Green Hope Hosts Its First Eco Conference For Youth In United Arab Emirates

Green Hope UAE organized its first Eco Conference for Youth, which was held at Westminster School on Saturday, 18th October 2014. The event titled ‘The Role of Youth in the Post2015 Agenda’ provided an unique platform for youth to voice their views, demands, aspirations and concerns regarding various prevalent issues including climate change, land degradation, carbon emissions, and gender bias. The event was attended by 200 students from across United Arab Emirates.

The conference featured panel discussions where several professionals and experts from marketing, social media, organic foods, natural farming and health enlightened the participants on the different facets of sustainable development. The event was sponsored by Cummins Middle East FZE who believe in empowering young people to become global responsible citizens.

As tree planting is the simplest and most effective way of combating land degradation and mitigating climate change, the summit commenced with a tree planting session which was held in Mushrif Park with the support of Dubai Municipality.

During the conference, the young speakers from Green Hope UAE spoke about pressing issues including climate change, gender equality, the urgent need to switch to renewable energy and the right to education for every child. The recently launched UN HeForShe campaign on gender equality was also emphasized upon during the discussions.

Kehkashan Basu, the founder of Green Hope UAE and UNEP’s (United Nations Environment Programme) Global Coordinator for Children & Youth said, “The Millennium Development Goals are set to expire in less than a year and the global fraternity is yet to formulate a clear strategy which can deliver on the promise of ‘A life of dignity for all’. Young people are the “Future Generations” and they must have a defining say in developing the road map towards a sustainable, equitable and just world.”

The 200 participants also took part in the ‘My World’ survey which is designed to obtain insights from individuals about what issues they think would make the most difference to their lives. The options range from demands for an honest and responsive government to actions taken on climate change and Equality between men and women.

The conference concluded with group activities and workshops wherein participants painted T-shirts with messages on gender equality, mitigating climate change and future justice. The outcome document drafted by the youth demanded inclusivity and empowerment for young people who are the future generations. The youth emphasized that education, gender equality and empowerment of women were fundamental to sustainable development.

Emirate:  Dubai

Date: Oct 21, 2014

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