Koen Olthuis had the honour to present the first copy of the book FLOAT! to President Nasheed who has been chosen by Newsweek magazine as one of the “world’s ten best leaders”.

President Maldives
Koen Olthuis presented the first copy of the book “FLOAT!” to President Nasheed of the Republic of Maldives

Male, Maldives, 16 September 2010.
Koen Olthuis had the honour to present the first copy of the book “FLOAT!, to combat  urban congestion and climate change”  to President Nasheed of the Republic of Maldives, who has been chosen by Newsweek magazine as one of the “world’s ten best leaders.”

Newsweek lauds the President as a “green guru” and a “hero among environmentalists” for his efforts to prod the world into action against climate change, which threatens the Maldives and other vulnerable nations.

“In the run-up to last year’s United Nations climate-change meeting, Nasheed attracted global attention by hosting a cabinet meeting underwater. In Copenhagen, he shamed rich governments by pledging to make the Maldives the world’s first carbon-neutral nation,” reads the Newsweek article.

Al Gore likes to quote him on the human cost of climate change. And in April, the U.N. elected him one of six ‘2010 Champions of the Earth,’.