Last week, Carlos andmyself had a lively meeting with Sarah Dayringer, who describes herself as “a member of the Rio Delegation for SustainUS, which is a non-profit, nonpartisan organization of young people advancing sustainable development and youth empowerment in the United States.” Sarah had a lot to tell us about Rio +20, her organization, her work, and how we might collaborate for an exciting project.
“Rio+20” is the 2012 United Nations Conference for Sustainable Development (UNCSD) held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 20 years after the Earth Summit, which happened in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. The Earth Summit produced Agenda 21, and inspired the three UN conventions on biodiversity, climate change and desertification. (For more information about the history of the UN conferences, you can visit this site that Sarah shared with us.) Rio begins on June 20th, and Sarah will be there early coordinating a pre-conference preparatory event called Youth Blast, which will bring together over 2000 youth and children.
Sarah had a lot to share with us about the history of the UNCSD, and the structure of the representation. There are nine Major Groups who are represented at these conferences. SustainUS organizes under the Major Group of Children and Youth. Sarah’s work has focused on the policy positions of US youth through SustainUS and Youth from around the world in the Major Group of Children and Youth, drafting initial policy points, indicators and lobby points, and publishing articles in major news outlets. She is actively involved in helping to shape the future of sustainable development from the perspective of young people, which is something our Office is deeply engaged in. So we had a lot to talk about.
Sarah’s internship with SustainUS is soon coming to an end, and so we were discussing her future and where she sees her passion for sustainability and organizing taking her. The conversation led to MyCity+20. MyCity+20 began as a local initiative in Paris and has spread to cities across the globe. The project aims to connect young people to the urgency of sustainable development and involve them in shaping the future of global development through the Rio+20 process. MyCity+20 events usually consist of a simulation of Rio+20 negotiations involving young people, along with speakers, round table discussions, and info fairs. The goal is to engage and inform youth about Rio+20 and how they can add their voice to the discussion. Although it is too late for the University of Arkansas to host an event that would be able to impact Rio+20, this concept got us thinking about the possibility of hosting a sustainability summit for college students and young people in the region, with the goal of connecting and discussing local issues as they relate to global development issues. This idea is still very much in the works, but we are excited to explore this possibility more in the upcoming months.
Rio+20 will begin in just a few weeks, and we are excited to get the inside scoop from Sarah. Follow @citizens_summit, @UNCSD_MGCY, or @SustainUSAgents on Twitter to keep up with the latest at Rio from Sarah, and visit the SustainUS facebook page and blog.
And stay tuned as our plans for a student conference develop as we hear the exciting results from Rio+20!
