Youth Leadership, Sustainability and Ethics

1. Youth Leadership, Sustainability and Ethics Youth Leaders and Project Plans 2010

2. Ayla van Kessel, The Netherlands Challenge: Making new immigrants environmentally aware and ecological active and with that hopefully influence the view of the Dutch towards immigrants. Earth Charter principle: 3b - Promote social and economic justice, enabling all to achieve a secure and meaningful livelihood that is ecologically responsible Target Network: The organisation Humanitas helps immigrants to feel at home. As a part of this, I voluntarily practice Dutch with immigrants. I want to discuss with Humanitas the possibility to start an Eco Team. Project Plan: In this Eco Team, the first couple of weeks a group of natives and immigrants will cook ecological food together and during dinner discuss environmental topics. After these informative sessions, the group will make a project plan on sustainability. For example, start a public vegetable garden. Or take care of the ecological management of the public gardens in the city.

3. GaabouriMaamoune, Morocco Challenge: The lack of awareness in terms of citizenship values among children. Earth Charter principle: • 14.a: Provide all, especially children and youth, with educational opportunities that empower them to contribute actively to sustainabledevelopment. • 9.b: Empower every human being with the education and resources to secure a sustainable livelihood, and provide social security and safety nets for those who are unable to support themselves. Target Network (organizations): Pupils of primary and secondary schools. Project Plan: 1/ first write a 20 pages book entitled “citizenship book”. Each page of the book deals with one principle (for example saving water…). 2/ Then, visit the concerned schools twice every month, and study with pupils a principle in each session.

4. TemilyTianmay Jaya Gopan, Hong kong Challenge: Lack of empowerment among young people beyond making money Earth Charter principle: 14 Target Network(organizations):Student clubs in the University of Hong Kong Project Plan: • Approach liked-minded individuals who want to serve humanity • Discuss the Earth Charter and its implications • Train them to become facilitators of the Junior Youth Spiritual Empowerment Program, which promotes the same values that Earth Charter does • They go out and become facilitators of this program and form their own junior youth groups (12-15 years old) and plan and execute service projects with them • Every month, facilitators will gather and reflect on how they can improve the quality of their groups and the quality of service projects implemented by the junior youth • Youth are engaged in ACTION by empowering younger youth to do the same

5. Savali Matio Lonalona, Tuvalu Challenge: - Lack of education opportunities - Environment issues such as climate change (sea level rise) - Gender inequality i.e. lack of youth and women participation in decision making. Earth Charter principle: 6, 11, 14 Target Network(organizations): • Tuvalu Association of Non Government Organisation (TANGO) • Tuvalu National Youth Council (TNYC) • Tuvalu Red Cross • Tuvalu EkalesiaKelisiano (EKT) • Tuvalu Small business Association • Tuvalu National Council of Women • Government departments and ministries, e.g Ministry of Education and Youth, Natural Resources, Women department and cultural department • Project Plan: • Challenge 1: • Conduct and organize lives kill and livelihood training. • Promote cultural and traditional methods • Lobby for the establishment for more informal vocational such as carpentry, sewing etc. • Challenge 2: • At national level, conduct awaress on the effect of sea level rise . • Assist in community work such as cleaning up. • Networking and create partnership with other international partners. • Challenge 3: • Negotiate with the women department for the running workshop on Gender Sensitively. • Lobby with the youth ministry and TNYC for the leadership training. • Networking with male leaders.

6. OkeTemitopeOlaniyi, Nigeria Challenge: The lack of empowering education) Earth Charter principle: 14 Target Network(organizations):The Initiative for Equal Rights (TIER) Lagos Nigeria. Project Plan: Presently, I work with an Organization that targets sexual minorities. We have been implementing programs (HIV prevention program and vocational skills training) that targets Men who have sex with men (MSM). We source for more funds to expand the scope of our work and cover other groups within the LGBT community.

7. Dylane Ho, Malaysia Challenge: The lack of empowering education – children unable to think critically and creatively to improve society’s conditions Earth Charter principle: 14. Integrate into formal education and life-long learning the knowledge, values, and skills needed for a sustainable way of life. Target Network (organizations): My university; corporate organisations interested in taking on projects as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) campaign Project Plan: I would like to start an Earth Charter Youth Group (ECYG) in Malaysia, first consisting of the students and alumni of my university. Once an ECYG is established, we can hold regular gatherings in which members can discuss and plan sustainable projects within the immediate setting (university) and also for the community at large (citywide). Examples of projects are like workshops/seminars on the Earth Charter, sustainability, and youth leadership to create more awareness and expand group membership. I would like to approach corporate organisations to enlist their support, mostly in the form of funding. With the funds, we can set up centres of learning in major neighbourhoods in cities/towns. At these centres of learning, members of the ECYG and other likeminded individuals can organise special courses for the children, youth and adults in the neighbourhoods, providing supplementary education for the masses. The courses will mainly focus on empowerment – to encourage people to give back to society. Once the participants within the neighbourhood have completed the courses, they can immediately play their part by serving at their local centre of learning to organise more courses for the rest of the community, thus creating a cycle of empowering teaching and learning.

8. Pham Thuy Duong, Vietnam Challenge: the need of a holistic approach to Education for Sustainability Earth Charter principle: principle 14 Target Network(organizations): young students in universities Project Plan: Research on Education for Sustainability • Building framework for a YES (Youth Encounter on Sustainability) course that can be implemented in universities. It should embrace sustainability in all aspects of life, environmental, economic, cultural, social and spiritual. • Developing curriculum as modules so that it can be flexible in practical application, depending on specific conditions. • Trying to integrate creative and holistic approach in teaching methods : • active learning, seminars, team work, experience-based learning, visual learning, project-based learning, excursions , learning through Art…

9. DemiSmoloktou, Greece/Finland Challenge: The ignorance of sustainability and the Earth Charter Earth Charter principle: 14 Target Network(organizations): Universities, Youth Groups, Organizations, Companies Project Plan: • Building the agenda of our ECYG and with our team we are willing to translate all • the available material of the Earth Charter in Greek, tv spots, radio spots, documents, and to complete building our website. • We want to include all the relevant tiers in order to promote sustainability and the Earth Charter. • We target especially in education, schools and universities. The ideal goal is that there will be a course about sustainability in every school in our province. Additionally we are hoping To collaborate with more youth groups and invite them to endorse the Earth Charter and thus to promote it to their providences. • Once we have enough members and affiliations we would be able to hold a Hellenic and a European youth conference .which is the ultimate target.