Take part in the online conversation about Rio+20! There are just eleven weeks left until the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, aka Rio+20. Today the focus is on the Major Group for Children and Youth (MGCY).
The Background
As the Youth 21 Initiative points out, it is twenty years since the first Earth Summit in Rio, where young people took a stand to demand that world leaders listened to them. See Severn Suzuki, aged 12, addressing the 1992 Summit in this video:
As the Youth 21 Initiative points out, it is twenty years since the first Earth Summit in Rio, where young people took a stand to demand that world leaders listened to them. See Severn Suzuki, aged 12, addressing the 1992 Summit in this video:
Severn Suzuki at the first Earth Summit
From the beginning of the first Earth Summit, people realised that sustainable development needed the active participation of everyone - not just governments alone. Agenda 21 was adopted at the Earth Summit in 1992. It is an action plan for sustainable development. One of the things Agenda 21 did was to formalise nine Major Groups through which citizens could participate in UN activities to achieve sustainable development. One of those Groups is the Major Group for Children and Youth. This group represents everyone below the age of thirty in this process.
What is happening today?
The official UN Rio+20 account has tweeted that it will be featuring a Major Group every Wednesday. Today is the day for the Major Group for Children and Youth!
You can follow and join the conversation using the hashtags #MGCY and #RioPlus20. You can also interact with the Major Group for Children and Youth through their twitter account: @MGCY_UNCSD.
You can join in on facebook, by sharing and commenting on the Group's facebook page and using their facebook cover photo.
Stay connected!
Whilst today is an important day to promote the Major Group for Children and Youth, there are further things you can do to stay involved! These include the following:
- The MGCY is holding a free webinar series leading up to the Rio+20 Conference. Visit their page here for details of upcoming webinars and to watch previous ones.
- The MGCY posted ten actions on the official Rio+20 website that people can do. See their post here.
- Join the Rio+You Campaign, and see what you can do for their Global Action Day on April 22. Click here to go to their website.
- Read the Rio+20s Participation Guide here and see their awesome video, below.
It is important for children and youth to learn about sustainability issues and understand how to take action, and how to get their voices heard. This is the world that children are growing up in and will be in charge of in the future, and it is essential for children and youth to have their say!
I am looking forward to connecting with you, as we join with others to promote the MGCY today!
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