The International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation 2025 will be kicked off with an official launch event on 21 January 2025, Tuesday. This launch event aims to raise awareness, stimulate action and attract funding for the further implementation.

The Launch event will feature a “curtain-raiser” (High Level Plenary Opening). This segment will mark the official launch of the 2025 International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation, followed by the “main program“, which includes a series of online Side Events (in total 43) accessible globally. 

High Level Plenary Opening

The High Level Plenary Opening, co-organized by WMO and UNESCO with the support of Tajikistan and France, will be held at 14:00-16:00 (UTC+2/CET) in Salle Obasi, WMO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. The event will be translated to the six official languages of the United Nations (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish).

• Watch live on Zoom: https://wmo-int.zoom.us/j/95319994041
• In-person participation is possible upon registration (required) via this form. Registering in advance is highly recommended as security measures will be busy on-site.

Agenda

14:00 – 14:20

Welcome by the Master of Ceremony – Professor Stefan Uhlenbrook (WMO)

Opening remarks (3 x 5 min/speaker)  

• Dr. Ko Barrett, WMO Deputy Secretary-General
• Dr. Lidia Arthur Brito, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences
• H. E. Mr Bahodur Sheralizoda, Chair of the Committee of Environmental Protection, Tajikistan  

14:20 – 14:50

IYGP 2025 Vision: Challenges and Opportunities by the Co-chairs of the Advisory Board – 12 min  

• Dr. Carolina Adler (Mountain Research Initiative -MRI, Switzerland) *presenter onsite
• Professor John Pomeroy (University of Saskatchewan-USask, Canada) *online

Updates on IYGP 2025 Task Forces (4 x 4 min/speaker) – 16 min

• TF-1: Global Campaign for International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation 2025 (Lead: FAO Mountain Partnership Secretariat) – Ms Sara Manuelli
• TF-2: International Conference on Glaciers’ Preservation, Regional Workshops and Capacity Building (Lead: ICIMOD-International Center for Integrated Mountain Development) – Dr. Neera Pradhan
• TF-3: Research and Monitoring Initiatives (Lead: University of Chile in Santiago) – Dr. James Peter Mc Phee Torres
• TF-4: Policy Advocacy, Partnerships and Resource Mobilization (Lead: ICCI- International Cryosphere Climate Initiative) – Ms Pam Pearson

14:50 – 15:05

Interventions from the floor on the IYGP 2025

15:05 – 15:30

Panel discussion (7x 3 minutes/speaker) ignite talks by each panelist followed by moderated discussion with Q&A at the end. We aim for a diverse, multi-stakeholder panel.

Moderated by Ms Rodica Nitu, Secretary of WMO PHORS

• Data and Monitoring (Dr. Michael Zemp, World Glacier Monitoring Service)
• Impacts on the Society (Dr. Neera Pradhan, ICIMOD)  
• Science to Policy (Dr. Sulagna Mishra, WMO)  
• Finance (Ms. Maria Dimitriadou, World Bank) 
• Finance (Ms. Yasmin Siddiqi, Asian Development Bank) 
• NGO (Dr. Jérôme Chappellaz, Ice Memory Foundation) 
• Disasters Risk and impacts (Mr. Kamal Kisore, UNDRR) – TBC

15:30 – 15:55

Country Stakeholder Voices – Interventions, Commitments, Q&A with panelists and presenters

15:55 – 16:00

Closing – Dr. Koen Verbist (UNESCO) 

SIDE EVENTS

All Member States and partners were invited to host local side events as part of a global campaign. The open call received 50+ applications by partners, Members, other UN organizations. These contributions are expected to help raise awareness, inspire action, and contribute to the preservation of our planet’s glaciers. 

The Side Events will take place throughout the day (21 January), except 14:00-16:00(UTC+2/CET).

• The format and focus of the events are tailored to regional and local priorities, ensuring diverse and impactful contributions.
• Since this is a global launch, the schedule of these events covers 03:00 – 23:00 UTC+2/CET so that the events cater to different regions and time zones.
• The meeting links for each side event will be made available by the host organizers, and can be accessed here in the Program section on the official website.