The program contains:
Discussions around the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD)
Full range of different workshops
(details)
Intercultural evening and live music
Excursions in Bonn and surroundings
Handing over of resolution to COP9
Making of a conference movie
Open space and planning of actions
“This year’s conference was a strong impetus for the international environmental youth movement” said UNEP Communications Director Eric Falt. “New members who share the same passion for the environment have joined the community of young environmentalists.”
“Bayer was delighted to host UNEP’s Youth Conference” said company spokesperson Michael Schade. “The participants’ dedication was impressive: They not only had stimulating discussions, they also came up with concrete proposals to address environmental problems in their home countries.”
Participants from 85 countries spent four days exchanging ideas on “Technology in Service of the Environment” and key global environmental issues such as climate change and the importance of renewable energies. They also gained firsthand experience through visits to Bayer sites and external model environmental facilities. They take new ideas for their environmental activities back home with them, and some have already formulated concrete action plans. Following a discussion in Germany, some Chinese participants are planning a pilot project to produce fuel from rapeseed oil.
Conference participants also elected some of their own to serve on the Tunza Youth Advisory Council, which will advise UNEP on issues relating to youth environmental work for the next two years. Its members were elected according to the UN’s principle of “One Member Country, One Voice.” Elected were two representatives each from North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe, Africa, West Asia and Asia and the Pacific. 22-year-old Sara Svensson from Sweden and 19-year-old Dimitri Tasmali from Turkey will in future represent Europe. “My goal is to promote environmental protection and a sustainable lifestyle and be a trendy role model, in order to motivate more youth to get involved” said the young Swede, who is active in the organization Youth and Environment Europe. As for Dimitri Tasmali, he takes part in environmental education projects for school students in Turkey, and wants to tie these activities with similar projects in other European countries.
Bayer and UNEP also used the conference in order to extend their cooperation agreement in the area of youth and environment by another three years. The two partners will further expand and jointly implement about a dozen international environmental projects for youth and children. Bayer will provide funding for these projects of EUR 1.2 million per year, thereby increasing its annual financial contribution by EUR 200,000. In 2004 the Leverkusen-based company became the first and the primary private-sector partner to UNEP in youth and the environment.
The projects of the Tunza program sponsored within the context of the Bayer-UNEP partnership include the Tunza International Youth and Children’s Conferences, which take place in alternate years, youth networks in various regions of the world, the Tunza magazine and the annual International Children’s Painting Competition on the Environment. Alone this year, more than 13,000 children from over 100 countries submitted paintings.
Find more information at www.tunza2007.unep.bayer.com .
Globalization and the environment: Mobilizing finance to meet the climate challenge
UNEP Medium Term Strategy
Enhancing Major Groups Participation at UNEP’s Governance Level
Global Environment Outlook 4th Assessment (GEO-4) Issues
Participants are comprised of 9 major groups defined in the Agenda 21, that is farmers, women, the scientific and technological community, children and youth, indigenous peoples and their communities, workers and trade unions, business and industry, non-governmental organizations as well as local authorities, as well as other relevant stakeholders.
The meeting will also have wide representation of Asia-Pacific countries including:
Central Asia: Kazakhstan and Tajikstan
South Asia: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka
Southeast Asia: Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam
South Pacific: Australia and Cook Islands
Northeast Asia: China, Japan, Mongolia and the host country, the Republic of Korea
The 2007 Asia-Pacific Regional Civil Society Meeting is organized in collaboration with the UNEP Eco-Peace Leadership Centre (EPLC), which was launched in the Republic of Korea in August 2006. More information on UNEP EPLC is available at http://www.unep-eplc.org/en_main.htm
UNEP’s Global Youth Retreat is one of the main platforms for cooperation and interaction between UNEP and its youth partners.
It is the vision of the organization to “foster a generation of environmentally conscious citizens who will better influence decision-making processes and act responsilbly to create a sustainable world”.
The fourth TUNZA Global Youth Retreat marked twenty years of cooperation between UNEP and its youth partners from around the world. It took place in Nairobi, where young people will rub shoulders with decision makers and environmentalists from around the world.
