E A R T H C H A R T E R I N T E R N A T I O N A L Youth Leadership, Sustainability and Ethics –short course Learning from the successful projects “Even.

E A R T H C H A R T E R I N T E R N A T I O N A L

Youth Leadership, Sustainability and Ethics –short course

Learning from the successful projects

“Even imitation requires intelligence” Urdu saying

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• The best way to learn about sustainable development is to concentrate on successful projects

• Leadership, vision, communication and partnerships are essential in sustainable development but the most important is imitation

• Building from existing experiences is the most effective path to progress; – one can look for best practices and adapt the great ideas

to his/her own context and situation

This PowerPoint is based on Tariq Banuri’s and Adil Najam’s publication on “Civic Entrepreneurship – A Civil Society Perspective on Sustainable Development”. In their volume the authors strongly emphasize the stories of the practitioners of sustainable development.

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• Imitation is not only the sincerest form of flattery, it is also the most effective path to progress

• None of the champions of sustainable development thought up his or her contribution from scratch– Whether consciously or unconsciously, all of them were

active imitators– They achieved success by borrowing unabashedly from

others

• The word imitation is not used here to mean mindless repetition – It is used to mean adapting an idea to one’s own

context and situation – Conversely, it also implies that ideas have a life beyond

the particular activity in which they are embedded. The same idea appears and reappears in a myriad of forms

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• The number of stories in sustainable development is potentially infinite;

– but the number of features and characteristics described is quite concise, and each feature gets repeated in various combinations with others

• External programs, whether implemented by donors, government agencies or NGOs, have definite timelines

• Sustainable development in practice does not have start or end dates. It becomes a success not when it happens but when it becomes self-replicating and self-perpetuating

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“Sustainable development is an approach that emerges from the studies and analyses that are rooted in the framework of action, of setting process into motion, of sowing seeds of hope, of building upon the past, and envisioning the future, not as a determined outcome but as a lure, a promise and a commitment.

This future is not to be realized through mechanistic policies. It requires a different process of evolution, a different process of reproduction, and a different process of change.”

Banuri & Najam

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• The power of successful stories is that it is not just stories of those successful implementers

– It is the story of all those who followed him/her and who passed on his sense of civil will from one hand to another, and one generation to another much like in a relay race

• These stories are inspiring because they inspired others into action. The process of evolution and progress revealed through these stories is based not on mechanistic rules but on creative adaptation

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• Banuri & Najam state:

“Appleseed and propagate the seeds of civil will as far and wide as possible.

…If sustainable development scales out through processes of adaptive imitation, then imitation is accelerated by repetition. That which is good and that which has worked needs to be celebrated and needs to be propagated so that it is repeated.”

• Propagation of the stories of civic activism has to build upon investments in learning about them. For example, preparation of well-researched case studies could help propagate the experience through capacity-building and training programs, including university programs on sustainable development.

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• In the business world, the case studies of successful entrepreneurs tend to become best sellers and thus propagate the experience and lessons of these entrepreneurs – why not in sustainable development?

• Imitation happens not because of conceptual breakthroughs but because of experiential breakthroughs

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Banuri and Najam write:

“The final lesson that we wish to proffer in this volume is addressed to every stakeholder – the policy maker, the donor, the scholar, the consultant, the educator, the activist, and the present and prospective champion of sustainable development and the lesson is very simple:

imitate, imitate, and imitate;

make it easy for others to imitate;

learn from others;

teach what you learned

and prepare the ground for those who will follow.”

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Memorable Quotes of the Day

There are many ways of going forward, but only one way of standing still.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

When I hear somebody sigh, "Life is hard," I am always tempted to ask, "Compared to what?.

Sydney Harris

Give to the world the best you have and the best will come back to you.

Madeline Bridges

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The story of Rio+20What is Rio+20?

– The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) will take place in Brazil from 20-22 June 2012 to mark the 20th anniversary of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), in Rio de Janeiro (RIO+20). It is envisaged as a Conference at the highest possible level, including Heads of State and Governments or other representatives. The Conference will result in a focused political document.

– Objective and Themes of Rio+20: The objective of the Conference is to secure renewed political commitment for sustainable development, assess the progress to date and the remaining gaps in the implementation of the outcomes of the major summits on sustainable development, and address new and emerging challenges. The Conference will focus on two themes (see next slide).

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The themes of Rio+20

Rio+20 will look at the themes of GREEN ECONOMY in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication and INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK for sustainable development.

A green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication.

The institutional framework for sustainable development.

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The story of Rio+20

• The objective of the UNCSD is to secure

renewed political commitment for

sustainable development, assess

the progress to date and the

remaining gaps in the implementation

of the outcomes of the major summits

on sustainable development,

and address new and emerging challenges.

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The story of Rio+20• This year, in addition to the 7 SD goals (cities,

disasters, food, energy, jobs, oceans, and water) countries will also be asked to negotiate a new agreement to protect oceans, approve an annual state of the planet report, set up a major world agency for the environment, and appoint a global "ombudsperson", or high commissioner, for future generations (still remains tentative). – UNCSD website: http://www.uncsd2012.org/rio20/ – Participation guide:

http://rioplustwenties.org/?page_id=970– ZeroDraft: http://www.uncsd2012.org/rio20/index.html– Most recent MGCY Zero Draft statement (January

26th), http://rioplustwenties.org/?p=813

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The story of Rio+20

Thanks to the first Earth summit 1992 , where 170 governments and 2400 representatives from civil society – more than 17,000 people - came together to discuss creating a sustainable future, we now have these 5 important documents. You can find all of these official UN documents online: Agenda 21: http://www.un.org/esa/dsd/agenda21/The Rio Declaration: http://www.un.org/documents/ga/conf151/aconf15126-1annex1.htmThe Johannesburg Declaration: http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/WSSD_POI_PD/English/POI_PD.htmJohannesburg Plan of Action: http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/WSSD_POI_PD/English/POIToc.htmMillennium Declaration: http://www.un.org/millennium/declaration/ares552e.htmMillennium Development Goals: http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/goals/index.htm

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UN CSD and Major Groups• There were numerous outcomes to The Rio Earth Summit in 1992, and one of them

was the establishment of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (UN CSD). The UN CSD is composed of 53 member states , observers such as UN members and organizations, regional commissions, and major groups.

• People realized that sustainable development could not be achieved by governments alone. It would require the active participation of all sectors of society and all types of people. Agenda 21 formalized nine of these as the overarching categories through which all citizens could participate in the UN activities on achieving sustainable development. These are officially called "Major Groups“

http://www.uncsd2012.org/rio20/majorgroups.html

• Business and Industry

• Children and Youth

• Farmers

• Indigenous Peoples

• Local Authorities

• NGOs

• Scientific and Technological Community

• Women

• Workers and Trade Unions

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Major Group Children and Youth

The major groups play an important role because they represent the voice of civil society youths. •Children and youth are widely recognized as an important part of civil society, with strong interest in protecting and preserving the planet’s resources. •MGCY is the official civil society young peoples constituency for Rio+20. MGCY is an international network of over 1000 youth organisations, many of which are themselves national networks, that brings together young people with a desire to build a more sustainable world. •The MGCY has a Capacity Building team, which aims to light a fire within young people across the globe, to empower them to take action for sustainable development, based on sound knowledge and information.MGCY aims to:•Represent children and young people in the Commission for Sustainable Development (CSD) process•Ensure and facilitate the participation of children and youth in decisions about sustainable development (environmental protection, social equity, economic soundness) at local, national, regional, international and UN levels

MGCY Goals:– Mobilising 1 billion youth worldwide– Mobilising 5 million youth who do not have internet– Reach 50,000 youth through our communications (i.e. newsletters and other materials)– Mobilising youth under one common identity

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Rio+20 and youth

•“In 1992, world leaders have recognized the vital role that youth play in contributing to the process of Sustainable Development with the adoption of Agenda 21. Twenty years later, young people should and will be present again in Rio de Janeiro…in order to strengthen their profile as the moral stakeholder when it comes to Sustainable Development. “http://www.uncsd2012.org/rio20/index.php?menu=98

•Youth comprise nearly 30 per cent of the world's population and in many developing countries they comprise almost half of the population. The involvement of today's youth in environment and development decision-making and in the implementation of programmes is critical to the long-term success. Children and youth not only will inherit the responsibility of looking after the Earth, but furthermore, they in both developing and industrialized countries are highly vulnerable to the effects of environmental degradation. They are also highly aware supporters of environmental thinking. The specific interests of children need to be taken fully into account in the participatory process on environment and development in order to safeguard the future sustainability of any actions taken to improve the environment.

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Rio+20 and YouthChildren and Youth Organizations:

– Earth Charter International, http://www.earthcharterinaction.org/content/

– Official UNCSD (Rio +20) Website, http://www.uncsd2012.org/rio20/index.html

– Major Group Children and Youth http://uncsdchildrenyouth.org/ http://www.uncsd2012.org/rio20/index.php?menu=98

– MGCY Capacity Building Team, http://mgcyrioplus20.org/get-involved/about/capacity-building/

– Rio+20 Global Youth Music Contest http://www.glocha.info//

– Rio+20 Participation Guide http://rioplustwenties.org/?page_id=970

– Programa Jovens Profissionais do Desenvolviment http://jovensprofissionais.wordpress.com/

– Road to Rio+20 http://www.roadtorioplus20.org/

– CSD Youth Caucus http://www.youthcaucus.net/rioplus20

– Rio+Twenties http://rioplustwenties.org/

– Agenda 21, section III Strengthening the Role of Major Groups Chapter 25 Children & Youth in Sustainable Development http://www.un.org/esa/dsd/agenda21/res_agenda21_25.shtml

– The youth blast: http://uncsdchildrenyouth.org/rio20/youth-blast/

– Earthfest happening in Africa (organised by TUNZA delegates: http://earthfestafrica.blogspot.com/2011/09/earthfest-working-groups.html

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How to increase participation during and beyond Rio+20?

• Workshops (face-to-face)• Online Capacity-building Seminars• Group Activities– arts and crafts, sports, music,

etc.• Lobbying• Promote/encourage youth to write letters,

articles (newspapers, online journals, blogs, etc.) to stakeholders and government officials

• Contests for youth by youth through various institutions, i.e. media outlets—tv stations, radio, school clubs

• Wake Up Call, http://ourwakeupcall.org/