Government of the Federated States of Micronesia

President Mori Travels to Sweden to Visit Tällberg Foundation

Palikir, Pohnpei (FSM Information Services): June 22, 2009 - For two years in a row, the Tällberg Foundation has invited President Mori to be a keynote speaker at their annual Forum meeting in Sweden, and this year, the President has accepted their invitation. According to their website at www.tallbergfoundation.org, the vision of the Tällberg Foundation is "an equitable and secure world for humankind and nature." Their mission is to "foresee global systems problems emerging out of imbalances between earth systems and the human endeavor to support economic growth, poverty eradication, energy provision and all people's equity and security." And their strategy is to support leaders in their design of governance, policies and business strategy for a sustainable globalization.

The Tällberg Foundation works through several main activities which include their annual Forum at Tällberg, Sweden during the last days of June every year. They also do other workshops and seminars, projects, studies and research programs, leadership development initiatives, and publishing. The theme for this year's Forum is "How on Earth can we live together, within the planetary boundaries?"

In their invitation letter, sent back in January of 2009, the Foundation described this Forum meetings as "a unique opportunity to learn from, reflect upon and influence the thinking of key leaders from around the world and from all sectors in addressing the deeply worrying situation we face today. At this time of parallel crises - financial, economic, climate and ecosystems - many decision-makers see the Tällberg Forum as an opportunity to rethyink the situation and reshape possible solutions."

The 2009 Forum will be the fifth large gathering organized by the Tällberg Foundation, and the 29th yearly gathering since 1981.

President Mori's trip is being paid for through funds from the Micronesia Challenge, in hopes that he will be able to find new funding sources for the Micronesia Challenge. His speech will be given on the first day of the Forum as the keynote address and will focus on climate change and the specifics of how FSM, RMI, Palau, Guam and CNMI are focusing their efforts to preserve both water and land resources through the Micronesia Challenge.

The President will participate in the Forum events that will be filled with panel discussions, conversations, music, workshops, poetry and nature. Some of the other speakers at the conference include the President of Rwanda, H.E. Paul Kagame, former President of Costa Rica, Jacqueline McGlade, former Prime Minister of Norway, Gro Harlem Brundtland, and many other diplomats, CEO's, and representatives from the various United Nations agencies around the world. The Forum will begin on June 24th and end on June 28th.

This Forum will be held just a few days before the Swedish EU presidency begins and five months before the COP15 Climate Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, so many eyes will be looking at this part of the world during President Mori's trip.