Latest news with #Seid
Kuwait Times
09-08-2025
- Business
- Kuwait Times
Brazil COP30 climate summit lodging too pricey for some nations
PARIS: High prices for lodging may force small island states to slash the size of their delegations to the November COP30 climate summit in Brazil, a representative said Friday. 'The 39 members of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) have continually expressed their concerns about the prohibitive costs associated with travelling to and staying in Belem,' Ilana Seid, chair of the group and representative of Palau at the United Nations, told AFP by email. 'We do not have the luxury of large budgets at our disposal to ensure our participation,' she said on behalf of the countries that dot oceans worldwide and are especially vulnerable to sea level rise and superstorms amplified by global warming. 'If our delegations are reduced or unable to participate effectively, it would be a failure in the pursuit of climate justice for those whose lives and livelihoods are on the front line of a crisis they did not cause,' Seid said. The UN climate conference will be held in November in Belem, an Amazonian city of 1.3 million inhabitants with limited hotel accommodations. Less than 100 days before the event, the prices have caused such widespread consternation that some countries have asked for the conference to be moved to another city. Austria's head of state this week cancelled his planned trip, citing 'exceptionally high costs'. Recent months have seen hotels advertising rooms at 1,200 euros ($1,400) a night. Some offerings on the Airbnb booking platform were even higher. Airbnb said it was 'committed to increasing efforts to raise awareness in the local hosting community and encourage responsible practices'. Since November 2023 the number of listings for the Belem region had surged to 6,100 from 1,000, 'which represents around 19,000 beds', it told AFP, in a statement. The COP30 presidency, which does not intend to move the event, has offered reduced-price accommodation for developing and island countries, including cabins on cruise ships. But the price of these rooms is 'still higher' than the package agreed for UN-backed travellers, Seid said. 'The allocation of 15 rooms per delegation is also alarming, meaning that many of our countries would be forced to reduce the size of their delegations,' she said. The COP30 president, Andre Correa do Lago, acknowledged this month that there were 'extreme concerns' and that 'reducing delegations is obviously not what Brazil wants because we need a very intense and productive COP'. 'We are trying to find solutions to this price issue,' he told journalists.—AFP
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Yahoo
MTSU Mondays: Hackathon again wows with student creativity, ‘age-friendly' recognition
Here's the latest news from Middle Tennessee State University. While most teams in the 10th annual Middle Tennessee State University HackMT experienced success with their app and web-related projects after working 36 hours nonstop, U.S. Army veteran Nathaniel Frost and teammate Rhama Seid admitted they literally ran out of time. They were among 15 teams and 130 students recently competing in the 36-hour marathon event working with industry professionals serving as mentors — some of whom are alumni — to invent new web and computer applications, games and more. Coffee and other beverages and snacks kept them going, plus most caught bits of sleep. Computer science, mathematics, mechatronics engineering and computer information systems students participated in the event, again hosted by the MTSU Computer Science Department. 'This was our largest HackMT since 2020,' said Joshua Phillips, computer science professor and event director. 'All 15 teams stuck it out. We had great support again from our industry partners and sponsors.' Frost, 40, a Murfreesboro resident who served in the Army and Tennessee National Guard, and Seid, 21, teamed up for a project titled 'Food4U' that Seid said she hopes to continue exploring. 'We ran out of time,' said Frost, a senior computer science major who anticipates graduating in December. 'It turned into a research project on Saturday. We were going down rabbit holes. It was a very educational experience. You learn from your failures.' It was 'a pretty different experience' for Seid, also a senior computer science major planning to graduate in December. 'I learned a lot of new (computer) languages and frameworks.' One of several mechatronics engineering students participating in the event, Bereket Tagistesillassie of Murfreesboro was among 14 students and mentors with the 'AudiPy' team on a successful math-oriented project providing data analysis for audio. 'It was a fully functional Python library for people to download,' said Tagistesillassie, 21, a senior graduating in May, who added he was 'able to get some sleep and making sure things were running properly.' Mentors from Nashville-based LRQ led one team in its facial recognition project titled 'FaceOff.' The team earned first place in the judges' voting. 'We overcame a lot of challenges,' said Andrew Walker, 22, a senior computer science major from Murfreesboro. LRQ's Fred Nelson said it was 'a web app that tracks your facial emotions and displays them.' As the team formed on the opening night with each member having a specific job, he gave each of them nicknames 'as a way of just having fun.' Sponsors included Asurion, CAT Financial, Bondware and CGI. Judges awarded juniors Gavin Liles and Noah Smith scholarships. Read more at Middle Tennessee State University has been named as the first higher-education institution in the state to earn membership in the internationally recognized Age-Friendly University Global Network. The AFUGN is comprised of more than 120 colleges and universities across five continents that are committed to promoting positive and healthy aging to enhance the lives of older members of the global community through innovative educational and cultural programs. 'Age friendly means there are policies and practices in place that support older adults and create an age-friendly ecosystem. We want to be a university that provides ways for older adults to flourish,' said Deborah Lee, director of the Positive Aging Consortium, a collaborative established at MTSU in 2019 to foster positive aging within the community. According to U.S. Census data, 1.6 million Tennesseans are age 60 and older — the fastest-growing demographic in Tennessee — and will soon constitute one-fifth of the total population. 'Across the state of Tennessee, and across the country, a lot of our older adults are living longer and healthier lives. A growing number of students are nontraditional and a lot of people are pursuing education as older adults,' said Commissioner Ralph Alvarado, M.D., Tennessee Department of Health. 'I think MTSU's commitment to being age-friendly means both staff and students gain from the experience of intergenerational learning.' The AFUGN sets forth 10 principles ranging from promotion of personal and career development in the second half of life to recognizing the educational needs of older adults. Institutions must meet at least two to four in order principles to qualify for membership, with MTSU meeting four thus far. For example, MTSU's bachelor's degrees in professional studies and applied leadership through University College both offer a lot of flexibility for people returning to the classroom as part of the state's largest Adult Degree Completion Program. The Alumni Summer College is a three-day educational program that offers interactive classes, tours and fellowship for the public. MTSU also provides discounted tuition for older adults. 'We received the designation based on activities and data that are currently in place,' said associate professor of exercise physiology Brandon Grubbs, cofounder of the Positive Aging Consortium and instrumental in garnering the age-friendly designation. The AFUGN members must be reevaluated every five years and Grubbs said he hopes MTSU will be able to fulfill other principles on the list. Learn more about the Positive Aging Consortium by visiting MTSU Mondays content is provided by submissions from MTSU News and Media Relations. This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: Hackathon wows with student creativity, 'age-friendly' recognition
