News
November 1, 2010
COP10 has now concluded!
The delegates to the COP10 biodiversity conference concluded agreements early Saturday on access to genetic resources, preserving biodiversity over the next decade, and strategies to mobilize financial resources to meet these goals.
Convention on Biological Diversity President Ahmed Djoghlaf expressed his commitment to establishing a focal point for youth in the CBD to better engage them in the process. This is the direct result of the hard work and lobbying by international youth. These students are now working toward COP 11, slated for India. For more information please check our bio-blog!
October 24, 2010
COP10 is here!
Keep an eye on our blog as youth members from Biodiversitymatters keep you updated on different COP10 events celebrating biodiversity.
October 10, 2010
COP10 is nearly here!
Events in Nagoya, Japan are being prepared as the excitement builds for this important international event. Keep an eye on our blog as youth members from Biodiversitymatters keep you updated on different events celebrating biodiversity. Side events begin on October 18th. We have 2 events relating to the Youth Accord planned on October 26.
September 28, 2010
David Suzuki is presented with our Youth Accord
Students from St-Laurent Academy Elementary and Junior High and our own COP10 delegate Chafic presented Dr. Suzuki with a framed copy of our accord. Also they were given the opportunity to present our work at the Ottawa International Writer's Festival before Dr. Suzuki's talk to an audience of over 1000 people.
September 20, 2010
The Canadian Environmental Network
The Canadian Environmental Network’s (RCEN) 2010 Conference took place this past weekend at the Grand Plaza Hotel in downtown Montreal. We were honoured to have been part of today's events with a "Nature Deficit Disorder” workshop with Kathleen Usher from Evergreen. Check our blog for more details.
September 12, 2010
New Partner
The Tapir Preservation Fund is now a partner to the Youth Accord on Biodiversity! Check out: http://tapirgallery.blogspot.com/
September 5, 2010
New Blog
Please check out our new blog attached to our site! We have contributors from all over the world!
September 1, 2010
New Partner
The Spirit Bear Youth Coalition is now partners with us- welcome!
August 17, 2010
News from Canada
We were very pleased to visit the Liberal Member of Canadian Parliament for Ottawa-Vanier- The Honourable Mauril Bélanger. He was very interested in the work the youth have been doing in connection to the Youth Accord on Biodiversity and the upcoming visit to COP10 in Japan. He took the time to read through the Accord and he will continue to keep an eye on our work. Both Chafic Bouchakra (Publicity and Partnership coordinator) and Mike Leveille (Director of Biodiversitymatters) were present at the meeting.
August 9, 2010
Recently a team of youth from Canada raised funds for their travel to COP10 and collected over 100 signatures. Support came from M&M Meat shop. Thanks Bethany!
August 7, 2010
We invite all visitors to our new FACEBOOK FAN PAGE
CLICK HERE
August 6, 2010
Here are the updated numbers as of August 6, 2010-
25 translations to date including Finnish and Mongolian!
71 countries to date with 4276 signatures
Top countries for signatures of support-
1. Mexico- 2657
2. Canada- 954
3. United States- 90
4. Spain- 88
5. Tanzania- 75
We also welcomed Nature Canada as a partner to the Youth Accord! Several youth from Canada, Mexico, and hopefully the Middle East will represent the Accord at several events linked to COP10 in Japan. We are still hopeful about presenting the Youth Accord at the UNGA this fall, however the UNGA may be a closed session and the CBD is awaiting instructions from New York. We set up a signature site on Care2 to collect names supporting the Accord. We are getting some more international attention with this site.
We are planning to add a new element to the <Biodiversitymatters. org> website. We want to further develop a way for grass-roots youth groups to share their work to each other. We will set up a blog so that groups can communicate.
July 20, 2010
Great News!
As of today, we are at 60 countries represented with over 4000 signatures. The Youth Accord is truly becoming supported internationally!
July 2, 2010
News from Spain!
On July 2nd local authorities presented the awards contest videos "ChámalleComoQueiras" organized to spread the beauty of our land.
The first prize went to the video "VEO FERROL" made by the students of 4th Secondary of our School, on the subject of Plastic and Visual Education .This activity is part of the Nature Voice Project with beautiful images of our coast.
You can see the video in You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/user/ChamalleComoQueirasB#p/p/642D280B26B842F6/1/sXFsom_um3s
July 1, 2010
News from Mexico!
Some updates from Lemuel in Mexico regarding the Youth Accord
- We presented at the Pre-conference to to the World Youth Conference.
- We presented at the Forum Is Time To change
- We presented At the Chetumal University
- We presented At the Cancun University
- COJUDEQ (Youth, Sport commission to Quintana Roo) the Governmental Department help us with funding to bring all my delegation in many cities in my state presenting the Accord and many activities.
- Espacio Poder Joven Chetumal 2 (is a place where youth can have access to internet, computer, activities and more for free) we visit schools giving a Youth Card where we have many companies as members, and with that card they can afford for discounts and special price.
June 25, 2010:
More News!
Our team is now developing a concept of turning our biodiversitymatters website into an international blog on youth efforts for biodiversity.
June 23, 2010:
More News!
We are very excited that we have over 1800 signatures from 55 countries to date!
June 23, 2010:
News from our team members
We are pleased to announce that we have members of our team from New Brunswick and Mexico attending the Youth Event in Nagoya, Japan in August. Also we have 3 members from Ottawa, 2 from Halton, and several from New Brunswick attending COP10 in October. We also hope to have US and UAE representation. The October activities will include side events on the Youth Accord.
June 18, 2010:
News from Mexico!
Lemuel from Mexico has been accepted to participate in Nagoya, Japan in August and at the World Conference in Mexico City as well. Our Youth Accord is in good hands!
June 17, 2010:
Slovak translation has been completed!
Another language translation has been completed for the accord! That puts us at 21 translations to date.
June 16, 2010:
Ottawa Field Naturalists is now a partner!
Founded in 1879, the Ottawa Field Naturalists' Club is the oldest natural history club in Canada. Over 800 members have interests in all aspects of the natural world. We are very excited to have them as a partner to the Accord on Biodiversity.
June 15, 2010:
Hometown Heros
Cascades Inc. and Earth Day Canada is pleased to announce Michael Leveille of Biodiversitymatters on being selected as a 2010 Hometown Heros Individual Finalist for the Macoun Marsh Project and the Second International Youth Symposium for Biodiversity. See www.earthday.ca
June 14, 2010:
LIST OF COUNTRIES/ REGIONS OF ORIGIN OF THOSE WHO HAVE SIGNED UP TO SUPPORT THE YOUTH ACCORD
1. Canada- 511
2. Australia- 5
3. Bahamas- 2
4. Bangladesh- 1
5. Barbados- 2
6. Belgium- 2
7. Bermuda- 2
8. Brazil- 5
9. Bulgaria- 8
10. Cameroon- 3
11. Cayman Islands- 1
12. China- 13
13. Columbia- 1
14. Cuba- 1
15. England/ UK- 4
16. "Europe"- 2
17. Germany- 3
18. Greece- 1
19. Hungary- 4
20. India- 7
21. Indonesia- 4
22. Ireland- 1
23. Israel- 1
24. Italy- 3
25. Japan- 17
26. Kenya- 1
27. Korea- 2
28. Lebanon-1
29. Malaysia- 1
30. Malawi- 1
31. Mexico- 404
32. Namibia- 1
33. Nepal- 2
34. Nigeria- 3
35. Panama- 2
36. Pakistan- 1
37. Philippians- 1
38. South Africa- 3
39. Spain- 87
40. Sudan- 1
41. Sri Lanka-2
42. St. Lucia- 1
43. Taiwan- 1
44. Tanzania- 2
45. Tunisia- 1
46. Uganda- 6
47. United Arab Emirates- 2
48. United States- 58
49. Vietnam- 2
NAMES WITH NO COUNTRY/ REGION LISTED- 16
(Duplicates not counted here)
June 12, 2010:
EXCELLENT NEWS!
To date, individuals from 49 different countries/ regions have signed on to our Youth Accord on Biodiversity- that is excellent news!
June 8, 2010:
June 8th is World Oceans Day
As a result of a United Nations General Assembly resolution passed in December 2008, World Oceans Day is now officially recognized by the UN as June 8th each year. Our team has joined the Partner network of The Ocean Project. See theoceanproject.org
June 7, 2010:
News from Mexico
Lemuel in Mexico has collected a total of over 400 signatures to date! Great work Lemuel!
June 6, 2010:
News from Spain
On June 5th, the International Day of the Environment, the Sagrado Corazón School in Spain participated in the Great Environmental Party Galicia. In their stand they gathered 69 supporters (68 from Spain and one from Colombia) for the Youth Accord for Biodiversity.
June 2, 2010:
Translation of Youth Accord into Swedish and Latvian
A huge thank you to Anya for helping us get the Accord translated into Swedish and Latvian. Our document is now in 20 languages.
June 2, 2010:
Here is a copy of Kirsten's speech presented in Brussels today as part of a panel called "Changing Consumer Behaviour" !
In the five minutes allotted to me, I’d like to talk to you about a particularly important group of consumers – young people.
Not only are we consumers in our own right, but we can have a big influence on the spending habits and consumption patterns of our parents, grandparents and friends. We are also uniquely placed to raise public awareness about the importance of biodiversity and the tragedy that it biodiversity loss. And, as I am sure many of you know, we can't be ignored.
I am the spokesperson for a group of young people who have come together from five continents because we want to contribute to protecting biodiversity. We work in two main ways;
- Firstly, by working at the local level – usually through our schools but also through youth groups - to help protect biodiversity. This could be a small patch of urban wetland, monitoring a particular species population, building nest boxes;
- Secondly, we have written the International Youth Accord on Biodiversity, and I am very pleased to say that we have been invited to present the Accord to COP10 in Nagoya in October.
The Youth Accord came to life last year, following the Second International Youth Symposium on Biodiversity. Youth aged 10-19 from 9 countries discussed issues facing biodiversity and what we as young people can do to protect, promote and restore the web of life.
We formed a youth driven Steering Committee to draft the Accord. It is showcased on the web at biodiversitymatters.org and on Facebook (of course).
At the moment the Accord is available in 19 different languages and one of the goals that we have set ourselves for Green Week is to translate the Accord into as many of the official languages of the EU as possible.
The Youth Accord is made up of 3 parts: Our Vision, Our Expectations and Our Commitment.
Our Vision includes a clear definition of what biodiversity is and the following statement “We the youth, envision that biodiversity will be protected to sustain global ecosystems and life on our planet, now and in the future”.
Our Expectations highlight different areas of concern. We acknowledge that the problem is a GLOBAL one and that international cooperation is vital and we offer ourselves as a bridge between generations, and to help with the shift to environmentally sustainable consumption habits.
We also direct our attention to global leaders, policy makers and law enforcement. It is their job to create the laws to protect biodiversity and to ensure that they are effectively implemented and monitored. That is why we are so glad that the EU committed earlier this year to halt the loss of biodiversity in the EU by 2020 and – even better – to take steps to restore biodiversity lost. Now we want to see that commitment turned into concrete action. And we count on EU leaders to advocate the 2020 target with other countries in the run up to and at COP10.
The final section of the Youth Accord sets out what we commit to, which includes applying the knowledge we have to educate those around us, to protect biodiversity at the local level and to monitor the progress that we make.
Now that the document is complete, it is open for signature by young people, but also by national, regional and local leaders, industry and others. I am here today in part to ask for your support for the Youth Accord and to help us spread the message about the Accord.
We have also started to form partnerships with other internationally recognized groups such as the Dr Jane Goodall Foundation and the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, with Universities and with Schools, for example the Sagrado Corazon school in Spain.
We would like young people to have a stronger presence in the fight against biodiversity loss. We feel that our generation, with our social networking and web communication skills, is well equipped to take action on biodiversity on a global level. We can see how actions in the past have affected the present state of the Earth, and we fear for its future and ours. We are passionate about our cause and feel that we CAN make a positive change.
As individuals and groups we continue to work to protect and promote biodiversity within our home countries, but as a larger international team we are working towards COP10. Our journey is far from over. We are now researching the substantive issues which will be discussed in Japan, raising funds for our work and our travel expenses and working on a side event to take place in Nagoya.
The world needs leaders like the EU to take a stand for what is right. But don’t ignore the contribution that young people can make to achieving our common goal.
June 2, 2010:
Good news!
We are now at 45 countries represented with our Youth Accord on Biodiversity!
June 1, 2010:
Brussels, Belgium- Green Week
Green Week is the biggest event organized by the European Commission’s Directorate General for the Environment, having developed over almost a decade into an "unmissable" annual affair for anyone involved with protecting the environment. Approximately 3,500 informed stakeholders from all over Europe and the world visit it. Every year Friends of Europe is the exclusive partner of the European Commission and organizes a series of debates as part of the official programme. This year our very own Youth Accord Administrator, Kirsten Falkenburger has been invited to sit on the panel to discuss biodiversity and consumers. She will be speaking on June 2nd at the event, and we want to wish her luck on her adventure and with representing the Youth Accord. Enjoy Brussels Kirsten!
May 31, 2010:
Information from Miranda in Ohio
- Three-quarters of the world’s poorest people depend on natural resources for their daily existence.
- One billion people worldwide depend on drugs derived from forest plants for their medicinal needs.
- One billion people in developing countries rely on fish as their main source of food, while an estimated 38 million people are employed directly by fishing and many more in the processing stages.
- 60 percent of key ecosystem services are being degraded or used unsustainably.
Source: CBD
May 28, 2010:
Italian Translation of Youth Accord
Thank you to Anya for helping us get an Italian translation to the Accord.
May 27, 2010:
News from Miranda in Ohio
On May 22, 2010, The Green Wave was celebrated at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. The Zoo Crew teen-volunteers (with help from our Horticulture staff) along with other schools and youth organizations worldwide planted trees native to their area. At Cleveland Metroparks Zoo we planted two trees at the entrance to the Northern Trek exhibit. The Green Wave celebrates the International Day of Biodiversity (IDB) to raise awareness on biodiversity. This year is the Year of biodiversity (decided by the U.N.) which makes this celebration of The Green Wave even more special. The "second green wave" took place at 20:10 (8:10 p.m.) on May 23 when each participant uploaded a picture of the tree they planted and an interactive map now shows where all the trees were planted all over the world. For more information on The Green Wave, go to: http://greenwave.cbd.int/en/home.
Also as part of The International Year of Biodiversity, Zoo Crew hopes to send two teen volunteers to Nagoya Japan to present the International Youth Accord on biodiversity at the Convention on Biodiversity in October 2010. The Youth Accord will be at The Green Wave Event for guests of all ages to sign. For more information or to sign the Accord online visit www.biodiversitymatters.org.
May 23, 2010:
List of Countries/ Regions with individuals supporting the Accord:
1. Canada
2. Australia
3. Bahamas
4. Bangladesh
5. Barbados
6. Belgium
7. Bermuda
8. Brazil
9. Bulgaria
10. Cameroon
11. Cayman Islands
12. China
13. Cuba
14. England/ UK
15. Germany
16. Hungary
17. India
18. Indonesia
19. Ireland
20. Italy
21. Japan
22. Kenya
23. Korea
24. Lebanon
25. Malawi
26. Mexico
27. Namibia
28. Nepal
29. Nigeria
30. Panama
31. Pakistan
32. Philippians
33. South Africa
34. Spain
35. Sudan
36. Sri Lanka
37. St. Lucia
38. Taiwan
39. Tanzania
40. Uganda
41. United Arab Emirates
42. United States
43. Vietnam
May 22, 2010:
International Biodiversity Day
We had an amazing time at the Canadian Museum of Nature Reopening Event! We were successful in gathering a grand total of 291 signatures. 219 hard copy and 72 directly on our website biodiversitymatters.org. We had signatures from Canada, Cameroon, China, Cuba, Germany, India, Lebanon, Mexico, Philippines, Spain, St. Lucia, Sudan, Uganda, and Vietnam. To view images of the event look at the St-Laurent Academy Blog.
May 21, 2010:
International Biodiversity Day is tomorrow!
It is a very special day for our team! Have fun doing what we do best!
May 21, 2010:
News from Australia!
Parrys in Australia has been busy connecting with youth in Brazil. She is now encouraging her new connections to sign on to our Accord. Thanks Parrys!
May 20, 2010:
News from Ottawa, Canada
The Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa will reopen on May 22 in grand style. A $216-million renovation over the past six years – funded by the Government of Canada – has transformed the stone building into a state-of-the-art nature museum. New galleries have been added to the museum, including an earth gallery, a fossil gallery, a water gallery and the "Animalium" – a gallery filled with live invertebrates. Our youth team will be on hand to promote the International Youth Accord all afternoon. We hope to encourage many signatures to this site.
May 20, 2010:
News from Chicago, USA
Many of the 2009 Symposium youth will remember Peter. He has been active at his new school in Chicago promoting the Youth Accord in his new school. He is also working on a Danish translation of the Accord. Thanks Peter.
May 19, 2010:
The Green Wave
The Green Wave is a multi-year global campaign that enables children and youth to make a difference – one school, one tree, one step at a time. On May 22 (International Day for Biodiversity) the Green Wave brings together children and youth from around the world to raise awareness about biodiversity, and the need to reduce its loss. The Green Wave contributes to the Plant for the Planet Billion Tree Campaign. Learn more about The Green Wave, Green Wave celebrations, trees and how your school can get involved in an exciting international initiative. Many of our partners and members will be planting trees on May 22nd. Join the fun!
May 19, 2010:
Canadian Biodiversity Youth Champion
The Canadian Environmental Network (RCEN) has selected one environmental NGO (ENGO) delegate from each province and territory in Canada, plus one youth and one aboriginal delegate to be International Year of Biodiversity (IYB) Champions. Throughout 2010, our Kirsten Falkenburger has been named a Canadian Biodiversity Youth Champion. Congratulations to Kirsten and her work with POWER.
May 18, 2010:
Our Partner- Earth Rangers!
ABOUT EARTH RANGERS:
Founded in 2001, Earth Rangers is a charitable organization dedicated to educating children about biodiversity loss and empowering them to Bring Back the Wild™. Building on kids’ natural connection to wildlife, Earth Rangers focuses on equipping children with the education and tools they’ll need to make a real impact on the environment. Through award-winning live school shows, a permanent studio at the Royal Ontario Museum, a children’s Web site (earthrangers.com) and a new campaign (bringbackthewild.com), Earth Rangers is able to motivate hundreds of thousands of children each year to take action to help protect the planet. The award-winning Earth Rangers Centre has also been recognized for its commitment to the environment and has been awarded a LEED Gold Designation. For more information please visit www.earthrangers.org.
May 18, 2010:
Message from our Youth Accord Administrator!
Hey Everyone!
Kirsten here, and as the Youth Accord Administrator I have one message for you. PROMOTE! If you have signed the accord and agree with what it is asking then do your part and get all your friends and family to sign on! We are trying to get as many signatures as possible and I know that there are LOTS of youth and adults out there who would support the youth accord.
This weekend is the International Day for Biodiversity (May 22) so tell everyone you know about biodiversity, why it is so important to protect and how they can help out by signing onto the accord.
If you want help on how you should go about getting signatures feel free to contact me at kirstenfalkenburger@gmail.com, I have lots of suggestions!
Keep up the great work!
May 15, 2010:
News from Mexico!
Lemuel from Mexico has a radio interview tomorrow to present the youth accord. The program is live with an audience in Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras. Thanks Lemuel!
May 14, 2010:
Earth Rangers now a partner!
Earth Rangers believes that children have both the power and desire to change the world and the right to inherit a healthy planet. They are an innovative charitable organization with a mission to inspire children with a lasting passion to build a better future. They make a great partner to the Youth Accord on Biodiversity!
May 12, 2010:
Message from Dr. Robert Thirsk (Canadian astronaut who has worked on the International Space Station) for Biodiversitymatters.org
"I wish that all Canadians would have the opportunity to see the Earth from orbit and see how we are changing our fragile planet."
May 11, 2010:
News from Canada
USC Canada will continue to be an active partner to our work. Faris Ahmed from USC will be bringing the English, French, Spanish, and Kiswahili versions of our Accord to the UN meetings in Nairobi this Friday. Thank you Faris!
May 7, 2010:
News from Spain
Francisco Requejo (one of the Accord partners) from Sagrado Corazon School in Spain will be on RADIO VOZ on May 7 to discuss the Youth Accord for Biodiversity and "biodiversity matters"!
May 6, 2010:
EXCELLENT NEWS!
To date, individuals from 35 different countries have signed on to our Youth Accord on Biodiversity- that is excellent news!
May 2, 2010:
New partners to the Youth Accord from Australia and Africa!
We are pleased to announce that the Australian Orang-utan Project <www.orangutan.org.au> and the Limbe Green Youth Movement <http://www.freetocharities.org.uk/afredecc/report.pdf> in Cameroon have joined on! A special thanks to Parrys in Australia and Godden in Cameroon!
April 30, 2010:
News from our friends at Durrell (UK)- Reintroduction of the rarest pig in the world
Since 2008 there have been two major releases of pygmy hog back into Sonai Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary in the grasslands of Assam (north eastern India ). A total of 25 hogs have been released and May 2010 will see the third major release of 12 animals. These animals are currently being held in pre-release enclosures which are large densely vegetated areas that allow the hogs to become accustomed to wild conditions. Elsewhere the captive breeding programme has continued to develop and there are currently 52 hogs that providing the basis for reintroduction efforts. To find out more about this and other threatened species Durrell is working to save click HERE… To join our blog go to blog.durrell.org
April 28, 2010:
Brussels, Belgium- Green Week
Green Week is the biggest event organized by the European Commission’s Directorate General for the Environment, having developed over almost a decade into an "unmissable" annual affair for anyone involved with protecting the environment. Approximately 3,500 informed stakeholders from all over Europe and the world visit it. Every year Friends of Europe is the exclusive partner of the European Commission and organizes a series of debates as part of the official programme. This year our very own Youth Accord Administrator, Kirsten Falkenburger has been invited to sit on the panel to discuss biodiversity and consumers. She will be speaking on June 2nd at the event, and we want to wish her luck on her adventure and with representing the Youth Accord.
April 28, 2010:
POWER Youth Caucus- Ontario, Canada
The POWER Youth Caucus has been very busy in planning their events surrounding the International day for Biological Diversity (IBD). The events will stretch from May 21-23 encompassing many different elements. On May 21st they will join the schools in celebrating the Green Wave, although a day early they still want to be part of the world wide event. The main event that they have been planning will be on May 22nd, where they will be hosting a mall event in Georgetown. There will be animals, speakers, booths and entertainment all to raise awareness around biodiversity, educate the public and to have fun. Lastly, on May 23rd they will be having a hike-a-thon on the Niagara Escarpment to raise funds to attend COP 10. The hike will be run by a professional and they hope to get many photos to share.
April 25, 2010:
Message from the Executive Director of Biodiversitymatters.org
We are living in exciting times. Our Symposium team continues to reach out and develop long lasting partnerships with individuals and groups dedicated to the Earth's ecosystems and our sustainable use of our world's resources. As the US anthropologist Margaret Mead once said: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
As we approach the International Day for Biodiversity on May 22, our team of youth are planning many great initiatives. In Canada, a team is working with their national museum during their grand reopening. Our Youth Accord will be available for signing and it is hoped that many hundreds of signatures may be had on that day. Stay tuned for more great events taking place globally connected to our Youth Accord on Biodiversity. Michael Leveille
April 24, 2010:
Let's Talk Science!
We are very please to announce that the organization Let's Talk Science has joined our initiative.
Let’s Talk Science is an award-winning, national, charitable organization in Canada. They deliver science learning programs and services that turn children and youth on to science, keep them engaged in learning and develop their potential to become 21st century citizens, innovators and stewards.
April 23, 2010:
News from Australia!
Parrys' friends at myoo put a blog up for the youth accord. There are some great competitions kids might like to participate in. Happy reading!!
http://www.myoocreate.com/blog/2010/04/many-species-one-planet-one-future/
April 22, 2010:
Happy Earth Day everyone!
April 22, 2010:
Greetings from Japan!
We, Japan Ecology League, are happy to announce you the application for the International Youth Conference on Biodivresity in Aichi 2010!
Call for Participation
♪♪♪
The 10th meeting of the Conference of the Parties
to the Convention on Biological Diversity (so-called "CBD COP10") will be held in October 2010 in Nagoya, Japan, and the conference would be one of the most important international conferences on biodiversity.
In conjunction with COP10 Nagoya, The International Youth Conference on Biodiversity in Aichi 2010 will take place to promote intercommunication among young people of the world and to improve their awareness of biodiversity toward COP10.
Conference Outline-----------------------------------------
Name of the event: The International Youth Conference on Biodiversity in Aichi 2010
Programme
The program will take place from August 21 – 27, 2010 as follows:
A) Home-stay: 1night home-stay on August 21, 2010
Stay with a family in Aichi, to experience what "real life" is like in Japan.
B) Conference: 4 days from August 23 through 26, 2010
Aichi Health Plaza Comprehensive Health Science Center (Higashiura-cho, Aichi pref.)
C) Excursion: 1 day on August 24 or 25, 2010
D) Biodiversity Forum: A public Biodiversity Forum will be held on August 27, 2010
Toyota Auditorium of Nagoya University (Nagoya city, Aichi pref.)
Organizers
hosted by: Ministry of Environment
Co-hosted by: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Aichi Prefecture
Sponsored by: Aeon Environmental Foundation
Assisted by: Nagoya City
Endorsed by: United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
♣ Number of the international participants
70 participants will be selected (In addition, 30 participants will be selected from within Japan.)
Cost
The organizers will bear the costs of an economy class round trip airfare between the international airport closest to the successful applicant's home address and Chubu International Airport (or Narita International Airport), train tickets to the conference place and the cost of accommodations at the conference.
Please note that NO payment will be offered to participants for any accident or casualty caused while participating in the conference. Participants are required to obtain their own property and casualty insurance covering their period of stay in Japan to prepare for emergencies.
How to Apply
Please go to the website below and check details of the event and how to apply.
http://www.biodic.go.jp/biodiversity/youth/call_e.html
If you have decided to apply for this conference, please post your comment on this discussion board for follow-up purpose.
April 21, 2010:
News from St-Laurent Academy in Ottawa!
We have been planting endangered Butternut trees around our marsh site! Butternut seedlings were obtained through the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority Butternut Recovery Program. We were given the honour to plant 12 of these endangered plants around the Macoun Marsh in Ottawa, Canada.
April 21, 2010:
News from Parrys in Australia!
Parrys Raines, 14, is an environmental educator and adventurer. Through her travels for her environment work Parrys relays what she has learnt to other children/youth through her production company – Munchkin Productions and through her website www.climategirl.com.au
Parrys was approached by the Australian Museum Sydney to write a blog for them called “Cut the Carbon”. Parrys has been writing for them since July 2009. Her blog can be found on their website under news and blogs. http://www.australianmuseum.net.au/Cut-the-Carbon
April 21, 2010:
News from Clint in Ottawa!
We are officially kicking off our Notre Dame Urban Biosurvey this Earth Day! A collection of students representing the various 'classes' will explore the area taking pictures, Geo-Tagging, Describing and hopefully identifying species of life in a study area bordering the Ottawa River and the 417...running e-w for about a couple km's.
We hope to follow the model of the Marsh Project and as an ongoing adventure keep a tally of what we have done and found in binders for the duration of the project.
April 20, 2010:
News from our friends in Japan!
Yukiko has begun an environmental club in her high school. She recently held a lecture about the environment which was given by a professor from Shinsyu University. Now she plans to grow some vegetables in her school. Spring has come to our city. Our team starts observing owls in May. We will then be able to see baby owls. We are looking forward to seeing them. Rieko Kusama
April 20, 2010:
Two new partners from the USA and Canada!
Teens for Planet Earth and Ontario Nature welcome! More information on these and other groups will be added soon.
April 16, 2010:
A new partner in Canada! The Robert Bateman Get to Know Program
This group is celebrating the International Year of Biodiversity primarily through two events: the annual Get to Know art, writing, and photography contest (runs Earth Day through May 28) which has “biodiversity” as its theme this year, and “BioBlitz” events held at twenty-two locations across Canada on May 22, International Day for Biodiversity. A promotion kit for the contest with more information is at http://www.gettoknow.ca/ca/contest/promo-kit.phpApril 16, 2010:
News from Mexico!
Lemuel Mena Vega, one of our youth committee members from Mexico, just went on a Midwest tour in the United States for 11 days, presenting our Youth Accord and collecting signatures. The trip also advertised their own conservation projects and the troubles with water resources in Mexico (Co-working with the Sierra Club Foundation, The Izaac Walton League, The Summit Foundation, and Author Laurie Mazur). They visited several universities including De Paul University, University of Michigan, Wayne State University, University of Chicago and a forest preserve in DuPage County.
April 13, 2010:
David Suzuki Foundation signs on to the Accord!
We are very excited to have the David Suzuki Foundation supporting our work on our Youth Accord for biodiversity. A special thank you to Dr. Faisal Moola, PhD.
April 13, 2010:
Norwegian Accord!
Thank you to Parrys from Australia for her role in getting us our 17th translation of the Youth Accord!
April 12, 2010:
A Meeting with Jane Goodall!
A group of youth from St-Laurent Academy had the opportunity to present Jane with a copy of our Youth Accord last night. We are proud to be working with Jane's Roots and Shoots organization.
April 5, 2010:
Signatures!
We have now received the first collection of signatures of support for the youth accord. Support has come from across Canada, Bulgaria, U.S.A., Brazil, Tanzania, Uganda, Cameroon, Belgium, Ireland, Mexico, Nepal, Indonesia, Panama, United Arab Emirates, and Bangladesh. This is just the beginning!
April 2, 2010:
New partners from the U.S.A. and Spain!
The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo is now a partner to the Youth Accord. For more information on the wonderful work this zoo is doing check out: <www.clemetzoo.com/>
Also the Sagrado Corazon School in Spain has partnered with us. The UNESCO - IOC (Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission) published an article about the school's work called "Voice for the Ocean" : http://ioc-unesco.org/.
Also check out : http://www.ioc50.ru/events/
March 25, 2010:
New partner!
The Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust is an international charity working globally towards their mission of saving species from extinction. Committed to conserving the diversity and integrity of the life on earth, Durrell has developed a worldwide reputation for its pioneering conservation techniques. We welcome their support of this important youth document!
March 10, 2010:
Translations of our Youth Accord to date
The Youth Accord has now been translated into English, French, Spanish,
Portuguese, German, Greek, Chinese, Japanese, Swahili, Russian, Turkish, Bahasa Indonesia, Bahasa Melayu, and Arabic. We are very pleased by the level of support we are receiving world-wide. Expect all of these languages to be up on this website very soon.
March 5, 2010:2
Biodiversity Awareness in Spain
The Nature Voice Project from Spain had a bicycle event to support the awareness of their Estuary of Ferrol. 250 cyclists with children, parents and teachers took part in this urban circuit of 13 km around the estuary. The estuary's landscape is very beautiful and rich in flora and fauna.
March 3, 2010:2010:
Official Youth Accord Launch in Ottawa, Canada
This is really BIG! We are involved in an absolutely amazing project that literally networks across the globe! Today's event included Elizabeth Kilvert from Environment Canada, Tara Conroy from the Canadian Museum of Nature, and a young representative named Camila from Jane Goodall's Roots and Shoots. We were also entertained by Paul Goulet and his rare critters. This amazing youth document has been translated into about 10 languages including Spanish, Portuguese, Swahili, English, French, Japanese, Chinese, Greek, Russian, and soon Arabic… and then many others to follow. 14 countries are now represented with this document to date. I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings! Mike Leveille
February, 2010:2010:
Children and Youth International Conference - Let´s Take Care of the Planet with The Brazilian Ministry of Education
For Canadian youth interested please contact:
http://respoinfo.org/prenons-soin-de-la-planeteprenons-notre-place-dans-monde/.
February, 2010:
A Message from the International Youth Accord Administrator
Dear Youth,
Are you interested in participating in the youth work on biodiversity in 2010 but feel overwhelmed with questions about what exactly we are doing? I am here to answer all your questions and hopefully by the end of this email you will have a clearer picture in your head.
First I should tell you who I am, how I became part of a team and how exactly we got our start. My name is Kirsten Falkenburger and over a year ago in 2008 I called up a women named Leslie Adams who is the mentor for the Ontario group. She told myself and my good friend to come join a team in planning a youth conference around biodiversity. From here the group of 5 went to the Second International Youth Symposium on Biodiversity in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. This was a conference with the purpose of educating youth on biodiversity in order to craft a youth accord on biodiversity. The accord we are currently working on is a newer updated version then one previous created a few years ago. This is where we met the rest of the international crew we have continued to work with.
After the symposium we went back to our home countries and formed an International Steering Committee. Currently made up of 10 countries; Canada, USA, Mexico, India, Barbados, Uganda, Tanzania, Indonesia, Japan, United Kingdom. This team is always looking to grow and include new members and countries. Together we wrote the International Youth Accord on Biodiversity, which is going to be published for signing within the next month (February, 2010). This document is a collective youth statement from youth around the world, about what biodiversity means to us and what we want the world leaders to do. It will be published to our website biodiversitymatters.org, for both youth and adult allies to sign onto. We will be presenting this document at the Convention of the Parties in Nagoya, Japan in October 2010.
Now we are looking forward to the next steps which include supporting documentation, substantive issues and organizing a side event, as well as promotional materials. To explain those next steps in more details I must first give you general background information.
All of the work we are doing is in relation to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). That is an important term and over the course of the next few months you will learn more and more about this convention. It is a treaty between countries that formed out of the Earth Summit in 1992. Canada was the first country to sign on, and the secretariat office is in Montreal, Quebec Canada. There are three main objectives of the CBD:
1. The conservation of biological diversity
2. The sustainable use of the components of biological diversity
3. The fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources
Each year the CBD picks a theme for the International Biodiversity Day (IBD) which is carried on throughout the rest of the year. First you must know that IBD is May 22 every year without fail, this year it lands on a Saturday. Second you must know that this year the theme is Biodiversity and Sustainable Use. Also, the year 2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity decided by the United Nations.
Next is to explain how the CBD functions, and exactly progresses. They have two main meetings; Meeting of the Parties(MOP), and Convention of the Parties(COP), which are held every two years. In between these main meetings, there are smaller and equally important meetings held all over the world. At these meetings they discuss the substantive issues in which they have chosen for that year. This year we will be focusing our youth work on these 8 substantive issues:
1. Inland Waters
2. Marine and Costal
3. Climate change & Biodiversity
4. Protected Areas & Biodiversity
5. Mountains & Biodiversity
6. Sustainable Use
7. Access & Benefit Sharing
8. Post 2010 Target
Now that I have overwhelmed you with information, I will start to discuss what it is we are going to do. We are hoping to have a team of 80-100 participants (Youth aged 15-24) in Canada which calculates to about 8-10 youth per province (At this current moment we have a full team in Ontario and a growing team in New Brunswick). We will then split up into sub committees of the main international steering committee in which we will report to. Here the committee you become a part of will be the primary lead on one of the 8 substantive issues, and a secondary lead on a separate substantive issue.
We work primarily using a computer program called “skype” which we used to communicate. It is easy to use and you just need a computer with a microphone, and it is free to download. I would highly suggest creating an account in order to communicate.
As this project further develops we will separate into our groups and be self reliant. I will produce a template document in which to work from. You must understand that we are all learning throughout this process. There is also a frequently asked questions page being produced on our website currently which you can referrer to and if you have any questions still unanswered, feel free to ask. Questions make me think and bring about new ideas, so they are always encouraged.
I hope that you were able to absorb some of the information I have given you, and that I helped outline the project you are about to undertake. We look forward to working with you and are excited for this youth movement. It is our turn to speak out and take a stand for what we believe in, Biodiversity Matters!
October, 2009:
- Severn Cullis-SuzukiDear youth activists.
I am inspired to hear of your work with the Accord. It's amazing what you can achieve when you put your hard work and effort into a dream or an idea. It makes me so proud when I hear about youth who are fighting for justice, because what our environmental problems are really all about is justice for the future. Your future, your lives! Healthy Biodiversity is the condition for our healthy existence on Earth. The scary thing about the speech I gave at Rio is that the exact same one could be given by a child today. It makes me angry that youth and children are just thought of as another interest group when half the world's population is youth, and youth are the ones with everything at stake! Don't forget this. This is the reason you can be righteous. This is the reason you can cut through the complexities of negotiations and politicking with your statements. This is the reason you can speak truth to power.Don't be afraid to pull any punches. Remind them of what it's about, the future for their own children. Don't let them forget that when they became parents, they became part of a sacred trust to deliver the world they inherited to their own children.
Good luck.
- "The Lorax", by Dr. SeussUnless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing's going to get better. It's not."
