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Case Study: The World Summit on Sustainable Development
Children and youth from around the world participated in The Johannesburg Summit 2002 - the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa. Along with tens of thousands of others, including governments, business people, scientists, farmers, young people spoke on issues affecting them and offered their opinions on ways to conserve natural resources. Mingyu Liao from China, Justin Friesen from Canada and Analiz Vergara from Ecuador were three children who spoke on behalf of more than 400 children from over 80 countries that attended the International Children's Conference of the United Nations Environment Programme in Victoria, BC before the Summit. They presented world leaders with the following list of "challenges":
Governments of the world must: (Children's Conference website)
- Ensure that all people from developing countries have free access to clean drinking water.
- Sign and act on the Kyoto Protocol - we are tired of wondering whether it will snow in the middle of summer!
- Limit the number of cars per family.
- Provide free primary health care for all children.
- Stop cutting down trees without replacing them.
- Spend more money on helping the poor people and children around the world, rather than on attending too many meetings.
People of the world must:
- Make use of alternative transportation such as walking, biking and car-pooling.
- Reduce, reuse, recycle and compost as much as possible.
We are worried that many governments are easily bought off by those who care very little for the environment and people. Remember, we cannot buy another planet, and our lives and those of future generations depend on this.
We know that when people commit crimes, they are sent to jail. Why is it so difficult to punish countries and people who damage the environment and harm us?
Can you look in the mirror and say, `Children will have future, will have access to clean water, will not live poverty, will not live in polluted areas - because of actions I have taken'?
We are not asking too much! You said this Summit is about taking action! We need more than your applause and comments of `well done' or `good speech' - We need ACTION . We need more than just your commitment - we need ACTION . We need more than just your motivation - we need ACTION . What we now have is `us versus them'. This needs to become `us AND them' - young people and adults, rich and poor people, and rich and poor countries.
Thanks for having us here and for recognizing the importance of listening to the voices of children. Don't walk off and forget about the challenges. Finally, we challenge you, the leaders of the world to accomplish them.
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