AFY_Mimi
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Yesterday was the 29th anniversary of John Lennon’s death. You wouldn’t necessarily think there was a connection with the Copenhagen meeting on Climate Change, but when you’re working with activists—anything is possible. YOUNGO—Youth NGOs—an official constituency of civil society represented here at Copenhagen—came together to sing the tunes of John Lenon’s song “Give Peace a Chance” in a BED-IN (yes, a bed-in), where youth collectively to sing:
“All we are saying is give youth a chance…All we are saying is cut greenhouse gas.”
Given that the success of the meeting is framed in what governments will achieve by 2050, the common joke that young people have (internally) been saying about adults is:
“How old will you be in 2050? Well, sorry to say this but you’ll probably be dead!”
Of course, I can’t admit to enjoying this humor, BUT I can say that the action was amazing!!
The group of young people at the BED-IN sung peacefully with the message that youth and adults need to work together as partners to address the challenges of climate change in a sustainable manner. Clearly, young people are the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate changing as the decisions of this meeting will affect us as we grow older.
As a youth activist myself, I’m always pushing dialogue for youth-adult partnerships in the design, implementation and evaluation of programs and policies regarding sexual and reproductive health and rights. It’s a relief to know now that activists in other movements are also working for youth to have meaningful seats at the table in these important meetings. Regardless of the issue—we need to be actively involved as valuable partners, so that we can determine and ensure the progress of the world for today and tomorrow!
So in memory of John Lennon—give youth a chance! J
vanessaaishacoleman
| 12/11/09 05:15 PM
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