00:05Thank you very much, James.
00:08Hola, bienvenido.
00:10I wanted to be here at sea at Saturday.
00:13It's already the end of the day. It's not yet.
00:17As you know, the head of trust work in Angola meant a great deal to my mother.
00:22Carrying on her legacy is a responsibility that I take incredibly seriously.
00:26And I think we all know how much she wants us to finish this particular job.
00:32We're all here because we're a band of true believers fighting for a mind-free world.
00:38Yes, it's Angola's fault.
00:40We know the road ahead is long and challenging.
00:44But resigning to complacency and all despair are obstacles far more insurmountable.
00:51So we remain resilient as we work toward a future where landmines are a distant memory.
00:57Where families and communities can thrive in their land without fear of life-changing injuries or death.
01:04Where countries can finally declare that they are landmine-free and experience the immense opportunities and change that come with
01:12it.
01:13We're fortunate to have Foreign Minister Tete Antonio and a large delegation of ministers representing President Lorenzo and the Angolan
01:21government here today.
01:23Angola, under President Lorenzo's leadership, has set the gold standard for commitment and accomplishment in demining their country.
01:30This goes beyond just numbers, minds cleared and money allocated.
01:36It's about actual lives and actual progress.
01:41Angola has brought a collaborative spirit and relentless determination to this endeavour.
01:48Demining on such a monumental scale is a challenge for any country, let alone one that has emerged from centuries
01:55of colonialism and decades of civil war.
01:58Yet Angola, facing a myriad of urgent challenges, remains steadfast in this mission.
02:06The key to the country's approach has been collaboration across countries, world bodies and political ideologies.
02:13They work with big companies, non-profits and the UN, pulling everyone they can into the effort.
02:21This level of diplomacy and leadership has allowed HALO to expand its operations, with funding from the US State Department,
02:29BP and the UK Government.
02:31As you've already heard, in 2019, Angola government pledged an unprecedented $60 million to fund a five-year project with
02:41HALO to clear landmines from over 50 kilometers squared across 153 minefields in Kwango, Kwango province.
02:51This support continued through 2022 and 2023, despite global financial constraints and the pandemic.
03:01In the same year of 2019, I walked in my mother's footsteps in Kwango, Angola.
03:06When she first walked in 1997, I found a bustling, vibrant town.
03:12I met hundreds of schoolchildren who had no idea that the ground that they stood on was once reloved with
03:18landmines.
03:20It is moments like these that I am personally grateful for our collective efforts.
03:25Grateful for the resolve and determination to see this through.
03:29There was also, in 2019, the Angola government tasked HALO with clearing their wildlife parks, specifically in the Luwenga, Luwana
03:37and Luwenga National Parks.
03:40Mine clearance and conservation are inextricably linked.
03:44Angola's targeted strategy on its portion of the Kwango, Zambezi, Trans-Fonteer conservation area, known as CASA, demonstrates the holistic
03:52approach of both Angola and HALO.
03:56The area itself spans five African countries.
04:01And much like the Delta waters, the region's wildlife naturally needs to move across these borders.
04:07But mines and other factors have made that impossible.
04:12Angola, with the headwaters of the Ark of Angola, recognises it must partner with others.
04:17While Botswana recognises that a significant number of Angolan elephants are stuck in their country and trying to return home.
04:26This much-needed pan-African cooperation reminds me of a song by the Jamaican radio artist, Burning Spear, called Elephants.
04:35And no, I'm not going to sing it.
04:37Even though you'd like me to.
04:40Burning Spear sings of elephants defending each other and moving as one.
04:44He pleads for African nations to do the same.
04:47To stand up as one.
04:49To live as one.
04:50And in CASA, that is exactly what's happening.
04:54This essential cross-corporation recognises that this priceless natural asset belongs to all.
05:00Elephants and people alike.
05:03Clearing these mines is about more than just physical safety.
05:06It's about opportunity, community and collective wellbeing.
05:12That sense of peace improves wellbeing.
05:15And the work being done in Angola will undoubtedly have a profoundly positive effect on the lives of its people
05:21and all those who visit its natural beauty.
05:25And much has changed in my life and the world since 2019 when I first visited Wanda.
05:31In those five years, I have become a father for the second time.
05:35And while you don't need children to have a stake in the future of our planet, I do know that
05:41my mother would have been horrified that anyone's children or grandchildren live in a world still infested with mines.
05:48But even as mine technology shockingly continues to be deployed today, technology remains part of the solution.
05:56The Halo Trust's work in Ukraine is fueling an innovation agenda supporting efforts wherever they work.
06:02While drones are weapons, they are also lifesavers.
06:06They can both detect and disable mines.
06:10It's also down to the Halo's awareness campaign, which has been viewed over 200 million times by 15.2 million
06:16Ukrainians that lives are being saved.
06:21Halo's recent partnership with Amazon Web Services to utilise AI to analyse drone footage will yield greater dividends.
06:28It has the potential to rapidly and accurately analyse and disseminate drone information for Halo's workers in the field,
06:36of which there are thousands of high school personnel within their lives at risk every single day.
06:42Africa and Angola in particular has an incredibly young population,
06:48a demographic wave that surges with energy and optimism,
06:53holding the promise of a bright future for Angola's youth.
06:57For them, a world without mines must be a moral imperative for all of us.
07:04The land and its animals are assets that belong to them and will give them decades-long financial security and
07:12opportunity through tourism.
07:14It is their future that we must protect and secure and one that the President recognises so well.
07:21So, let's honour Angola and its leadership for their incredible work and transformational commitments.
07:28And tomorrow, let's wake up and let's get back to work.
07:33Let's renew our commitments and let's finish the job for all our sins,
07:37so we too can look back in awe and relief.
07:41And so those who started this recovery and regeneration many years ago
07:46can rest knowing that we really did finish the job. Thank you.
07:50Thank you very much.
Comments