. Ms. Lucero Mendes from Ecuador. Ms. Mativo from Kenya. With distinction. And Ms. Nasiu from Sudan. Thank you, Professor Brajanovic. For the specialization in water supply engineering, Professor Maria Kennedy, please join Saroj Sharma. We would like to start with Mr. Almujeki from Yemen. Mr. Kadogan from Guyana. Mr. Kamacho Valdez from the Dominican Republic. Ms. Ejia from Ghana. Mr. Malaychami from India. Mr. Kate from Afghanistan. Ms. Riyando from Indonesia. Mr. Safi from Afghanistan. Ms. Smith from Jamaica. Ms. Tatu from Lebanon. Mr. Taylor from Barbados. Mr. Jamin from Afghanistan. Thank you, Saroj and Professor Kennedy. Last but not least, we have arrived at the awarding of the environmental science students. For the specialization in environmental planning and management, I would like to invite Yap Evers and Professors Arvin on stage. I would like to ask, please, a little bit of silence. We will have time for the pictures later. It's too noisy. We would like to start with Mr. Bashir from Sudan. Ms. Conte from Sierra Leone. Mr. De La Cruz Alvarez from the Dominican Republic. Ms. Indarshid from Guyana. Ms. Mohamed from Maldives. With a secretary. And with distinction. Ms. Abajo from Suriname. We will continue with specialization in environmental science and technology. Please, Yap Evers and Professor Arvin remain on stage. We would like to start with Ms. Adideshi from Nigeria. Ms. Akter from Bangladesh. Mr. Atrak from Iraq. Mr. Asad from Afghanistan. Mr. Biljamino from Nigeria. Ms. Elmanadele from Egypt. Ms. Herrera Paiva from Colombia. Mr. Massivo from Kenya. Mr. Nahle from the Syrian Arab Republic. Mr. Odiyachi from Nigeria. Mr. Opponado from Ghana. And Mr. Palambam from Indonesia. We will finalize with the joint program in environmental science with specialization in immunology and wetland management. With the Egerton University of Kenya and the University of Odin Culture in Vienna of Austria. We would like to start with Mr. Okumu from Kenya. Ms. Katusime from Uganda. Ms. Kisha from Kenya. Mr. Nukosve from Zambia. Mr. Omondi from Kenya. And Ms. Turia Mukhaki from Uganda. Thank you, Yap and Professor Arvain. So, no more cues. Congratulations to all our dear new alumni. Our best wishes. I hope you will remember today fondly and experience it as a milestone in your professional and personal lives. Hopefully you will stay in touch among you and with us at IHE Delft. And keep us up to date on where life is taking you after obtaining your MSc degree. Keep always your contact details up today with IHE Delft. And stay connected. Now, I would like to invite Professor Edimors, our rector back on stage, to officially close the ceremony. I would like to start by congratulating all of you with your new diploma. So, super well done. But I do think that as stated before, you can't do this alone. So, you have been held by a lot of people. Sometimes by your colleagues here in the bank. Sometimes people sitting on that side, lecturers, supporters. I think a lot of people have contributed to that. Sometimes you also had a couple of challenges to overcome. And I think that you managed to do that. So I would like to congratulate you with that. I think your start was super difficult to come here. And then I hope that with now and returning to your country, which is the case for most of you. But unfortunately not for all of you. I would like to wish everybody good luck with their dreams. Make them come true. And please, like Maria Lower also said, please stay in contact with us because we're quite interested to see also how we can continue our collaboration. And I think there are some interesting things that we may offer to you as well later on in your career. But hopefully also quite soon. So I know that some of you already have some sparkling ideas on what they want to do and how they want to continue that collaboration. And like I said, I really looking forward to that. With that, I would like to thank all the colleagues also of IG for organizing this. All the people sitting around here, super well done. I know that not everything went as smoothly as sometimes it seems. So some people were running double as hard as they did before to make sure that everything was in order. A small group sitting over there. So congratulations for that. And with that, I would like to invite everybody sitting here to come to IG and have a drink with us to congratulate you again. So thank you all and good luck. Maria Laura, will you invite everybody for a picture? Thank you very much, Eddie. And of course we must have our photo moment. So the photographer hands will take a few photos from the stage now. And after the cortege has left, we will also, he will also take some group photos from the organ balcony. So new graduates who like to be in that picture, you had to gather in that place under the balcony there after the cortege left. But we will start with the first picture. So I invite you to stand up, show your diplomas and enjoy the first picture. Be a applause for all graduates, please. Thank you very much. Before we leave, a word of caution. Take care of your diplomas. They cannot be replaced, they cannot be duplicated. So please keep them in a safe place all the times, including tonight's party. And it is recommended to make a PDF of the documents. Good, this concludes the official part of our program for today. As our rector has said, I invite everyone in the audience to join us as we continue celebrating at IIT Delft. Graduates, please remember to stay for the pictures on that side. Just now, as the cortege leaves, we will show a final musical performed again by Sugatan Chakaborty. May I ask you all to stand up while the processions of the cortege leaves the church. Thank you very much.


Welcome to JSA TV and JSA Podcast where we're covering the latest stories, trends, and innovations with leaders in global connectivity, real estate, and the networks within. My name is Emily Sherer for JSA. I am joined today by Lauren Long of 3Tag. They are an industry leader who is focused on scope 3 emissions and circularity. Lauren, it's great to have you. Hey, thank you. It's great to be here. Excellent, excellent.  So tell us a little bit more about that panel or maybe a key takeaway you want people to have from that. You know, I think the key thing about greenwashing is that while there are people or companies, I should say that intentionally misrepresent and they get found and there are consequences. But really there's a lot of companies out there that I work with that are trying to do the right thing. They're trying to accurately measure and report. We've got the CSRD here in Europe and the reporting that's coming with that. But the key message that I want my panel to talk about is we need to do more.  You know, I'm doing PPA. It's not easy like that. You know, scope 3 is very hard. Biodiversity, water use, and we need to do more. I think also as the home of some of the most technologically advanced companies in the world.  And then we find out we're not nearly as advanced as some other industries when it comes to this topic. Right. There's so much still left to be done. I think everybody is trying to figure out what those measures are. What they look like. But I think the important thing is we're here. We're having the conversations, right? Right. Yeah, you're doing what you can. And you're a thought leader in this space for sure. You're going to be contributing to greener data volume 2. So we're super excited about that. I am too. Yeah, it's going to be great. So this is a book that, JSA, we put it out originally last year. We're going to be doing a volume 2 in 2024. And so Lauren is an author and we would love to hear a little bit more about your chapter and what you're going to be writing about. So the theme of my chapter is basically, it's complicated. It's, you know, I'm going to touch on several parts of the sustainability discussion starting with scope 3. It's complicated. And I think we also need to all recognize and be honest that the methods that we have right now for measuring aren't that accurate. That's the best we have right now, but we need to continue pushing more. You know, another one is, I kind of touched on it, PPAs, right? Power purchase agreements, buying renewable energy and using renewable energy is two different things. And we need to keep driving forward to truly reduce emissions. There was a report recently by the Princeton Zero Group, and they found that emissions aren't actually being reduced due to our current renewable energy initiative. So we need to look at that. I think the last one, and this is certainly where my focus is, is on circularity. We are very much a take, make, waste society. Recycling needs to come much further. Did you know, for example, that 50 million tons of e-waste annually are thrown away? I didn't know that. No. That's a shocking number. It gets worse than that. Only 1% of critical raw materials are actually recycled every year. And scientists calculate that there is currently more gold in landfill than remaining in the earth. Yeah, wow. Now, when you look at the AI boom and the continuation of technology, all those critical raw materials are needed, and we need to make sure they come back. Absolutely. Well, thank you for sharing that with us. It sounds like it's going to be a great chapter, maybe not all of the answers right now, but again, just continuing the conversation, figuring it out, finding the measures. Yeah, that's excellent. We're looking forward to reading it, and we hope everybody else reads it when it comes out on Earth Day 2024. And then finally, I want to talk a little bit more about three tags. So you guys were recently founded. Tell us a little bit more about the founding. What is three-tag mission? We'd love to hear about it. So three-tag at its core is a persistent dynamic digital product passport, a digitized LCA, but with a lot more information around circularity, critical raw materials. And the idea is to start tracking raw materials embodied carbon, starting from extraction to the component manufacturer to the asset assembly, and then throughout its whole life cycle, all the way to the end to recycling to make sure that we are getting everything back. And it's also to underpin and hopefully support more accurate scope three reporting and calculations. It allows for that embodied carbon to move throughout the life cycle so that now there's a governance to it. And it's also could be the foundation for better regulation and control around that so that we can start reducing, especially the take and the make parts of take make waste. Yeah, absolutely. Well, it sounds like you're going to be a big thought leader in the space of figuring out what the measurements actually do look like when it comes to circularity. So very interesting work that you're doing there with three-tag. Thank you. Yeah, absolutely. We hope so. Yeah, absolutely. Well, thank you so much for joining us today. Is there anything else that you want to let our viewers know before we? No, it was a pleasure and I look forward to seeing the book and all the authors. Absolutely. We are too. Yeah, we can't wait. So everybody, thank you so much for tuning in and we hope you have a great rest of the event today. Thanks.


your needs. Now, what are the, there are three types of them. The home office, the cloud kitchen office, and also the retail location. For the sake of what we're gonna be talking about throughout this whole entire course, we're gonna be focusing on home offices only. And what does that mean? That means you can have the ability to sell on Instagram, to sell online, to also sign up for delivery apps, but we're not gonna be catering to dine in. If you're thinking about dine in, let's say the retail location specifically or creating a restaurant, then we have another more advanced course, which is called the Professional Restaurant Owners Academy. So if you're interested in that, leave us a note and we'll send you a link to that. Now, the three different types of structures. Home office, you're gonna be running your food concept from your home. You can sell online. There's gonna be delivery apps depending on the different location and the city you're in, but there won't be any dine in as a service. Virtual kitchen and cloud kitchen. This is much more of a newer concept, which are basically professional food preparation and cooking facility that you can rent out on a hourly basis or weekly basis. So you don't own anything, you just rent their facility. This also caters to online and also delivery apps as well, but also don't have dine in. And the next up are retail locations, okay? So why is it important for us to understand and choose the different business structure that we're gonna go and commit to? Because we need to be able to choose the most suitable business structure that allows you to plan out and shape your business that best suits your lifestyle. Because once again, if I don't choose something that fits my needs, then it's not gonna work out. And in the defeats, the whole purpose of me even creating a business, that's the reason why it is so, so important. Now, how do we do that? How do we decide? Are we destined to build a restaurant or should I just be creating my business from home? We analyze the six characteristics which I'm gonna be sharing with you right now. And once you understand this different, six different types of characteristics, then you can go and decide which one is best-suiting for yourself. First up, volume. How much can you produce? So for example, my friend in Seattle, his name is Mark Henlis, on a daily basis, his fine dining restaurant, one of the top restaurants in Seattle, actually in the world, they serve more than 1,500 units per day. So clearly we cannot serve that type of volume in your home office. And that's the reason why you need to consider the different volumes that you're pushing out and what your expectations would be. Location. Is the location that you have convenient for your customers or your delivery drivers? So for example, if you're in a tall, high-rise building, would your delivery driver be able to come up to your building and is there gonna be ample parking available? And that all takes into account of whether you should be renting a cloud or virtual kitchen or not, or even have your own restaurant. Commitment. How much time are you willing to spend in this business? Do you have a nine to five job and that you wanna just create something on the side as a side hustle income? Or do you want to quit and take the plunge into the business world and just completely risk it all? Your commitment matters and the different types of business structure plays along into that as well. Earning potential. How much money are you wanting to make from this side gig, from this business opportunity? Are you planning to earn a few thousand dollars or are you looking into earning tens of thousands of dollars? So this all plays into the different types of structure. Investment. How much money do you currently have to invest in this food idea of yours? Food delivery app. Which delivery apps are applicable in your specific city? So having an understanding the different types of characteristics which I just shared with you allows you to understand which type of business you should go for. Now, as in a granular idea and a granular look into what is necessary, we're gonna dive into a diagram very shortly. But the last thing that I do wanna share with you is the legality. What does that mean? That means that whether you have a home office, cloud kitchen, or retail location, you need to have your legality's rights. So what does that mean? That means that you need to have your business license, you need to have your business name, the business insurance, and a food safe sanitation plan for basically all the different operations.  My job and my obligation is to tell you that you need these items. However, having said that, a lot of people I know they don't have the business license. They don't have business insurance that they, and yet they still operate their own business.  So we're gonna dive a little bit deeper into the legality in the next lesson. But as I was saying, these are the six different characteristics that shows you whether you should be investing in a home office, a virtual kitchen, or a retail location. And this helps manage your expectation. So as we go through this, as a home office location, your volume is much lower than a retail location, let's say if you have a restaurant, okay? Location, basically you have no choice if you're working from home.  The earning potential for your Instagram business, for your home office would be roughly a thousand plus. I'm not saying that people haven't made tens of thousands of dollars working from their home, but I'm just sharing with you, typically speaking what do I see of my other students and how much they make, I wanna be able to manage your expectations, right? Legality, for any businesses that you run, you need to make sure that you inquire with your city permits and your city officials. Food delivery apps, depending on the city and depending on the country that you're in, some of them actually come to your house and pick up food from your home. But a lot of other places do not cater to home office structures. So definitely just inquire with these different apps, call them, right? Investment, if you wanna create your home office structure, it's gonna take around a thousand to a few thousand dollars, whereas retail location and restaurant, we're talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars. So looking at this graph, you're gonna be able to see the different types of characteristics that is associated with each of the structure.


of our team. And recording in progress. Do I have any additions or modifications to the agenda? Okay, so do I have a motion to approve the agenda? Motion to approve. Second. Second. Great. Jabu second. All in favor. Aye. Aye. No opposed. So and then a motion to approve the minutes from last meeting, August 4 of motion. So moved. Jane. Yeah, great. Thank you all in favor. Bye. Yeah, I thank you all that passes. So public forum, I know we had one individual and identified in the list of attendees as Barry. So and I, I don't know if that's the only person I know of. So Marcella, if you could, I guess I could Wow. And I apologize. I don't know if that's the name Barry, you are able to unmute and speak and I apologize if that's not your name. Sorry, just to add, we don't have any other members of the public wishing to speak at the moment if anyone does if they just raise their hand. Wonderful. Okay. Barry, we can't hear you. Yeah, I was just waiting. Yeah, so good afternoon and thanks for the opportunity to comment. My name is Barry Neath, and I work in Burlington. I'm actually also a former high school math and statistics teacher. And I was just reading through some of the reports and executive report summary and some of the analysis. I was a little concerned with what seems to be some with some issues and assumptions around the demographic census data that seems to be a bit of a key piece here. There's actually an art wolf who's a longtime professor of economics at University of Vermont, I think it's Emeritus now. He's pointed out quite correctly that Burlington has a population that's significantly younger and less affluent and less educated than one might expect. And that's really because 25% of the population is college students. We know there's at least 12,000 out of 42,000. And that's just the UVM students. And of course, we have Champlain as well. And the implication of this is that on the census, those students that are filling that out in Burlington, which is a sizable majority of them, are going to be reporting a high school education and minimal income. And I think any assumptions or conclusions trying to use that demographic data without trying very hard to account for it would be deeply flawed. I'm looking at the survey response from Selitha, the results, we know that there was minimal student response to that. I think it was just like 3% or something. So I wonder if when we look at this survey, one can make an argument that it's actually more representative of the permanent resident population of Burlington than the demographics that we might get from census, it's going to be including all the very large student population. And that's just the only comment that I wanted to make. I didn't really want to weigh in on any of the other issues. Thank you for the thank you, Barry. Okay, I don't see anyone else with a hand raised. So at this point, we're going to talk about what we had said at the last meeting was we had the report and you know, had offered to prepare an executive summary. So I'm going to turn it over to Stephanie and Stephanie, you may wish to talk about the other documents just to introduce what we have available today for folks. Sure, thanks. So you all have seen the draft executive summary that you provided input on. And in addition to that, there are two documents that two data analysts in the city analyzed. That is the quantitative data that Talitha sent us that they did not have the time to analyze, as well as they also analyze the qualitative data that Talitha again, was not able to analyze. So those are two separate documents that we will release to the public also. So in total, we've made a list of 10 documents to release to the public, the RFP, Talitha's initial proposal, their work plan, their PowerPoint of their work plan, their preliminary results, their final report, the executive summary, the two data analyses. And all of that is where there's a link, there will be a link to that in the press release on the city website. So I believe the question is today, whether we approve the executive summary for distribution. And that is basically our sole task today, as I understand it. Correct. And just to clarify, the intention of that executive summary is to accompany the final report that would go to CNA, for example, or be made available with the report wherever it appears. Exactly. Talitha didn't provide what we normally think of as as an executive summary, which is usually a brief synopsis of the findings. And so we did that. And we also, well, you all have seen it, you know, provided some of the background and how the documents were handled. So yes, that is exactly right. That should be distributed to CNA also, once we have completed this. So, Stephanie, did you I didn't know if there was any discussion or if you wanted to bring a motion at this point, and then we can have discussion if there is any. Great. So I move that we adopt the draft executive summary that is posted on dot dot board docs to be distributed with the Talitha's final report. I second. Oh, sorry. That's okay. Is there any discussion about that? All right. So if there's no discussion, we're ready to vote. All in favor of adopting or approving the draft executive summary. Aye, aye. Great. Anyone opposed? Okay. Excellent. Thank you, Stephanie, for doing that. So and just so folks know, all of these documents are on board docs and should be available to the public. And as we said before, we will be putting out a press release with a link to a city website that has all of the documents related to Talitha. So I have nothing further. Does anyone have any further anything further to discuss today? Okay, this is Stephanie, I might just respond to the person who commented. The challenge is that census data is what we have. We can speculate about what the percentage of students is and their educational attainment, but absent that the only way that we can assess the representativeness of the sample is using census data. And so, at least in my experience of doing this kind of work, that's the appropriate comparison. So I think we have to stick to that. I wonder if in the interest of visibility and transparency, if we might consider doing what we did before, which is put the report and the accompanying documents on Front Porch Forum in each one of the areas. What might be good is posting the press release on Front Porch Forum, because that would then provide the link to all of those documents. How does that sound? That sounds perfect. That's a good idea. Thank you, Susie. I also really I like that idea a lot. I think that's really good. Jane, can I ask you, is that something that we as a commission don't have that ability? And we try not to do things through the police department to, you know, to keep an arm's length? Is that something? Of course, yeah. Wonderful. So after this, I'm going to send you the press release. Thank you for that. Yeah, of course, absolutely. And so we will make sure I will make sure that CNA gets the link to the website with all of these materials as well. And I think that's it unless anyone has anything further. One additional thing, this is Stephanie. So maybe what you could do, Shareen, is when you send the press release to Jane, you could send it to everybody. That way everybody has a copy of it. Yes. And that's right. The only other remaining tasks then would be to send this to CNA and you'll be taking care of that. So I think we're all set. Yes, and just so this group knows, I think everyone has had the opportunity to see the press release. I don't know that we need to have a motion on it, but if anyone had any concerns, you know, certainly let us know now is the time, but it wasn't very different from the executive summary. I'm comfortable with it. I think it's fine. Perfect. Thanks, Jane. Okay, last opportunity for anything else. Otherwise, I think I'll entertain a motion to adjourn. Shall we? Stephanie, I second it. Wonderful. All in favor? Aye. Aye. And thank you to Marcella for helping us out today. Thank you all and stay cool.