The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : For youth participation in policy-making

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Oct 14, 2005

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

For youth participation in policy-making

K. Satyamurty

BANGALORE: They are young, earnest and their views are being taken seriously now by policy-makers in their respective countries.

The 140 delegates from 67 countries, all aged below 24 years, attending the week-long Tunza International Youth Conference being held here are an ebullient lot. Most of them are thrilled to be actively involved in making their environs clean and safe. Their respective Governments are now keen on sustainable development.

As Yovonee from Kenya says, "Earlier all our elders wanted for us was to sing or dance for them; now they ask our opinions and take us seriously." Along with other young volunteers and local non-governmental organisations, she has been spreading the message that the environment need not take a backseat because of other pressing problems such as poverty and AIDS.

"It is relatively easy for us to explain how empowering women will help; the women in my country have to collect water and firewood and trek long distances. There can be more and cleaner water easily available for all if we preserve the environment, and we tell them so," says Yovonne.

Analiz from Ecuador, practically the other end of the planet, has similar experiences to narrate. "We work with environmental groups of high school students and deal with all related aspects — social, political and economic — and then discuss them with those in the Government," she says.

Marina from Argentina is another serious young woman whose work back home involves preservation of Latin America's largest wetlands. This sometimes conflicts with the interests of traditional hunters and fishermen, but the young have been able to convince them that poaching or exhausting natural resources does not pay in the long run and inform them about the more viable alternatives.

For Alan Wu from Australia, the national problem is over consumption of resources and how the young can set an example by doing things differently. "Peers can lead by example and influence other young people," he says with confidence.

Kenneth from Columbia explains how a network of over 1,000 youth volunteers are active in his country, engaging local communities in more sustainable development alternatives.

Mahesh Kumar, a third-year journalism student from Christ College and one of India's representatives, is excited at the opportunity to build global networks with many young people from across the world.

The NIMHANS Convention Centre where the event is taking place is a beehive of activity with enough ethnic mixes to be truly international. The United Nations Environment Programme, Bayer AG, Union Ministry of Environment and Forests and the Centre for Environment Education are the organisers of the event.

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