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