Innovations in Development : August 2010

Monday, August 2, 2010

Reports on Earth Charter +10 Event

I attended the Earth Charter's 10th anniversary event at the Peace Palace, the Hague from June 27th to 29th, 2010. The Earth Charter is a declaration of fundamental ethical principles for building a just, sustainable and peaceful global society in the 21st century. It seeks to inspire in all people a new sense of global interdependence and shared responsibility for the well-being of the whole human family, the greater community of life, and future generations. It is a vision of hope and a call to action.

The event brought together people from all sectors and parts of the world to engage in dialogue, to collaborate and reflect on 10 years of the Earth Charter and the future steps towards a sustainable future.

Over 200 participants attended this event, including EC Commissioners, Affiliates, members of the International Council, youth leaders and many partners. The event had the honour of having the participation of Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands and Prime Minister Balkenende. In his address, the Prime Minister said that "the art can change your life and that he would never forget the music he heard here today", and he compared the EC movement with a tree that has been growing, although not as much (and fast) as it should, but he hopes it will continue to grow until its leaves cover the whole world.

This was a wonderful occasion for participants to learn from each other and get extra portion of inspiration. A special feature was to have Minister of Culture and Youth of Costa Rica, Manuel Obregon, play parts of his concert "Symbiosis" and also to have a "Concert of the plants" led by Macaco Tamerice. The event was convened by Ruud Lubbers and was organized by NCDO in cooperation with the ECI Secretariat.
I was invited to speak at the Earth Charter Session on UN, Global Governance and Climate Change with speaker like Yolanda Kababadse, former IUCN chair and WWF president.

It was an inspiring event for me and I got home with a backpack full of knowledge and inspiration to engage for a peaceful and sustainable future in Nigeria.

Through the Nigerian Youth Climate Coalition (NYCC), I am currently planing to hold a Youth Dialogue on Climate change tagged: 'Our Year, Our Voice' to prepare for COP16 and to celebrate the International Year of Youth, which runs August 2010-2011.

Esther Agbarakwe
IUCN CEC- Nigeria

Youth Caucus UN CSD 17

The CSD Youth Caucus is an international network of over 2,000 youth leaders from hundreds of individuals and organisations, many of which are themselves national networks, that brings together young people with a desire to build a more sustainable world. The focus of the caucus is two-fold. First, to facilitate youth input into the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development, the primary international forum concerned with issues of Sustainability, and secondly to foster information sharing and communication between a diverse network of youth organisations who share a common interest in sustainability. Among the Youth Caucus is Esther Agbarakwe, representing Nigeria

Empowering Young people in Global Governance Process: The German Government

Young people, who constitute the majority of the world’s population, are an important force and partner in the field of global Interdependence. It follows, therefore, that youth organisations are social actors who should be recognised as having a role to play in development and who are capable of carrying out projects and programmes in the field of development co-operation. Direct co-operation and exchange of ideas between young people in the North and South is a key instrument of intercultural understanding and global interdependence.

Youth in Global Governance

There are millions of young people in the world who have one thing in common, they are in the process of preparing for adult life, seeking to ensure economic independence and become productive members of their societies. For that to succeed, young people require the support and help of their families; the conditions to live in peace; access to educational and health facilities; and productive, enjoyable leisure time. These are basic necessities for young people the world over, irrespective of their race, sex, colour or religion.

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Monday, August 2, 2010

Reports on Earth Charter +10 Event

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