African Rio+20: A Paradigm Shift

Note: Here are the profiles of some of the youth delegates and their projects

If  there is ever an effective form of profound change, then it must be paradigm shift. This was the thrust of the just concluded African Rio+20 Summit, which commenced on 11th June 2012 and ended on 14th June 2012. Under the theme, Rauka! Act now for a Sustainable Future, the conference provided a unique platform for young leaders from eight  countries to meet and take stock of the current state of their countries’ development status and formulate a way forward, with regards to sustainable development.

For many years, the voice that has usually spoken on African issues has always been the victim’s voice, but not at the African Rio+20 Summit. The aura at the summit was that of a fresh start; a new way of looking at issues in the African context with a view of coming up with viable solutions instead of indulging in the blaming game, and renewed optimism by the young leaders in attendance. Various development stakeholders engaged with the young leaders, and they were truly awed by the change that had already been effected by these young pace setters. This was no ordinary talk shop; rather, it was a platform for charting the path to the future we want, and this journey has earnestly begun!

One of the petition T-shirts

Participants keenly following discussions

Panelists answering questions from participants

The main topics revolved around the role of youth in crafting a Green Economy through the creation of green jobs. It was not all about fancy words; rather, it was about practical solutions that the youth leaders had to undertake in order to achieve the envisaged objective. For example, Patricia from Uganda has a briquette-making business that turns waste into energy. Anna from Tanzania has come up with a novel way of purifying water for domestic use by using ash from Acacia branches – this method purifies the water by more than 90%. Kika from Uganda runs a waste-management and recycling enterprise in Kampala that employs 8 youth. David from Kenya has been successful in engaging government agencies such as the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Youth Affairs in bringing on board young people in policy formulation and implementation – during the summit, he got a guarantee from a senior Ministry of Environment official that from now henceforth, young people will have a seat on the table of policy formulation and implementation in all relevant aspects. This is just but a sample of the cadre of the youth leaders that participated in this summit.

The Rauka Campaign was held in partnership with Rio+YOU

Generic responses and statements were a no-no in this summit, as the participants explored challenges facing their societies and the appropriate responses in an empirical manner; this was aimed at coming up with appropriate solutions to pertinent challenges of sustainable development in an African context. And to boot this, each of the delegates made a personal pledge to effect PRACTICAL solutions in the immediate societies.

At the end of the summit, the young leaders came up with an opinion piece (policy statement) which outlines the position of young African leaders and all the stakeholders who were involved in this process (to be shared soon). In addition, Uganda and Tanzania Youth Climate Networks were formed so as to consolidate the voice and effectiveness of young people to effect change in their societies.
Please check out the blog for the African Rio+20 Summit for more information, pictures, and even participant profiles: http://climatecaravan.tumblr.com

Also get social and let’s engage on Facebook  and Twitter

UPDATE: Here is the link to the TV feature of the Pan-African Rio+20 Summit on African Journal: http://www.a24media.com/index.php/features-blog/3190-madagascar-rio20

Compiled by: Kennedy Liti Mbeva

World Environment Day 2012: Back to Basics

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago; the second best time is now” or so goes the famous Chinese proverb. Echoing this call, several youth leaders from a number of youth organizations met at YMCA Central Branch, Nairobi, to establish a tree nursery to mark the World Environment Day 2012. AYICC-K, KYCN, YMCA and many other youth organizations were among the youth organizations at YMCA; the mood was exuberant and contagious, as this was a critical step in the march to realizing our objective of planting 20,000 trees or more this year. The theme of this year's World Environment Day was: "Green Economy: Does it include you?". Of course it does!

Planting trees is one of the noblest ways of conserving the environment, and after  spending the last couple of months working on environmental advocacy projects, it was only right to go back to the basics and sow the seeds of sustainability; literally. We planted the Moringa oleifera tree, which is also known as the ‘Miracle Tree’. For example, it is usually considered ‘nutrition dynamite’ simply because it has been successfully used to combat malnutrition; it is also used for medicinal purposes especially in treating tumours, which usually lead to cancer. It can also be used in water purification - this list of benefits is almost endless! Therefore, planting this tree was symbolic, just as is the cause of youth-led environmental conservation and governance advocacy in Kenya and beyond.

Someone very wise once said that a picture is worth a thousand words, so please find below some pictures of the event:

Clearing the area for preparation of the seed beds

Creating the seedbeds for the tree nursery

RAUKA! ACT NOW FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

You most probably have heard all the bells and whistles about the Rauka campaign, but what is it all about anyway? Well, it is about many things, but the baseline of the entire project is about youth-led actvocacy (a cool new concept) towards sustainable development. It is a series of events aimed at raising awareness on these issues. The official description is as follows:

‘Rauka! Act now for a sustainable future’ is a campaign that brings together FBOs, CSOs and Youth Movements from all over East Africa and draws the support from global Climate Justice. Borrowing from the We Have Faith (www.wehavefaithactnow.org) campaign, this year’s youth campaign slogan is a very strong yet positive message about climate justice & the collected efforts we can make as youth to create the future we desperately need. It demands action, and gives options and solutions. The ‘Rauka’ campaign believes that the UN Earth Summit/Rio+20 can find a lasting and sustainable solution to protecting people and the planet from climate change and move us forward into the future we need.

The "Rauka” campaign 2012 – is follow up to the ‘We Have Faith’ campaign. 

Rauka Week of Action (6th -13th June 2012)

To influence the UNCSD process, and to ensure that there is meaningful progress in the negotiations, the world’s leaders have to feel the pressure both from within their own countries and from abroad. To mobilize people to stand up for a carbon neutral future, they have to be informed both about the negotiations and what the stakes are.
The Pan African youth campaign for sustainable development, ‘Rauka’, will focus the energy of youth and mobilize around one week of momentum building towards the Africa Rio+20 summit. This week will have activities such as:
• In-country trainings in Tanzania, Rwanda, & Uganda (6th June – 8th June)
• Football matches, tree planting exercises (9th June)
• A peaceful walk in Nairobi Central Business District where the President & the Prime Minister will be given petitions collected from the five East African states. (11th June).
• Africa Rio+20 (12th & 13th June)

In order to find out what is happening in real-time, follow this conversation on Twitter (@rauka2012), Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/RaukaActNowForASustainableFuture) and also check out our Rauka blog (http://climatecaravan.tumblr.com)

Compiled by: Ken Liti