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. ^^