For information only - not an official document
UNIS/OUS/372
10 May 2017
Re-issued as received
VIENNA, 10 May (United Nations Industrial Development Organization) - Austria national football teamplayer and Bayern Munich's defender David Alaba has voiced his support for the Vienna Energy Forum, which is being held in the Austrian capital this week, and in a personal message has called for ending energy poverty worldwide.
In the video, he talks about the fact that people like him, who were born in Europe, have easy access to energy. "It would be impossible to imagine a modern Europe without access to electricity: a life without cell phones and the Internet. On the other hand, I feel sadness in my heart for my relatives: Africans from my father's side (Nigeria) and Asians from my mother's side (Philippines)," says David Alaba.
"I feel sad to know that there are still 1.2 billion people on our planet without regular access to electricity. Moreover, more than 2.7 billion people are living without clean cooking facilities. Over 95 per cent of these people are either in Sub-Saharan Africa, where my dad comes from, or developing Asia, where my mum's family is from."
He goes on to recall that at the age of 13 he visited relatives in Nigeria with his parents and sister, and witnessed himself what it means to live without electricity.
"I wonder how they go on with their daily lives, when they have no refrigerators to store food; when hospitals have no regular electricity. We can change this. Let's join hands and together put an end to energy poverty," says Alaba.
Watch the full video on https://www.viennaenergyforum.org/
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This year's Vienna Energy Forum was organized by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the Government of Austria, IIASA, and Sustainable Energy for ALL, and brought together over 1500 participants, including high-ranking government officials and experts in the field of energy and development.
High-level sessions at the Hofburg Palace are taking place on 11 and 12 May.
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For more information, please contact:
Email: vef2017@unido.org
