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Showing posts from June, 2012

African Rio+20: A Paradigm Shift

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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 d

World Environment Day 2012: Back to Basics

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“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 ‘M

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