By Jana Kovandzic and Samer Eid,
YLT Representatives

Friday - Saturday, 23-24 November

We are happy to report that 9 of the 11 YLT Representatives, in addition to our International Youth Coordinator, successfully made it to Ahmedabad, India to attend the 4th International Conference on Environmental Education (ICEE). This conference is supported by UNESCO, UNEP, and the Government of India, and hosted by the Center for Environment Education (CEE), an Earth Charter Affiliate. Some 1,500 educators, activists, government officials, and UN staff are participating. Among them are other Earth Charter staff, Council Members, Advisors, Affiliates, and Endorsers. We look forward to meeting them and contributing to the conference.

We arrived in India two days ago, on 22 November, and started elaborating our 2-year YLT Plan of Action the next day. This Plan of Action focuses on strategies to spread awareness and understanding about the Earth Charter among youth in the world. The urgency of our work is clear as demand for limited natural resources grows and the human population increases. Fortunately, some governments and concerned citizens are becoming aware that these trends will lead to an unbalanced environment, disrupting the harmony of ecosystems.

Today, the pre-conference working group sessions started. The YLT was especially involved in the work of one group – “Youth: Trend Setters of Education for Sustainable Development.” The YLT actively participated, giving their strong input and thoughts on defining the concept of sustainable development. This definition, which young people will finalize tomorrow, is going to be officially presented to the Secretary of the Ministry of Environment and Forests of India. Furthermore, youth recommendations will be shared and integrated into the Ahmedabad Declaration, a guiding document for the UN Decade on Education for Sustainable Development (DESD).

In the following days, the YLT will continue to facilitate and moderate youth sessions, and will be participating in a number of other working sessions and even a few plenary panels.