UNESCO Lecture Series

United Nations
Educational, Scientiﬁc andCultural Organization

InternationalGeoscience
Programme

Earth Materials for a
Sustainable and Thriving Society
Organised in collaboration with IUGS and iCRAG
PROGRAMME
Minerals and other Earth materials are a key component in the development of asustainable global society, providing essential raw materials for technologies andeconomic growth while respecting the natural world. This programme of lectures,designed for a global audience, will provide diverse perspectives on Earth materials
and their role in society. Leading natural scientists, social scientists, and educatorswill look at how Earth materials are critical to a sustainable future and how theminerals sector, adhering to best practices, can contribute to society in a socially andenvironmentally positive way.
The lectures will be delivered in webinar format by recognized global experts whowill frame their presentations in the context of the United Nations Sustainable
Development Goals. The Series will boost knowledge of Earth materials andcontribute to better informed local, regional, and international discussions. The
lectures will be freely accessible and will be archived for later online access.
The Lecture Series is sponsored by UNESCO, the only United Nations organization witha mandate to support research and capacity building in the Earth Sciences. The Series
supports the vision of UNESCO’s International Geoscience Programme for efficient,safe, sustainable and renewable natural resources exploration and extraction.
• UNESCO is the only United Nations organization with a mandate to support
research and capacity building in the Earth Sciences.
• The UNESCO International Geoscience Programme (IGCP) serves as aknowledge hub of UNESCO to facilitate international scientific cooperation inthe geosciences.
• The International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) encourages
international co-operation and participation in the Earth Sciences in relation tohuman welfare.
• iCRAG, the Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Applied Geosciences,
is a team of researchers creating solutions for a sustainable society.

Organising Partners

The lecture series will commence 26 January 2021.
To register, visit: https://bit.ly/UNESCOLectures
For more information, please email: unescolectures@icrag-centre.org
All sessions will be conducted in English with live captioning in French, Spanish,Portuguese, Arabic, Swahili, and Hindi.
All sessions will include a live public question and answer period with thepresenters immediately following the lecture presentations.
UNESCO Lecture Series: Earth Materials for a Sustainable and Thriving Society

1EARTH MATERIALS: THE FOUNDATION FOR DEVELOPMENT
26 January 2021
05.00 (Vancouver) * 08.00 (Toronto, Lima) * 13.00 (London) * 14.00 (Paris, Lagos) *15.00 (Johannesburg) * 16.00 (Nairobi) * 18.30 (Mumbai) * 19.00 (Dhaka) * 21.00 (Beijing) *22.00 (Tokyo) * 00.00+1 (Sydney)
United Nations
Educational, Scientiﬁc andCultural Organization

InternationalGeoscience
ProgrammeOrganising Partners• Introductory remarks from Dr. Shamila Nair-Bedouelle, Assistant DirectorGeneral for Natural Sciences, UNESCO, and Dr. John Ludden CBE, Bicentennial
Research Professor, Environmental Governance and Diplomacy, Heriot-Watt
University, UK

Review of historical and present-day mineral demand and its connections
to the economy, technology, and society• Historical context globally — why Earth materials are important• Technological evolution and climate neutrality are creating demand for new
mineral portfolios• Mineral wealth and the SDGs, including wealth and social justice
Dr. Larry Meinert, Meinert Consulting LLC, Delaware, USA.
Dr. Nellie Mutemeri, Mining Practice Lead, Mutemeri Consulting and Associate
Professor, University of Witwatersrand, South Africa.

CLIMATE NEUTRALITY, THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY, AND
EARTH MATERIALS
2 February 2021
07.00 (Vancouver) * 10.00 (Toronto, Lima) * 15.00 (London) * 16.00 (Paris, Lagos) *17.00 (Johannesburg) * 18.00 (Nairobi) * 20.30 (Mumbai) * 21.00 (Dhaka) * 23.00 (Beijing) *00.00+1 (Tokyo) * 02.00+1 (Sydney)

Reimagining metal supply to meet demand and societal expectations• Current and emerging demand drivers• Circular economy — importance and challenges• Moving to efficient and responsible primary extraction• Joining up the value chain
Prof. John Thompson, PetraScience Consultants, Vancouver, Canada and Honorary
Professor of Sustainable Resources, University of Bristol, UK.
Prof. Frances Wall, Professor of Applied Mineralogy, University of Exeter, UK.

THE NEGLECTED MINERALS AND MATERIALS OF DEVELOPMENT
9 February 2021
01.00 (Vancouver) * 04.00 (Toronto, Lima) * 09.00 (London) * 10.00 (Paris, Lagos) *11.00 (Johannesburg) * 12.00 (Nairobi) * 14.30 (Mumbai) * 15.00 (Dhaka) * 17.00 (Beijing) *18.00 (Tokyo) * 20.00 (Sydney)

Materials produced and consumed locally (in both developing anddeveloped countries)• Bulk materials, generally for nearby use• Role in construction, infrastructure, agriculture, water treatment, etc.
• Environmental, social, and economic dimensions
Prof. Daniel Franks, Program Leader, Sustainable Minerals Institute, University ofQueensland, Australia.

UNESCO Lecture Series: Earth Materials for a Sustainable and Thriving Society

2

MINERAL EXTRACTION AND COMMUNITIES
16 February 2021
06.00 (Vancouver) * 09.00 (Toronto, Lima) * 14.00 (London) * 15.00 (Paris, Lagos) *16.00 (Johannesburg) * 17.00 (Nairobi) * 19.30 (Mumbai) * 20.00 (Dhaka) * 22.00 (Beijing) *23.00 (Tokyo) * 01.00+1 (Sydney)
United Nations
Educational, Scientiﬁc andCultural Organization

InternationalGeoscience
Programme

Organising Partners

Regulation of the mining sector; mining and local communities in thecontext of Latin America and Africa• Social justice and sustainability: the challenge of social acceptanceand license• The importance of governance: Regulation and oversight ofmining operations• Case studies and best practices
Dr. Rajiv Maher, Research Professor, EGADE Business School del Technológico deMonterrey, Mexico.
Dr. Melba Kapesa Wasunna, External Affairs Manager, Base Titanium Ltd., Kenya.

SUPPLIERS, CONSUMERS, AND THE GLOBAL MINERALS
SUPPLY CHAIN
2 March 2021
02.00 (Vancouver) * 05.00 (Toronto, Lima) * 10.00 (London) * 11.00 (Paris, Lagos) *12.00 (Johannesburg) * 13.00 (Nairobi) * 15.30 (Mumbai) * 16.00 (Dhaka) * 18.00 (Beijing) *19.00 (Tokyo) * 21.00 (Sydney)

Technical, environmental, business, and social aspects of different scalesof mining operations; links between consumers and source• How supply chains work from source to use• Differentiating large-scale, high-tech small-scale, and artisanal mining sectors• Processing, refining, manufacturing sectors• Stakeholders, responsible sourcing programmes, and their impacts
Dr. Kathryn Moore, Senior Lecturer in Critical and Green Technology Metals,
University of Exeter, UK.
Dr. Judy Muthuri, Associate Professor of Corporate Social Responsibility,
Nottingham University Business School, UK, and Project Lead, Sustainable Artisanaland Small-scale Mining Project (Kenya).

EARTH MATERIALS AND A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
9 March 2021
04.00 (Vancouver) * 07.00 (Toronto, Lima) * 12.00 (London) * 13.00 (Paris, Lagos) *14.00 (Johannesburg) * 15.00 (Nairobi) * 17.30 (Mumbai) * 18.00 (Dhaka) * 20.00 (Beijing) *21.00 (Tokyo) * 23.00 (Sydney)

A reliable, affordable, and just supply of earth materials can be thefoundation for a sustainable future and young professionals are the key
to that future.
• Earth materials and the UN Sustainable Development Goals• Technical, workforce, and social challenges must be addressed at all scales inboth developing and developed countries• A vision for the future
Prof. Murray Hitzman, Director of iCRAG and Science Foundation Ireland ResearchProfessor, University College Dublin, Ireland.
Ms. Halleluya Naantu Ekandjo, research student, iCRAG, Dublin, studying the Rosh
Pinah zinc-lead deposit, Namibia.
• Closing remarks by UNESCO representative
Images top to bottom: Page 1: Shutterstock/MrNovel; Shutterstock/Sunshine Seeds; Shutterstock/Talukdar David.
Page 2: Shutterstock/Abdelrahman Hassanein; Getty Images/iStockphoto; Natanael Melchor on Unsplash. Page 3:Shutterstock/egd; Shutterstock/yurakrasil; Rawpixel.com - stock.adobe.com.

UNESCO Lecture Series: Earth Materials for a Sustainable and Thriving Society3