The XIII British Culture Week in Cuba began this November 28 with a focus dedicated to combining art, science and environmental commitment.
Its inauguration took place in the Quinta de Los Molinos Botanical Garden of Havana and conversations about the climate were the focus of the opening event of the actions that will last until December 6.
“Let’s all learn and above all ask ourselves, what can we do?” was the call to action with which His Excellency James Hoole OBE, ambassador of the United Kingdom in Cuba, officially opened the event.
“We knew that it would be complex, difficult to communicate in the context of an economic crisis after a hurricane like Melisa and pending diseases transmitted by mosquitoes, but we decided on this path because in circumstances of crisis is when we most have to return to the importance of taking care of the earth, the one that produces food, the one that ensures the quality of our air, it is when we have to think the most about what to do with the garbage we generate, and how we can have more generous models of life among human beings and with nature,” the ambassador explained in his speech.
Previously, four presentations had taken place on stage that gave signs of how the British week in Cuba aims to bring together knowledge, experiences and cultures.
The popular comedian Ronny Diez, known as Captain Diez, began the presentations with a monologue about the weather and climate change in the usual way that Cuban humor has of ironizing our reality. A way to begin the serious analysis that the Week wants to promote, but showing that these days will be a journey to think seriously from enjoyment.
Science was then in three experiences. That of Dr. Lourdes Mujica, professor at the Faculty of Biology of the University of Havana and the National Botanical Garden; that of Alex Monro, scientist at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, one of the special guests of the Week; and that of the Cuban scientist residing in Canada, and one of the most prestigious Cuban botanists, Dr. Luis Roberto Torres.
Furthermore, for its opening in La Quinta, the Week chose to bring together a group of ventures whose center is the creation of products from natural or recycled products, as well as others that provide services directly associated with environmental care such as recycling and the first presentation of the Inmor Group, the first venture in the country dedicated to water purification.
“Look differently, there are alternatives” says the motto of the British Culture Week in Cuba this year, whose actions are aimed at all audiences, with emphasis on children and adolescents, that generation in training and for whom it is easier to sow a change than to bear future fruits.
The Week’s activities will move through various spaces in the city, and include workshops, film screenings, theater, immersive experiences, ecological camping, among other actions.
“The United Kingdom is a pioneer country in many things, in the industrial revolution and now in a change in the energy matrix. Today its priority is an agenda that puts the country at the forefront of compliance with global climate commitments, and we have committed to supporting other countries in combating the effects of climate change,” said the British ambassador in Cuba.
