Dear Lisa Jokivirta,

Congratulations on becoming the North American candidate for YLT.

Could you elaborate more on objective #1 and how you would engage youth in Canada and the US?

Thanks,
Yongjie Yon
Vancouver, Canada

Hi Lisa (Hi Yongjie above ;),

Yes congrats Lisa. It's exciting for me to hear about your internship in Costa Rica at the Earth Charter Center for Education for Sustainable Development.

http://www.earthcharterinaction.org/education/

The Center's primary objective is to promote education for sustainable development processes. We also seek to increase the adoption and use of the Earth Charter as an educational tool and guiding framework by as many teachers, educators and learners as possible, in formal and non-formal educational settings around the world.

I am also interested in what you talk about in #4.

Again congratulations.
Mike Sheehan

Founder of Beatboard

www.beatboard.org
(250) 381-6453

The Beatboard is a Youth Leadership, New Media and Contemporary Arts Education Organization.
Victoria, BC, Canada

Dear Yongjie and Mike,

Buenos dias de Costa Rica, and many thanks for your messages! I am glad that you both asked for a more detailed response to Question #4, as the word limit for the candidate statement didn't provide much room to elaborate. I hope that my answer is more clear this time around.

I believe that two main objectives should be set in order to increase ECYI membership/diversity in North America. First, as per Yongjie's question, it would be important to strengthen the network of existing regional members. All those who have already been involved in ECYI have a wealth of knowledge, experience, contacts and ideas that should be brought to the fore in an effort to expand membership.

As a starting point, I would:

1. Send a brief survey to existing ECYI regional members, in order to gauge our collective vision (including concrete objectives) for the North America network. Sample questions could include: What are your ideas for expanding ECYI membership? Are you affiliated with any organizations that might be suitable as strategic partners? How many hours a week could you devote to the network, and what would you like to see organized for the eventual face-to-face gathering?

2. Launch a listserv to increase communication between members, develop/disseminate regionally specific resources, etc.

3. Organize a face-to-face gathering or workshop (depending on your preferences) to bring together all regional ECYI members.

The second objective, then, would be to increase the number and diversity of regional members. This is a challenging task, but I would particularly hope to draw upon the added-value potential of ICT as both an effective and cost-effective means of raising EC awareness. More specifically, initiatives could aim to:

1. Launch a targeted, online recruitment campaign through popular web-based platforms (e.g. TakingITGlobal, Facebook, etc); university forums and listservs; online databases for youth volunteer and employment opportunities; etc.

2. Develop an online database of practical ECYI resources in general, and web-based ECYI training modules in particular. A wide range of resources would be made publicly available via the Internet, including sample ECYI activities, best practice examples, EC-related online training/seminars, promotional materials, etc. This would make the 'living document' value of the EC more clear to all existing and future ECYI members.

3. Seek strategic partnerships with regional organizations, including youth networks, development-oriented university programs, NGOs, etc. It would be particularly valuable to work with organizations representing young people from minority groups. For example, a personal goal of mine would be to see the Earth Charter translated into some of the indigenous languages found in the North America region.

Alright, sorry about the somewhat lengthy response, but I hope that this clarifies some of my initial thoughts and ideas! It might serve as a starting point for discussion as, ultimately, I would depend on the input and commitment of all ECYI regional members in order to define and carry out our common goals and objectives.

Con luz y paz,
Lisa

Hello everyone!

I'm Gabriela Monteiro, from Brazil, and a candidate for Latin America and Caribbean (vote for me! hehe!).

Well, I'd like to ask you all two questions:

1. Is environment an important topic in your government's agenda and; do citizens care about it? If not, do you think you can do anything to change it during your mandate?

2. How is the youth involvement regarding social/environmental issues in your country/community?

Thank you!
Warmest regards!

Gabi
Brazil

G'day to all Fellow YLT Candidates,

I'm Anantdeep Singh Dhillon, from India, and a candidate for Asia and the Pacific (not here to demand any votes! hehe!).

I have enjoyed perusing all of your personal statements and CVs- quite impressive indeed!

I just wanted to pose a general question to fellow YLT aspirants:

Well I have a vision that faith groups can go a long way in assisting to play a potential role as effective means of raising ECYI awareness. We can work on peace & sustainable development.

Also other regional youth & human development NGO's can assist us.

What are your views about these ideas? Do give your inputs, and we need to have a balanced team.

Many thanks!

Anant
India

To everyone (answers to Gabi + a question):

1. Serbia is currently trying very hard for EU membership. EU has a very strict environmental policy, so Serbian constitution and all regulations deeply correspond to the EU regulations. There are also severe punishments for people/factories that put nature in danger. But still, there are a few factories that pollute local rivers and forests.

Question: Regarding this issue, I have a question for everyone and I would really like an opinion from all of you about Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): – if a factory pollutes, and gets punished for that, but still calculates that it pays out less to pay these punishments than to install new, safe equipment, Q: - how to motivate this factory to care for the environment? And you still cannot shut this plant down, because there work hundreds and hundreds of people. I guess many countries in transition (and others as well) will come up on that problem. What solution would you suggest? How does your society and government deal with this problem?

2. To Gabi as well: Idea of being an active citizen is getting more and more supporters every day. It’s, how to put it, kind of a fashion, because here and now in Serbia, young people hope for much better life than it used to be in the past decade. So people are motivated and eager to get involved – ecological movements, gender equality, anti-trafficking, religious tolerance, basically every kind of NGO flourishes here.

Jana
Serbia

Buenos dias everyone!

Thanks to all of you for the series of engaging questions. Here are just a few initial thoughts:

First, in response to Gabi: I think that one of the major challenges in Canada is to get the average citizen to make more environmentally sustainable choices in his/her everyday life. More than ever, talk about global warming abounds, and a growing number of Canadians are tuning in. However, the focus tends to be on government policies and top-down initiatives to the likes of Kyoto. These are undoubtedly necessary for environmental policy-making, but ultimately, they rely on state-centric goodwill- which, as we know all too well, has been less than ideal. What would be needed in both Canada and other 'developed' countries is a means to bring the notion of sustainability into the mainstream. The Earth Charter directly responds to this need by empowering the average citizen to make a positive difference, with his/her own everyday life as the starting point for change.

This leads me to respond to Anant's question: yes, I agree that collaboration is the key to success! It would be crucial to establish strategic partnerships with a range of related organizations (e.g. faith-based groups, NGOs and universities) in order to maximize the promotion and implementation of EC principles amongst young people. In the case of Canada, there is particularly great added-value potential in ICT as an effective and cost-effective means of expanding ECYI membership. Additionally, as a current intern at the EC Centre in Costa Rica, it has been inspiring to learn more about the integration of EC principles into education for sustainable development provision. As a YLT member, I would start by seeking to establish strategic partnerships in these two areas within the North American region.

And, finally, Jana- wow, what an important but challenging question! The issue of CSR/private sector involvement is a complex one, and I would hope that the future YLT would combine efforts to draft an action plan for active youth involvement in this area.

Hope you all have a good weekend- the one in Costa Rica promises to be a wet one!

Lisa
Canada

Dear YLT Candidates and ECYI Voters,

Thank you for participating in our lively and insightful "Town Hall Meeting" discussion. The questions and ideas that were shared here and in the Candidate's Statements will inform the discussion that the YLT has in Ahmedabad, India at the end of November.

As you know, this brings to an end the "Voting Week" for the YLT. I will be verifying and counting your votes, and will announce the new Team by Wednesday, 26 September, on the ECYI Blog.

I warmly thank the current Core Group and the numerous ECYI Members who contributed to the conceptualization of the YLT and the design of this election process. I am grateful as well to all 21 Candidates who engaged so actively in this historic, democratic process. You are all exemplary ECYI Members!

And remember, this is just part of an ongoing ECYI discussion. Check this website frequently to comment on new posts - or send me your own ECYI updates, reports, and photos to create a blog entry on one of your recent ECYI-related successes.

Again, thanks to all.

Peace,

Dominic Stucker
International Youth Coordinator