Choy Kim Lee stands up for her planet

BY NATALIE HENG
star2green@thestar.com

One youth stands up for her planet.

AN APPRECIATION of nature comes easily for Choy Kim Lee, who grew up on cold showers straight from the well in the town of Malim Nawar, Perak. Life just seemed more integrated with the outdoors there, where people were green without even trying to be. Louvre windows and traditional skylight hatches allowed natural wind and sunlight into homes, while motorbikes and bicycles were common modes of transport in a landscape shaded by an abundance of greenery.

Choy left this idyllic life behind when she moved to the city in 2007, to pursue a degree in Biomedical Science. It was during her years at Universiti Malaya, a green enclave amidst the rush and traffic of Kuala Lumpur, that she came across a documentary that changed her life –Home by Yann Arthus-Bertrand, the 2009 feature movie which captured the Earth’s beauty and degradation, from the air.

Doing more: Choy Kim Lee wants youths to be more vocal about conservation.

It convinced Choy that she should be part of something bigger. That is why attending the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in June was a big deal for her. From tree planting to hosting workshops on composting for local residents in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, the 24-year-old has been taking baby steps to care for the planet. But at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where the conference was held, she got to see how her efforts are amplified amidst similar initiatives by youths from all over, each trying to make a difference in their respective corner and all collectively making a difference across the world.

The sea of voices present at the World Youth Congress which she attended at Rio was in her words, “Huge”. Hearing how outspoken and certain of their position these youths were has inspired her to continue being involved in raising Malaysia’s environmental consciousness.

Lending a hand

Choy is a busy bee. She spends most of her time working as a part-time research assistant in the Department of Social and Preventive Health at Universiti Malaya’s Faculty of Medicine. In between, she sources for funds to do volunteer work. The list of affiliations on her name card include the Smile Action Team, a non-governmental organisation she helped establish, which offers free dental health care to orphans. Over the Hari Raya break last month, she flew to Cambodia to offer such help to children in need.

Then there is MyCorps, a platform for youths to participate in community welfare and humanitarian activities. She went to Lebanon with the group in March to work on a community development project for Palestinian refugees. Aside from her interest in humanitarian issues, what drives her is protection of the environment, which was why she joined the Malaysian Green and Blue Environment Protection Society back in 2010.

The group, which only has about 20 members, organises screenings of environmental films, exhibitions and other green-related events in an effort to increase green-literacy amongst city folk.

In addition to being active at the grassroots level, Choy feels that pushing for change at the policy level is equally important. Hence, she has been a participant of the Global Model United Nations Conference for the last couple of years. Last year, at the South Korea gathering, she learnt about negotiation policies on the topic of “How to advance human progress in harmony with nature”. Since then, she has joined the United Nations Association Malaysia (UNAM) Youth Circle. Later this year, she will be going to the United States for a workshop that will equip her and other Youth Circle members with the knowledge and training on how to host a Model United Nations Conference in Malaysia next year. It was also through UNAM’s sponsorship that she and a fellow active member of the group, Eng Khim Sheng, managed to make it to Rio.

Learning from Rio

Certain things struck Choy whilst she was in Rio. Aside from the assault on her senses from a bustling landscape filled with shanty towns, the human warmth – a local at a bus stop offered her a bed in their family home when all the hotels in town were fully booked – and the outspokenness of youths from around the world took some getting used to. Her experience at the World Youth Congress, which took place from June 4 to 13 was inspirational.

“Many of the youths have had more exposure in this kind of stuff (environmental issues). I was really impressed because they were so outspoken. They had opinions about things. The Asian participants were a lot quieter and didn’t seem to have their own stand.”

This is something Choy wants to change, about herself and other Malaysians. She thinks the lack of interest in green issues among youths here has to do with a lack of exposure, and she believes that teachers should encourage students to read about current global issues and be involved in extra-curricular activities and volunteerism.

Since returning from Rio, Choy has been busy leveraging on her contacts and affiliations to change things. Firstly, she has proposed to the Economic Planning Unit, which is running a post Rio+20 workshop next month, to include a youth representative.

She is also doing coordinating work for a post-Rio+20 stakeholders’ forum to be held in November, organised by UM Care, a loose volunteer group of like-minded individuals at Universiti Malaya, which she is a member of. At this gathering, people can voice their opinions on the country’s sustainable development programmes.

At the end of the year, UM Care will organise an environmental conference on various issues.

“People interested in water issues, for example, can run a workshop or discussion group on the subject and discuss what they want Universiti Malaya to do about it. All proposals and solutions will be compiled and submitted to the Chancellor or some other decision-making body.

“I think Malaysian youths should try to get more involved in things like this. Nowadays, it’s easy to explore the issues affecting the planet through the Internet. It doesn’t matter if you are studying or working on something unrelated to the environment. I did biomedical sciences, for example. I think there needs to be a sense of urgency (about the state of the planet) which will drive people to look up these issues and get involved in things outside of their every day lives.”

Choy Kim Lee Stands Up for Her Planet

Timeless in Brazil 2: Greatest architectures of all

Yesterday we visited several buildings in  São Paulo, today I'll show you more interesting places that you 'must-go'. 

São Paulo Se Metropolitan Cathedral
São Paulo Cathedral has a Neo-Gothic styled structure, built in 1913 and completed after four decades. Despite having a Renaissance-styled dome, the São Paulo Metropolitan Cathedral is the largest cathedral in  São Paulo and it's considered by some to be the 4th largest neo-gothic cathedral in the world. Located in
Praça da Sé (Se Square), there is a Marco Zero monument (ground zero) in front of the cathedral. Marco Zero is considered to be the center of the town. The hexagonal prism coated marble represents the geographic center of the city, where all distance measurements situated on signposts stuck to it are established. During the evening I visited this site, there were religious group of people performed mass in front of the cathedral (It was closed on Sundays). However, while admiring the building, beware of the pickpockets and street people who would come and ask you to buy toys or for money.

The Great São Paulo Cathedral 

 The São Paulo metro or rapid-transit system is the largest in the city and in Brazil. It was built in 1970s with length of 74.3km. Due to high population of this city, its traffic is terribly congested too. So, it's best to visit the city with metro.

Avenue Paulista
A famous and an important avenue in Sao Paulo metropolitan, Avenue Paulista is home to headquarters of a large number of finance and art institutions. There are banks, stock exchange, branded shops, TV and radios antennas, the landmark MASP, and of course, people. Since it's an important center of business and finance, the expenses in this area is rather high! Note that the avenue is also famous for its Gay Parade which held in May/June. According to wiki information, the city has 2.1 millions of opposite sex couples and 5,700 same-sex couples. Though it has more than 70% of Catholic Christians, Brazil is a secular state, and the LGBT people enjoy most of the same legal protections available to non-LGBT people. According to the Guiness World Records, the Sao Paulo Gay Pride Parade is the world's largest LGBT Pride celebration, with 4 million people in 2009.

The busy and famous Avenue Paulista

Oi!! I'm calling from the space!

The municipal collaborate with Telephone company 'Vivo' to run a decorate public phone booth campaign. Their creativity are shown in each phone booth along the Avenue Paulista.  In Brazil, people use colours to portrait art brilliantly. I especially enjoy seeing each piece of art that could be found everywhere in the avenue. 

A collection bin to collect recyclable items. It tells you what is recyclable and what is not. 

There's a nature urban forest right in the Sao Paulo city, it's located right next to the Avenue Paulista where a  road is dividing the forest. Not bad, they have a green lung in the city!

Sunday market where people sell many cute and nice handicrafts. Brazil is famous with their minerals, stones and gems. 

 Ibirapuera Park
Open since 1954, Ibirapuera is the city's largest and most popular park. Its buildings are designed by the famous architect Oscar Niemeyer (born in Rio de Janeiro, a Carioca, he designed Penang State Mosque in Malaysia too!) and landscaped by Roberto Burle Max (Yes, a Carioca, he's the one who designed the landscape for KLCC Park in Malaysia, and the famous Copacabana black and white promenade!!). In the midst of its eight pavilions, three lakes and many streets and lawns are the Museu de Arte Moderna (Modern Art Museum), the Pavilhao da Bienal and the Oca. Many people likes to do outdoor shows and sports mournaments (like marathon) there and the park is full of runners on weekday mornings. On Sundays, people will picnic with families, some foreign workers would also spend their off day at the park too. No wonder I have the feeling to relate it with our KLCC park when I was in the park!! I admire Brazilian artwork so much now.

Pedro Alvares Cabral, 'discoverer' of Brazil, began the age of Portugal occupation in Brazil. 

Monumento às Bandeiras, commemorating the pioneers from São Paulo who opened up the interior - a magnificent work by Victor Brecheret with imposing and heroic figures

Mercadao Municipal 

The Municipal Market, known affectionately as the Mercadao or 'Huge Market', opened in 1933. The towering roof is dotted with skylights and glass tiles that provide natural lighting. There are also 55 stain-glass windows imported from Germany. Originally, the market was supplied with fruit and vegetables that arrived by boat from local farms via the Tamanduatel river. Currently it employs about 1,600 people and some 300 stands. These sell 350 tons of produce to about 14,000 customers per day: fruits, vegetables, food and spices from all over the world, the tobacco stands, the huge variety of seafood, meat and fish, tea, drinks, and many more. The Bar do Mane, renowned for its Italian mortadella, prosciutto and roast pork sandwiches. 

friendly worker let me tried this sweet custard apple fruit -释迦果

roast pork and cheese sandwich!

 Today's content is rather random with buildings again, next post I'll write about the people.
(To be continued)

Timeless in Brazil 1

One good thing about being in a foreign country is you'll get to know about different cultures and history from that country. 

Apart from the Rio+20 and World Youth Congress report, I would like to share a bit of my journey in Rio and Sao Paulo. This time, I'll take you to Sao Paulo and have a look for its enriched history, architectures, people, art and culture. 

The  São Paulo City

São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and Americas, with more than 10.6 million people residing in the city and it's the world's seventh largest city by population.  São Paulo is also one of the ten largest metropolitan areas on the planet with its strong regional influence in commerce and finance as well as arts and entertainment. The metropolis has significant cultural, economic and political influence both nationally and internationally. Today we will go through briefly several magnificent sites that show the depth of this big city. 

Skyscrapers

The first impression about the São Paulo city is its skyscrapers. Since I'm staying in a high-rise condominium, I could view the city with its magnificent view - skyscrapers in East, West, South, North, it's everywhere! No hills or forest as seen in Rio de Janeiro, this city is really, really big! 

Sao Paulo City stretched to the far far end.

Museu do Ipiranga

This huge neo-renaissance-style palace, whose Baroque gardens take after Versailles, opened in 1890 on the site where Dom Pedro I declared Brazil independent of Portugal. The huge, 125,000-piece collection ranges from 16th to the mid-20th century. It includes sculptures, paintings, documents and weapons, and so on. The great hall features the famous painting Independencia on morte, by Pedro Americo. In front of the museum is a beautiful Baroque-style garden, with fountains where people jog, walk their pets, play skate boards and sunbathing in there. Further in front of that garden, is the monument to Independence in the Independence park. Daniel the marvelous traveller said there was once a very, very huge Brazilian flag located in the center of the park, but somebody, with some capability, stolen the flag. We have no idea how could he/she/they do that. 

Museu do Ipiranga, a huge neo-renaissance-style palace.

Museu de Arte de Sao Paulo

MASP, as it's called, contains the most valuable collection of paintings in Latin America. The current building was designed by Lina Bo Bardi and constructed in 1968 with concrete and glass. The box-like structure is supported by four pillars, creating a 74 meters span. The 5500-piece collection includes paintings by Van Gogh, Cezanne, Monet, Manet, Renoir, Valezquez, Goya, Rembrandt, as well as collection by Edgar Degas. It is also considered a landmark of the city which is located at the famous Paulista Avenue (like Bukit Bintang in Kuala Lumpur). The art museum, institutes and library in MASP played important roles in shaping and conserving the Brazilian art!

MASP, a box-shaped building

 Estadio do Pacaembu

This stadium is also known as Municipal Stadium of Sao Paulo. They have a football museum in the lower ground floor beneath the stadium where football fans can find historical photographs along with visits to the playing field, sport center, the great hall, the radio and TV broadcasting booths. It's a place for Sao Paulo football club fans to go on weekend on any matches of their favourite clubs. Basically, most of the Brazilian have their own cup of tea, since there are soooo many sport clubs in Brazil. So, Daniel the marvelous traveller said he preferred Corinthians Paulista which based in Sao Paulo, second most famous team in Brazil and have 24-26 million fans. The winning club in national championship could represent in the national team in international sport events like World Cup! 

This is the stadium! Pacaembu!

Edificio Italia

The 42-story Edificio Italia is one of the tallest buildings in Sao Paulo, at 165 meters. It is designed by the famous architect Adolf Franz Heep, and has the highest observation point in the city. Like KL Tower, it has Terraco Italia restaurant on the top two floors where we can view the Edificio Copan and sunset. However, there are charges to enter the restaurant and so we just take some photos from the 33rd floor. 


 Edificio Copan
Designed by Oscar Niemeyer, the building opened in 1966, fifteen years after the plan was first drawn. It's the greatest example of modernist architecture in Sao Paulo. Its signature features are the serpentine structure  and the horizontal lines. The Copan is one of the largest reinforced concrete structures in the country.

Teatro Municipal

Opened in 1911, this eclectically-styled 1464-seat theater was designed by Francisco Ramos de Azevedo's after the Paris Opera House. It is the home of several municipal music and dance companies, including two orchestras (a full-scale symphony orchestra and a smaller one dedicated to experimental music), a string quartet, two choral groups, and a ballet company. Note that there are many ancient buildings in Sao Paulo city center, Se, they are all well maintained. This municipal theater is still well function and maintained. Look at the sculptures on paints on this building, they are especially delicate and distinct. 

Youth dress in punk gathered in front of the theater for some activity. 

Today we have seen buildings of neo-renaissence-style, ecletic style and modern style, tomorrow I'll show you other magnificent buildings and places in this city!

To be continued. =)

International Youth Day

SECRETARY-GENERAL, IN MESSAGE FOR INTERNATIONAL YOUTH DAY, WARNS AGAINST CREATING

‘LOST GENERATION OF SQUANDERED TALENT AND DREAMS’

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message for International Youth Day, to be observed on 12 August:

Today’s generation of youth — the largest the world has ever known, and the vast majority of whom live in developing countries — has unprecedented potential to advance the well-being of the entire human family.  Yet too many young people, including those who are highly educated, suffer from low-wage, dead-end work and record levels of unemployment.

The global economic crisis has hit youth the hardest and many are understandably discouraged by rising inequalities.  A large number have no immediate prospects and are disenfranchised from the political, social and development processes in their countries.  Without urgent measures, we risk creating a “lost generation” of squandered talent and dreams.

Working with and for young people is one of my top priorities.  Youth are a transformative force; they are creative, resourceful and enthusiastic agents of change, be it in public squares or cyberspace.  From their pivotal role in efforts to achieve freedom, democracy and equality, to their global mobilization in support of the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, youth have energetically demonstrated yet again their capacity and desire to turn the tide of history and tackle global challenges.

Young men and women are not passive beneficiaries, but equal and effective partners.  Their aspirations extend far beyond jobs; youth also want a seat at the table — a real voice in shaping the policies that shape their lives.  We need to listen to and engage with young people.  We need to establish more and stronger mechanisms for youth participation.  The time has come to integrate youth voices more meaningfully into decision-making processes at all levels.

Around the world there is growing recognition of the need to strengthen policies and investments involving young people.  On International Youth Day, I call on Governments, the private sector, civil society and academia to open doors for young people and strengthen partnerships with youth-led organizations.  Youth can determine whether this era moves toward greater peril or more positive change.

Let us support the young people of our world so they grow into adults who raise yet more generations of productive and powerful leaders.

Rio+20: The Future We Don't Want

Besides protests, the civil societies have submitted a statement for governments called 'The Future We Don't Want' to express their dissatisfaction in the process. 

The Rio+20 we don’t want: 

The Future We Want is not to be found in the document that bears this name. The Future We Want is not what resulted from the Rio +20 negotiation process.

The future that we want has commitment and action, not just promises. It has the urgency needed to reverse the social, environmental and economic crisis, not postpone it. It has cooperation and is in tune with civil society and its aspirations, and not just the comfortable position of governments.

None of these can be found in the 283 paragraphs of the official document that will be the legacy of this Conference. The document entitled The Future We Want is weak and falls far short of the spirit and the advances made over the years since Rio-92. It even falls far short of the importance and urgency of the issues addressed. Fragile and generic agendas for future negotiations do not guarantee results.

Rio +20 will go into History as the UN conference that offered global society a outcome marked by serious omissions. It endangers the preservation and social and environmental resilience of the planet, as well as any guarantee of acquired human rights for present and future generations.

For all these reasons, we, as many civil society groups and individuals, register our profound disappointment with the heads of State, under whose guidance and orders the negotiators worked, and we state that we do not condone or endorse this document.

We are looking forward the necessary steps to be taken by our governments. While waiting for the change from the policymakers, why not we take the first step - get our people realised and aware of so call 'sustainable development'? I believe change is possible, but we people need to concern about it too- who will play the role? me, you, and many of you who read those articles and watched videos about Rio+20, millions of them who are affected by poverty, climate change, ... Let's begin today. 

Overview of my observation in Rio+20 (not all, but limited due to low battery for video recording)

Interview with Kjell the Plant-for-the-planet

Useful links:

http://blog.humanimpactsinstitute.org

adoptanegotiator.org

http://www.scoop.it/t/enewsletter

http://www.earthsummit2012.org

http://ideasforus.org/

Rio+20: Children and Youth Rejects Outcome Document

A moment of history! The young people wrote their history marking the failure of Rio+20 'The Future We Want' final document. 

On 21st June, hundreds from the civil society groups especially youth had joined the sit-in style protest and walk-out march from the Rio+20 conference building after the Major Group NGOs had rejected the text in the opening ceremony of the official segment of Rio+20. They rejected the final outcome document 'The Future We Want' adopted in the high level meeting.

NGOs at the Rio+20 conference complained that they were only consulted on the official document at the last minute, when they could no longer make a significant impact. The text was a failure because it did not address crucial issues such as ending support for fossil fuels and nuclear power, or taking clear steps to address high seas destruction. Many people expressed deep disappointment with the final document. The civil society did not stand with that set of declarations as there is nothing in it really that civil society has been strongly pushing for. 

Kumi Naidoo, the executive director of Greenpeace, also said that the outcome is an epic failure. He said the final result was a document with the lowest possible ambition, blaming richer nations for defending their own narrow interests. Many countries agreed the declaration does not offer solutions to the dire crises currently faced by humanity, but were unlikely to say so publicly. However, a declaration lacking specific targets will fail to halt worsening problems like climate change, loss of biodiversity and deforestation, added Naidoo. 

On the other hand, the European Union considered the Rio+20 final document as imperfect, but a good starting point for further work. 

Seeing the frustration and anger expressed by the people in Rio+20, I deeply felt that we are in a generation of change - We knew that we do not have power in hand to change the negotiation outcome, but we have tried our best, and we'll  continue doing so. As a civil society member, we are playing different roles to promote peace, demand for changes in the Rio+20 processes. Some of us have participated in direct actions to raise awareness, let our voices to be heard, ensure our voices reach our media. Me and you, have responsibility to help shape the story of Rio+20. 

What I want Malaysian youth to do with Rio+20? Engage ourselves in the sustainable development processes, participate in the policy-making processes, be curious about our living environment and the resources we are using - they will be gone very soon if we care nothing about the natural resources, be innovative and creative in raising awareness among the civil society and let our voices to be heard by the government - we should decide our future, not the government - they should listen to the people. We question ourselves: are we doing enough for our land? Is our country taking concrete actions in various areas such as water, land use, energy, oceans, sustainable production and consumption, resource efficiency? Have we covered all the three pillars of sustainable development: environmental, social, and economic? 

But then, the company Lynas remains its Rare Earth refinery plant and its operation in Malaysia, a new nuclear plant will be built soon, illegal logging in Perak/Pahang national forest reserve is still happening, water crisis is a popular word this is recent days... how many of us are paying attention to all these issue? Sad to say, our green circle is very small, yet it doesn't shape a voice heard by majority. 

I want to congratulate the effort made by the Malaysian negotiation team - though I'm not really familiar with their position due to the Secrecy Act, at least their friendliness made my access to the country's delegate office easier. Now I'm looking forward participating Rio+20 workshop held by Malaysia Economy Planning Unit in September/October. 

A dialogue session with Datuk Sudha Devi, Malaysian Ambassador  to  Brazil

Rio+20: Indigenous people rejects Green Economy

Today I witnessed 2 protests of different scales inside the UN conference compound. Earlier, there was a group of 25 indigenous people from Brazil, Philippines, United States, Guatemala, Argentina and Mexico caught the attention of participants of Rio+20. With songs and shouts, paintings and costumes, they gathered near the symbols of the event flags at RioCentro to deliver the Kari-Oca 2 Declaration.Another 400 Indians could not get in- were trapped in the barrier of soldiers, a few meters from the entrance  of main pavilion. 

Windel Bulinget from Philipplines reiterated that the green economy can not be seen as a solution, it is the cause of the problem, and REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) is the heart of the green economy. Windel Bulinget invited all civil society to protect and promote their rights in harmony with nature, solidarity, community, and values ​​such as caring and sharing. If the UN want to create a just world, they need to listen to the voice of Indians about balance and sustainability. 

In the 20 recommendations of indigenous people to the Rio+20, one of them is the inclusion of 'Culture' as the fourth pillar of sustainable development. 

Rio+20: Role of Youth in Millennium Development Goals

I've recorded several speeches delivered by UN Secretary General Mr. Ban Ki-moon, Special adviser to Mr Ban, Mr. Jeff Sachs, ex-director of UN Millennium Project's Millennium Development Goals, and Nobel Peace Prize winner Professor Muhammad Yunus. It was a excellent session between the world's influential people and the young leaders. 

Congress in the Jungle: Short film says it all

Today I don't write much. I just can't wait to share with you this video. If you think it's short, tell me, I can make a longer version of each video - the details of the talks/discussion/debates. ^^

Rio+20: Open Your Eyes

Jean Paul shared his ideas on 'Global Rock Star' Music Contest. 

Side Event: Empowering Youth Leadership for a Sustainable Future

Several youth leaders were invited to share their projects on Rio+20 that were effectively mobilizing young people via music, spoken word and social media. The speakers were representatives from Rio+20 Global Youth Music Contest, tcktcktck Rio+20 Make a Date with History Contest, The Captain Planet Foundation and The Earth Charter. 

I learnt about the Rio+20 global youth music contest via Facebook, where Mika Vanhanen from ENO Tree Planting Programme posted a song 'Act Now! Forest Matters' in that music contest and won the Jury Award. Guess a lot of 'like's were collected throughout the competition. 

On the event I have the opportunity to listen to the big hand behind all these campaign or competitions, one of them is Jean Paul the global coordinator for this music contest. He said, how to make young people in rural area to be engaged with the Rio+20, if they have no internet access? activities among the community play important roles for youth participation. If the countries leaders are talking about solutions, the youth ourselves could help to create more solutions to the challenges facing our planet. Therefore to spark youths' creativity, enthusiasm and innovation, it is our responsibly to educate and empower more young people to be leaders of sustainability. The music contest is one of them. 

Indeed youth could really help a lot to spread messages of global issues, as well as interconnect them in human services and social action. Today's youth talks about volunteerism because they are aware of the problem that exists around them and they show much concern. If people are not aware, do not have compassion towards the global issues, because they are living in their own circle, their world. However, Dalai Lama once said, for every being around us we are interconnected. Ignorance can stop us once to see truth, but it won't stop us from being affected by itself. 

Do you remember, the girl who gave a 3 minutes shocking speech in front of world leaders in Rio+20 this time? She is Brittany Trilford! The 17-year-old New Zealander has actually won in the tcktcktck's competition of 'A Date with History', an online video speech competition which grant her the opportunity to speak in front of the world! What is tcktcktck? A Global campaign for climate action. You see, we all are actually powerful -- and creative. Gandhi said, be the change. There're people out there doing changes! and this is one of the example, using social media to make a movement. Incredible man! 

Feeling amazed with the youth leaders who were speaking on stage, about their enthusiasm and inspiration to other people, I hope one day I could be one of them to inspire people too. However, today, I am preparing myself and doing my part. We learn and share our methods and solutions. We could have a Captain Planet or many many captains to steward the planet, as long as there're continuation works being push forward generations and generations to understand and love the natural world we are live in. 

One common thing for these youth leaders and their representing international organizations is: they are on grassroots level, they walk into the homes, schools and communities that bring education of sustainable development directly. 

It's like a gathering for these heads to meet each other from different parts of the world. One good thing of this event is I got to know these great, dedicated people - like the objective of this event, I am truly empowered and inspired. 

The Speakers:

JJ Hurtak, PhD., and Desiree Hurtak, Ph.D Academy for Future Science, South Africa

Christina Stevens, Executive Director, Captain Planet Foundation

Catherine Skopic, Educator Arts and the Environment, Anglican Consultative Council

Nora Mahmoud, International Youth Facilitator, Earth Charter International

Karoline Buys, Youth Coordinator, Academy for Future Science, South Africa

Manish Joshi, Partner Outreach Director, Global Campaign for Climate Action (GCCA)

Ann Hughes, Kid Spirit Magazine

Jean Paul Brice Affana, Global Coordinator, Rio +20 Global Youth Music Contest

For your information:

ENO Tree Planting Day A huge tree planting network based in Finland, now move in many schools and many countries. Moving forward planting 100 million trees this year! 

 Earth Charter International

Earth Charter International has been a voice for the earth since the original Rio Conference and continues to network its wisdom around the globe offering free online courses for young people on sustainability, ethics, and leadership which can now include the outcomes of UNCSD/Rio+20.

 tcktcktck.org

a Date With History/tcktcktck is an organization which clearly understands that time is running out unless we are all willing to make the critical changes which Rio+20 will encourage. The networking of these groups together will enhance their efforts and magnify their voice to empower the youth globally.

A record of the day: 'Open Your Eyes' Milena and Radu (Romania)

See the gentle waters flow

On the crystal sand below

Hear them echo as the sailors row-row-row

To the north, the golden seeds

Never seem to fail our needs

As long as the sun will shine

We will all be fine-fine-fine

We just came here today

We feel so happy to say

Open your eyes and see the stars

Why can’t we just heal all the scars

Poluiton war and violence

Why do we all stay in silence

It’s about time you realize

You need to open your eyes

See the mountains way up high

Reaching far into the sky

Scraping clouds where only birds can fly-y y y

We’re waiting for the day when we

Will learn to live in harmony

All the peace and love we’ve found

Can make the world go round round round

We live on a green land

Its beauty has no end

Open your eyes and see the stars

Why can’t we just heal all the scars

Poluiton war and violence

Why do we all stay in silence

We can make it all work

We should stay together and be all so strong

Peace should guide us;

Love beside us

If we try together

we can make everything better

For us…

If we just open our eyes....