The Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) will hold a two-part series of the Understanding Choices Forum on Oct. 29 and Nov. 15 at the Eduardo Aboitiz Development Studies Center, Lopez Jaena St., Cebu City.

Dubbed as Living on the Edge Series: Climate Change Focus, these series of forums are designed to provide a venue to heighten awareness, deepen understanding, and inspire participation and action on climate change, one of the pressing issues affecting the world today.

On Oct. 29, the first part of the series entitled “Disaster-resilient Communities in a Changing Climate” will provide the participants with the knowledge on the current approaches in responding to the climate challenge—from innovating disaster-resilient building structures to building a responsive and resilient community to mitigate impacts of climate change.

Speakers of the first forum are Illac Diaz, a former actor- and model-turned social entrepreneur, urban green planner, and founder of My Shelter Foundation, and San Francisco, Camotes Island former Mayor and incumbent Vice Mayor Alfredo Arquillano.

Diaz will present his innovative design of disaster-resilient building structures that is not just green but can also withstand the harsh elements of nature consequent to the effects of climate change as well as the framework and design of a resilient community.

Arquillano will share the experience of San Francisco, Camotes Island in implementing climate and disaster risk reduction-oriented projects in the island. San Francisco, Camotes Island, Cebu is one of the 79 cities in the world that has adopted the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction Making Cities Resilient Campaign.

On Nov. 15, RAFI will hold the second part of the Living on the Edge Series entitled “Climate Change and the Global Climate Change Politics,” which will highlight inputs from two international climate change negotiators for the Philippines, Atty. Antonio La Viña and Esperanza Garcia.

La Viña is the Dean of the Ateneo School of Government and Chairman of the United Nations Collaborative initiative on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation at United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conferences of Parties (UNFCC COP).

He will talk about the daunting issues of climate change and how we are affected at the recent ‘climate’ of the global climate politics, particularly on the global debates and related international initiatives and negotiations being marred with controversies from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Kyoto protocol to the UNFCCC-COP 15 in Copenhagen Denmark that ended in failure, and the upcoming COP16 in Cancun, Mexico.

Garcia, Founder of the Philippine Youth Climate Movement, Director of Global Warming & Climate Change Initiatives for the International Youth Council and Filipino Youth Delegate to the UNFCCC COP Conference will share her experience as a global climate youth leader, the initiatives undertaken by the rest of global youth leaders and the continuing challenges.

The Living on the Edge Series, which will start at 1 p.m., will facilitate an exchange of ideas, inputs, and experiences on climate change measures and advance a basic framework of action and inspire contribution towards climate change adaptation, mitigation, and disaster risk reduction.

Participants of the forum will include key people from government, civil society and the private sector. They will also include local chief executives, local planners, members of the academe, youth sector, media, business sector, non-government organizations, and other public sector organizations, among others.

The two fora are open to the public and do not require any registration fees. Participation will be on a first-come first-serve basis.

The Understanding Choices Forum is a Knowledge Sharing & Advocacy capability of RAFI, one of the four capabilities in RAFI’s comprehensive approach to elevating lives and communities. Its other capabilities include Grants & Awards, Institutional Development & Planning, and Services & Facilities, which contribute to delivering the programs under the five focus areas—Integrated Development, Culture & Heritage, Micro-finance & Entrepreneurship, Leadership & Citizenship, and Education—of RAFI.

For more information about the fora, or to register, contact Catherine Margate at 418-7234 local 105.