Mr. Gupta was invited as part of an international gathering of 1,200 representatives of indigenous peoples, in addition to NGOs, leaders in Academia, and UN agencies, for the 17th session of UNFPII between April 16th and April 27th of 2018. Indigenous Peoples’ representatives and World Bank senior management discussed proposals on strengthening existing dialogue and complementing global-level work with regional and country-level collaboration.

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Mr. Gupta, the co-author of the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) report “The Role of Traditional Knowledge and Technology (TKT) in Climate Solutions,” joined World Bank Senior Advisors in advocating for the inclusion of TKT initiatives in climate change projects. He demonstrated how TKT can contribute to climate solutions during his keynote speech. This was followed by a discussion between the panel and indigenous peoples’ representatives and participants. They discussed their unique experiences and shared innovative examples of using TKT to address climate change in their communities.