By Hind Ottmani and Didier Gleyzes

Tuesday, 27 November

The fourth day of the conference represented a very important moment for the youth voice and particularly for YLT’s contribution to the event.

The first gathering of the day was the plenary on Climate Change, chaired by Erna Witoelar, UN Special Ambassador for the MDGs in the Asia Pacific and Earth Charter Council Member. The panel, which also included Bremley Lyngdoh, a long-time ECYI Member, emphasized key elements in meeting the challenges posed by Climate Change. Some of the highlighted concerns for our generation include the cross-cutting issues of engagement with diverse stakeholders, cooperation, communication, awareness raising, capacity building, knowledge sharing and partnerships.

Namir Nava, our YLT colleague from Mexico, participated on the panel untitled “HIV/AIDS: Building Environments for Responsible Living." This session addressed the issue of HIV/AIDS and its linkages with sustainable development, especially the importance of education in spreading awareness about the pandemic. Dr. Anthony Klouda of the United Kingdom, advocated for a shift from education about HIV/AIDS to a focus on social environments that are inlcusive, trusting, and supportive. Namir shared his experience in addressing youth and adolescent's sexual and reproductive rights, through a very personal and passionate speech.

The afternoon plenary showcased some insights on education for Water Resource and Sanitation Management, chaired by Gourisankar Ghosh, CEO of FXB India Suraksha. Samer Eid, YLT Representative from Palestine, spoke about the challenges linked to Water and Sanitation in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as well as the role that youth should play as a bridge between a conflictive past and a challenging future.

By the end of the day, young people in the Youth Working Group finalized their recommendations for the Ahmedabad Declaration, compiling youth inputs from the last four days. Very significantly, Dominic and Gopal secured two spots for youth on the Ahmedabad Declaration Drafting Committee. Young people elected one male and one female representative. Vikram Aditya of SAYEN and Lisa Jokivirta, YLT Representative from Canada, were chosen. They will be up late tonight!

The final declaration will be available tomorrow on this site and at www.tbilisiplus30.org.

One more day of the Conference and then we will hold our closing YLT meeting, as well as present on points for collaboration within SAYEN's Core Group Meeting.