Symposium 09
Click here to view Mr. Ahmed Djoghlaf's speech
The Second International Youth Symposium for Biodiversity, saw 100 students (Grade 6 to 12) and their chaperones gathered in Ottawa, Canada, to celebrate Youth Initiatives in Biodiversity. The Symposium was organized by BiodiversityMatters, with partners St-Laurent Academy, Convention on Biological Diversity, HabitatNet, and the Canadian Museum of Nature. The Macoun Marsh Project, an award-winning youth biodiversity project of St-Laurent Academy, hosted the event, July 5-9, 2009.
The focus of the Second International Youth Symposium on Biodiversity was:
to celebrate and share the work they are doing at home regarding local biodiversity efforts.
to experience Canadian biodiversity with a full scale Bio-Blitz (A Biological Survey with local scientists and naturalists)
to develop methods to implement the Global Youth's Accord for Biodiversity that was created by nine (9) nations during the First Youth Symposium in Mexico in 2005.
To foster youth engagement activities to enhance their understanding of global stewardship, and a shared sense of understanding and commitment to the global community through acting locally and thinking globally.
- David SuzukiAs politicians focus on voters for impending elections and corporate executives on the quarterly report, decisions are being made with consequences that reverberate well into the adult lives of today's youth. Yet young people don't vote and their future is seldom a part of political and corporate discussions. One consequence is declining quality of air, water, soil and biodiversity that we are leaving for coming generations. That's why youth are being informed and motivated about the important issues that will affect their lives.”
