Voices of Youth Blog

The Voices of Youth blog is a new platform created by UNICEF to report on issues which affect young people and adolescents globally. The blog is open to contributors from around the world and features articles and posts from children and adolescents, UNICEF staff and partners. Its objective is to report on global and local issues affecting young people, promote a global dialogue and the sharing of  information as well as featuring projects, events and ideas to enable meaningful interactions.

The blog is one element of Voices of Youth. Voices of Youth is UNICEF’s online network for young people that exists since 1995 and is currently getting revamped. The new Voices of Youth includes a website, a community and the blog. The website is the sole entry point into all the activities offered by UNICEF. Through the community members can interact with each other, partner on projects and develop new initiatives.

Voices of Youth has brought together millions of young people worldwide under a common banner for children’s rights and advocacy. We are working hard to bring you a new experience which we hope to fully launch towards the end of 2010. Stay tuned on the Voices of Youth blog for more information about the overall project’s announcement.

http://blog.voicesofyouth.org/

UNICEF at the World Youth Conference

 

© UNICEF/2010/Frida Hartz

Richard Morgan, Director, Policy and Practice, addressing parliamentarians from around the world, during the closing of the First World Parliamentary Forum on Youth 2010 held in Mexico City

New York, 27 August 2010 – The government of Mexico, with the support of United Nations Agencies and multilateral organisations, is hosting the World Youth Conference from 23-27 August in Leon, Mexico.

UNICEF New York, UNICEF Regional Office of Latin America and the Caribbean (TACRO) and UNICEF Mexico are working with the World Organisation of the Scouts Movement (WOSM) and the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) to support activities for the participants at the Conference. Adolescents and young people came to Poliforum in Leon representing youth organisations, non-governmental organisations, and universities from Mexico and around the world.

On Monday, August 23, UNICEF screened ‘Which Way Home’, an award-winning documentary on the topic of migration. More than 100 participants joined the debate where passionate young people expressed their views on the need to curb migration flows from the region and the need for governments to invest in people’s development and livelihoods. UNICEF is supporting the National Migration Institute in Mexico to train child protection officials in children’s rights linked to migration.

© UNICEF/2010/Frida Hartz

Adolescents participating in the UNICEF screening of Which Way Home, an award winning film documentary on the topic of youth and migration.

On Tuesday, August 24, a short presentation of literature construction, urban tribes, and hip hop was held. Participants listened to Jorge Pinzón, a 15-year-old Mexican adolescent who used Spanish hip hop to express his thoughts and feelings regarding the issues affecting today’s youth. A lecture and debate on urban tribes was also conducted by Julio Martinez, author of the book “Arde la Calle” (The street is burning), published recently by Random House Mondadori.

On Thursday, August 26- UNICEF and the NGO “Comunicación Comunitaria” (Community Communication) presented a workshop on artistic creation. Combining diverse techniques: digital photography, graffiti and their creativity and imagination, 20 young participants produced artistic posters exhibited in the UNICEF stand.

At the end of the session 208 representatives of youth-led NGOs from 153 countries, issued and adopted a statement ‘to advise decision-makers on priorities for the global youth development agenda, and hold them accountable to the promises established in the Millennium Declaration and other international agreements.’ View the full statement here.

UNICEF’s Collaboration with Partners

The Youth Section in DOC is working with the Scouts and the Girl Guides to capture the voices of children and young people attending the conference. Participants have the opportunity to send messages related to MDGs and their lives. The videos captured will be posted on the Voices of Youth blog (www.voicesofyouth.org). UNICEF has provided these youth partners with school-in-a box and recreational kits to support their educational activities at the conference.

UNICEF TACRO has shared numerous regional publications ranging from adolescent development and participation, to water and sanitation, as well as HIV/AIDS and migration. TACRO is also encouraging adolescents to participate in the 2010 LACVOX Investigative Research Contest on Child Labour, supported by Telefonica Foundation and the International Labour Organisation.

© UNICEF/2010/Frida Hartz

Fifteen-year-old Jorge Pinzón from Mexico shared his thoughts on issues affecting young people during a lively hip hop session, at the World Youth Conference in Mexico, gathering dozens of young people.

Concurrently, the government of Mexico is hosting the Legislator’s Forum in the Mexico City from August 25-August 27 and a Government’s Forum in Leon on the same dates. The organizers has stated that the Conference is a “space where representatives from the government and civil society organizations can come together to identify action priorities regarding the theme of youth, to be addressed in the international development agenda towards 2015 and beyond the Millennium Development Goals (MDG).”

World Parliamentary Forum

On Friday, 27 August, in Mexico City at the Legislator’s Forum, Richard Morgan, Director, Policy and Practice in his closing statement applauded the vitality, drive and passion of young people while drawing attention to the complexity of challenges facing youth around the world. “There is little question that trends in the impact of climate change, urbanisation, migration and communication technology will affect young people and adults in unique ways,” he said. Nearly half of the world’s population is under the age of 25. The sheer number and the potential of children and young people make them a distinct focus within the development agenda. Addressing parliamentarians, he added “despite the many priorities you address daily, we continue to seek your direction as we strive to match the potential and capacities of young people with renewed commitments towards their development and rights.”

View Richard Morgan’s full speech here.

More information on the Conference can be found at:
http://www.youth2010.org/portal/
Link to Voices of Youth Blog http://www.voicesofyouth.org
Information on the LACVOX Contest can be found at http://www.concursolacvox.com

For further information, please contact:
Monica Sayrols, UNICEF Media, Mexico
telephone: +(52)552849556
email: msayrols@unicef.org

UNICEF, the Telefonica Foundation, ILO, and the SONICO Social Network Announce the Second Season of the LACVOX Research Contest for Adolescent Communicators

The 2010 LACVOX Contest, promoted by UNICEF and ILO, sponsored by Telefonica Foundation, and supported by the  SONICO Social Network, wants to raise awareness to children and society about the issues of child labour and the rights of children.

Panama, Madrid, Lima, August 9, 2010 – The LACVOX Regional Network of Adolescent Communicators launches the second season of the LACVOX Research Contest. This years’ theme is the rights of children to an education and a healthy development without child labour.

UNICEF and ILO share the regional goal in seeking to eradicate the worst forms of child labour by 2015 and all forms of child labour by 2020. Both are supported by partners such as the Telefonica Foundation and Sonico Social Network to guarantee the rights of children throughout the region.

The contest commemorates the United Nations’ International Year of Youth, which advocates for the value of young people’s contribution in the creation of policies, programmes, and constructive projects for their development.           

The contest will be accepting entries from participants until September 24, 2010. Adolescents should respond to questions related to the issue of child labour and must contribute with solutions from their perspective that could help guarantee the rights of children who do work.

The contest is free and open to all adolescents in the region from 9 to 18 years old. Participants can opt to produce their own entries as individuals, groups, or schools either in Spanish, English, or Portuguese within these categories that the contest admits:

9-14 years of age:

• Prize for the best radio report

• Prize for the best press release

• Prize for the best TV report• Prize for the best photographic report

• Prize for the best poster

15-18 years of age:

• Prize for the best radio report

• Prize for the best press release

• Prize for the best TV report

• Prize for the best photographic report

• Prize for the best poster

The judges will evaluate the investigative method, the information included, the originality, and the creativity of the materials submitted in relation to the contest´s theme: child labour and the rights of children.

The winners will have the opportunity to travel to Bogota, Colombia on November 3 and 4 to present their proposals during the III International Meeting against Child Labour, sponsored by Telefonica Foundation with support from ILO. Furthermore, during their participation in the Meeting, the winners will be able to discuss with experts and contribute with their possible solutions on the issue of child labour. The winners will also be trained in the production of audiovisual materials and will cover the events of the III Child Labour Meeting as adolescent journalists as part of their learning experience.

What is LACVOX?

LACVOX is a regional network of adolescent communicator networks in Latin America and the Caribbean. It is promoted by UNICEF and encourages adolescent participation within the region as one of the rights stipulated in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The network promotes the strengthening of the capabilities of its children and adolescent members.

For more information on the contest, visit:
www.unicef.org/lac

Visit the LACVOX Blog: http://www.lacvox.net/

Visit the social network site SONICO: http://www.sonico.com/publico/unicef_lacvox

For more information

Ana María Ortiz, aortiz@unicef.org, UNICEF Regional Office of Latin America and the Caribbean

Tamar Hahn, thahn@unicef.org, UNICEF Regional Office of Latin America and the Caribbean

Eva Solans, eva.solansgalobart@telefonica.es, Fundación Telefónica
Pilar Nuñez, nunez@oit.org.pe, ILO Program IPEC South America

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About UNICEF

UNICEF works in more than 155 countries and territories to help guarantee to children the rights to survive and develop from infancy to adolescence. UNICEF is the largest provider of vaccines in developing countries, works to improve health and nutrition from infancy, provide quality water supply and sanitation, basic quality education for all children, and protection of children against violence, exploitation, and HIV/AIDS. UNICEF is financed entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations, and governments.

About the Telefonica Foundation

Fundación Telefónica, drive a relevant and transformative social and cultural projects, focusing on facilitating access to knowledge through innovative, integrated and that contributes to social progress and personal development in the countries where it operates. The Telefónica’s social development programs, has been manager jointly by Fundación Telefónica and local Telefónica operators in 13 Latin American countries.

The foundation’s strategy is based on six key transnational areas with significant social impact. The focus on these, interrelated areas, is on education and the application of Information and Communications Technology (ICT). Proniño is a social development program, committed to assisting in the eradication of child labour in Latin America through high quality, sustained and sustainable schooling.

In 2009, the program Proniño directly benefited 163,900 children and teenagers, active in 4,966 schools with the collaboration of 108 NGOs.

‘Hermano’ Film Director Partners with UNICEF on Violence Prevention in Venezuela

NEW YORK, USA, 15 July 2010 – The UNICEF-supported film, ‘Hermano’ – which last month won the Grand Prix for Best Film at the International Film Festival in Moscow, as well as the audience and critics’ prizes – will now be used to help spur conversations about violence prevention in Venezuela’s poor urban communities.

UNICEF and the film’s director, Marcel Rasquin, plan to screen ‘Hermano’ in many of these areas. The screenings and associated discussion forums will be part of an Urban Communities Violence Prevention Model that UNICEF Venezuela is developing in some neighbourhoods in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital.

These activities aim to promote the development of life skills and ensure the right to education among urban children and adolescents – and to help create protective environments for them at the family level, as well as in their schools and communities.

Youth Video Workshops

The ‘Hermano’ production company, AyB Producciones, has previously carried out film workshops for young people in slum areas, where participants learned to write their own scripts and shoot and edit their own productions. Many of them also had the opportunity to work on ‘Hermano’.

UNICEF will now partner with AyB Producciones to offer expanded video workshops to children and adolescents in the Petare district, where the film was shot. This neighbourhood in eastern Caracas is home to approximately 650,000 people, more than a quarter of whom are under 18 years of age.
In addition, a portion of the proceeds from the film’s ticket sales will support UNICEF Venezuela’s work on child protection and violence prevention. More than 50,000 viewers have seen ‘Hermano’ in the several weeks since its release.

Arts and Sport for Development

The film’s producers are also hoping to help bring more arts and sports opportunities to young people in the community where it was made.

“We are convinced that by taking sports and entertainment [to slum areas], we can move away vice and drugs and violence. That’s one of the messages of the film,” said Mr. Rasquin.

UNICEF believes that sport and play are vital elements in the health, happiness and well-being of children and young people. The organization works with governments and other partners around the world on creating sport-based programmes to improve children’s lives and strengthen their communities.

Check out the film’s trailer at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ2d0u9BPZs&feature=player_embedded

For more information on the film, please visit: http://www.hermano.com.ve/

Sports Help the Children of Haiti Cope the Devastation of the January Earthquake

by Jill Van den Brule

Carrefour, Haiti – 12 July, 2010 - Bianca Luchia, speaks in whispers as tears spill down her cheeks. She bends foward reaching for the hem of her long checkered skirt to wipe her sad eyes crowned by curled eyelashes. Life has changed dramatically for this lanky twelve year old who lost her sixteen year old sister in the devastating earthquake on 12 January. “I am now the big sister,” she says.

Bianca has taken on many new responsibilities in her home since her older sister’s death. This budding adolescent is now the older sister in the family. In addition to going to school she does the washing and helps her mother cook for her eight year old brother and nine year old sister. “Sometimes I have to prepare dinner for the entire family. It’s not easy for me to come back home after an hour’s walk from school and do all of these chores. I am so tired.”

Sport helps me forget

The schoolyard of Notre Dame de l’Assomption is different from most schools in Haiti where recreational activities are limited due to cramped spaces. Tents now fill most schoolyards where children used to play since their school buildings collapsed due to the earthquake. Here, however, large groups of children are bustling about in T-shirts, engaged in all sorts of organised sports and activities ranging from judo, handball, physical fitness and football to chess tournaments. The school which has over 2,800 students is supported by one of UNICEF’s partners, the Haitian Olympic Committee. Over 44 monitors ensure that each child has a minimum of one hour of sport per day. “While I am playing, I don’t have time to think about my sister’s death,” says Bianca wistfully.

Since the devastating earthquake of 12 January 2010, nearly 1,000,000 children have lost their homes and have been displaced. In Haiti, sport is one of the many ways of helping these young people overcome the trauma they have experienced and give them a real sense of normalcy. “While sport is a recreational activity, it can also be key to building self-confidence and increasing the feeling of psychosocial well-being”, says Stephane Rebu, Assistant Coordinator. “Sports are also used as a means of transmitting important messages about HIV/AIDS, family planning and the environment, issues that are key for adolescents,” says Program Coordinator, Michel Fline.

Sport brings out the best in me

Here children not only learn core values such as teamwork, fairness and citizenship but also put them into practice. Young people learn to reach beyond their limits. “ I want to be a pilot,” Bianca says. “I read about it in a book explaining different careers and think it would be a wonderful job. I would like to visit many new places. The first place I would take my little brother and sister to is Miami and then we would visit the rest of the world.”  I feel better about myself since I have been playing sports and it’s a way for me to make  new friends,” says Bianca.

Given what these children have been through, being active in sports has encouraged them to build resilience and regain their self-esteem but also give them an outlet from the stresses they face in their daily lives. “They are able to disconnect from their realities in tents and in camps and can liberate themselves through sport,” says Stephane.

Sports have taught me about peace

For the past four years, the Haitian Olympic committee (HOC) has been encouraging peace and social progress in Haiti, through its National Program for Peace and Development through Sport. Even before the earthquake the HOC was already working with children and teenagers in difficult environments in Port au Prince and the provinces. In November, many of these children will participate in the “Haitian -Dominican Goodwill Games” designed to bring together communities on both sides of the border by helping them overcome their prejudices through athletic competition.

“I used to fight with the boys in my class because I was angry about having lost my home and my cousin. He was my best friend. Since taking part in the activities, my mother says I have calmed down. I am now a member of the judo club and like practicing my new moves on my classmates without really hurting them though, says thirteen year old Guy Claude”

For more information

Cifora Monier, cmonier@unicef.org, UNICEF Haiti, Tel: + 509 38812374

Tamar Hahn, thahn@unicef.org, UNICEF Latin America and the Caribbean, Tel  + 507 3017485

http://www.unicef.org/lac

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About UNICEF

UNICEF is on the ground in over 155 countries and territories to help children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence.  The world’s largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS.  UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.

UN Invites ‘Citizen Ambassadors’ to Film Anti-Poverty Goals in Action

23 June 2010 – The United Nations launched today a video contest inviting people from around the world, particularly youth, to tell leaders what the anti-poverty Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) mean to them by uploading short films on the UN YouTube channel.
“Use your voice as a global citizen to tell world leaders in a short video what you think needs to be done to make this world a better and safer place,” the contest website reads, featuring messages from Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Goodwill Ambassadors Angelique Kidjo and Youssou N’Dour.
Additional videos featuring UN Messengers of Peace Stevie Wonder and Princess Haya of Jordan, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors Lionel Messi and Jackie Chan, and UN Development Programme (UNDP) Goodwill Ambassador Maria Sharapova, will be posted throughout the contest.
Starting today and until 23 August, people will be able to upload short videos answering questions such as “What is your community, city or country doing to achieve the Millennium Development Goals?” or “How can the international community better work together to achieve the Millennium Development Goals?”
The six winners will be announced during the high-level MDG summit in New York hosted by the Secretary-General on 23 September, and will meet with him on UN Day 2010 on 24 October.
The campaign – organized by the Department of Public Information (DPI) in partnership with YouTube, UNDP, the UN Foundation (UNF), French broadcaster TV5Monde and with support from Flip Video – is part of a UN initiative to utilize the Internet and social media “to engage a new generation of world citizens in the importance of international diplomacy.”
In a related development, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched today the annual MDG assessment report. It showed that while countries continue to make advances despite the global economic downturn, the rate of improvement remains too slow and countries must step up their efforts if the MDGs are to be achieved by their target date of 2015.
The MDGs will be discussed at the G-20 meeting in Toronto, Canada, this weekend, and at a special high-level summit at the UN Headquarters in New York.

Cuidemos el Planeta/ Let’s Take Care of the Planet/ Vamos Cuidar do Planeta

Carta de las Responsabilidades

Nosotros, la gente joven del mundo y los delegados de esta Conferencia Internacional, les invitamos a compartir la responsabilidad de cuidar el Planeta.

Esta Carta, que nace de la unión de 53 países, representa las responsabilidades y acciones de diferentes naciones con diversas culturas, idiomas y sociedades.

Somos conscientes de los desafíos medioambientales que enfrenta nuestro Planeta. Algunas personas dicen que la solución es el dinero; otras que es la inteligencia. Pero el dinero no importa cuando más de 400 niños y niñas, se juntan para cuidar de su hogar. Un hogar que ha sido deteriorado con el tiempo y que tiene un futuro inseguro e inestable.

Si queremos estar protegidos de los cambios medioambientales, tenemos que llevar a cabo estas acciones y responsabilidades nosotros mismos.

Si no es ahora, entonces ¿Cuándo?

Si no lo hacemos nosotros, entonces ¿Quién?

Responsabilidades e acciones

1. Sensibilizar e informar a las personas sobre el uso eficiente y responsable del agua, la energia y los recursos biológicos y minerales, mejorando así nuestros propios hábitos de consumo así como los de todos.

Reducir el consumo de energia, desconectando aparatos eléctricos que no estén siendo utilizados, optando por transportes ambientalmente respetuosos y utilizando energías renovables como una alternativa para reducir las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero.

Incentivar el almacenamiento y reutilización del agua, siempre que sea posible, concientizando a las personas sobre el uso racional del água por medio de campañas publicitárias, revistas escolares y eco-clubs.

2. Reducir, a fin de parar, la contaminación del agua, con el apoyo y la acción del gobierno, de de las empresas, de los agricultores y otras.

Concientizar sobre la contaminación del agua a través de los medios de comunicación a nuestro alcance, de forma interactiva y dinámica, adaptándolos a las realidades y al contexto de cada comunidad.

Plantar árboles en las riberas de los ríos para protegerlos contando con el apoyo activo del gobierno, de ONGs, organizaciones comunitárias y empresas, y poner carteles indicando que no se debe tirar basura.

3. Informar y estimular a la gente para que reduzca las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero, a través del uso de todas las energías renovables accesibles y disponibles, contando con el apoyo del gobierno, cuando sea posible, para acciones que todos podamos poner en práctica.

Hacer manifestaciones públicas para estimular el uso de energías renovables, evitando el aumento de la contaminación y los câmbios climáticos, luchando por el apoyo político y financiero.

Organizar actividades creativas, práticas y educacionales, relacionadas al uso adecuado de energías renovables y ecoeficientes, en cada uma de nuestras comunidades, para diseminar conocimiento sobre la contaminación y sobre alternativas sustentables.

Presionar a los gobiernos en el sentido de que establezcan progresivamente impuestos directamente relacionados con la contaminación emitida por diferentes empresas.

4. Estimular una agricultura sustentable, consciente y menos impactante social y ambientalmente, sin agrotóxicos ni transgénicos, promoviendo la educación rural para poner en práctica nuevas formas más eficientes de uso de recursos, asegurando la seguridad alimentaria y, en algunos países, evitando los incendios forestales durante la preparación del campo.

Difundir alternativas e información sobre las consecuencias del uso de agrotóxicos y de transgénicos, entre los productores y consumidores, informándolos sobre la importancia de la agricultura ecológica y del consumo de productos orgânicos.

Realizar seminários y campañas públicas para la educación de niños y niñas sobre las tecnologías en la agricultura y respectivos impactos ambientales.

Militar a favor de uma distribución equilibrada y racional de recursos alimentarios, de manera que se garantice la seguridad alimentaria y se erradique la pobreza extrema.

Consumir productos alimentarios locales, estimulando la economía sin explotación social.

5. Cuidar el medioambiente, fortaleciendo y profundizando los proyectos de educación, invirtiendo en la participación de los jóvenes y en sus capacidades de toma de decisión, informándolos sobre educación ambiental, transformando comunidades y escuelas en comunidades de aprendizaje, exigiendo que sea respetada.

Formar grupos de estudiantes comprometidos con el medio ambiente, que implementen educación ambiental en las escuelas por medio de proyectos ambientales, involucrando en el proceso a la prensa, las universidades y a toda la comunidad.

Estar constantemente actualizado en relación a la situación socioambiental de nuestro planeta, para que podamos educar con nuestro propio ejemplo, e implementar acciones concretas pondrán nuestra ideología en práctica, formando de esta forma una cadena sin fronteras para transmitir el mensaje ambiental.

Crear una gran organización juvenil que pueda organizar formas de presionar al gobierno, a los empresarios y demás, por medio de manifestaciones, peticiones, sensibilización y compromiso político.

Fortalecer y profundizar en proyectos educacionales por medio de la prensa, de la tecnología, de talleres y de una serie de actividades práticas en campamentos escolares y educación al aire libre.

6. Crear grupos ecológicos, en escuelas y comunidades, que protejan, preserven y valoricen la biodiversidad, cuidando los ecosistemas para contribuir con la sustentabilidad de la biosfera, reduciendo los desperdicios y usando los recursos naturales de forma racional.

Cooperar con organizaciones juveniles para que juntos consigamos presionar el gobierno, realizar campañas informativas, como manifestaciones, peticiones, campañas de sensibilización, conferencias y redes sociales y virtuales para alterar las perspectivas e estilos de vida da humanidade.

Instaurar clubes y grupos de estudio en todas las escuelas del mundo, para incentivar la educación ambiental por medio de juegos educativos, películas, ponencias, charlas y teatros para la utilización consciente de los recursos naturales.

7. Fomentar el consumo adecuado y la política de las 5Rs (reflexionar, rechazar, reducir, reutilizar y reciclar) a través de la publicidad informativa, adoptándolo en la vida diária, constituyendo de esta forma, sociedades y estilos de vida sustentables.

Crear organizaciones no gubernamentales para el medio ambiente que incentiven practicas relacionadas com las 5Rs y fomenten eco-puntos, mobilizaciones, publicidad y mercadillos de trueque.

Utilizar médios de comunicación, como las páginas de las redes sociales y blogs, para publicar sus ideas, compartir vídeos, revistas, músicas y más, com el fin de crear redes ambientales que lleven a cabo actividades ecológicas, y fortalezcan la educación ambiental para todos.

Boicotear productos que sean perjudiciales para el ambiente o que no respeten los derechos fundamentales de los seres humanos.

Promover el aprendizaje interactivo del tipo “com las manos en la masa”, que enseñará a las personas sobre medio ambiente al mismo tiempo que se divierten. Cuando escuchen la información se meterá en sus cérebros. Se puede llevar a cabo en casa, en el parque, o en la escuela.

8. Reducir el uso de energías impactantes, concientizando y mobilizando a la sociedad sobre el uso de medios de transporte ecológicos, respetando los cambios que esas nuevas actitudes traerán.

Invitaremos a las sociedades a través de los medios de comunicación, talleres didácticos y artísticos y por medio del diálogo permanente con la gente, para que conozcan los efectos negativos de las emisiones de gas carbónico decurrentes de nuestras acciones y usen energías renovables y medios de transporte alternativos (bicicletas, patines, patinetas y skates).

Presionar a nuestros gobiernos para que inviertan en tecnologías limpias.

Crear y difundir páginas web que ayuden a los conductores a organizarse para que lleven a más personas en sus coches, cuando vayan para el mismo sitio.

Estimular a que la población use filtros en los automóviles, indicando los daños de las emisiones de gas carbónico.

Empezar a promover el Día Mundial Sin Automóviles, presionando al gobierno a que multe a quienes utilicen el coche, para después darle continuidad a largo plazo, a través de subsidios para la disposición publica de automóviles ecológicos y públicos.

9. Implementar perspectivas y valores ambientales, con el fín de mejorar el punto de vista de la gente, para com ello estimular una ciudadanía activa.

Desarrollar una cultura ecológica a través de prácticas de educomunicación y del arte para estimular nuevas ideas de sustentabilidad.

Crear campañas informativas en todos los medios de comunicación, como periódicos, radio, TV e internet, para estimular a las personas,por medio de ejemplos prácticos, a tomar actitudes positivas.

Hoy, jóvenes y adultos de todas las partes del mundo presentes en esta Conferencia, reconocemos y aceptamos que todos somos y seremos responsables de lo que suceda en nuestra amada tierra.

Somos de diferentes países y de diferentes culturas y aunque separados por oceanos y continentes, somos todos uno, unidos por un objetivo común: ¡cuidar el planeta!

Para eso necesitamos de mi ayuda, de su ayuda y de la de todos. Necesitamos actuar ahora y empezar desde nuestras casas, nuestras escuelas, porque cuidándonos estaremos cuidando de toda la humanidad y provando que el ser humano no es lo que dice, sino lo que hace.

¡Únase a nosotros!

English version of the Charter of Responsibilites, http://carta.vamoscuidardoplaneta.net/en/

Versão Português da Carta dos Responsabilidades, http://carta.vamoscuidardoplaneta.net/

Version Française de la Charte des Responsabilités, http://carta.vamoscuidardoplaneta.net/fr/

Contribute to the 2011 State of the World’s Children

What is the state of your world?

Contribute to the 2011 State of the World’s Children – UNICEF’s flagship publication!

• UNICEF is seeking quotes and essays from adolescents (10-19 years old)
• Quotes can be up to 50 words; essays up to 800 words
• Deadline is June 10 to be considered for the State of the World’s Children report
• Deadline is July 30 to be considered for a special SOWC adolescent companion report

The State of the World’s Children (SOWC) has been UNICEF’s flagship publication for 30 years, and every year it closely examines a key issue affecting children. The report is translated into several languages and read by thousands of people in governments, the United Nations, media and the general public. This year the report will focus on adolescents – like you! The report will include statistics and information about the challenges and opportunities facing adolescents around the world. You can read more about previous editions of the SOWC at http://www.unicef.org/sowc.

More info on how to contribute

13 Year Old UNICEF Ambassador Lives Life Without Shoes To Lead Campaign For Global Change

Toronto, Canada – A 13 year old boy, Bilaal Rajan, has people of all ages kicking off their shoes and going barefoot in support of his latest campaign.

June 1st is International Children’s Day, and Rajan is participating in an annual event he launched last year called the Barefoot Challenge, where he lives life without shoes to raise awareness about child poverty in the developing world.

“I’ve visited countries in Africa and met with hundreds of children who walk miles every day barefoot to fetch water, work on their farm lands, or go to school,” says Rajan. “It made me think of what life would be like to live without something we take for granted.”

The Toronto-based UNICEF Youth Ambassador, best-selling author, fundraiser, and social and environmental activist and is already a serious force to be reckoned with. His best-selling book, Making Change: Tips from an Underage Overachiever (160 pages, Orca Book Publishers), is an operating manual for making a difference, no matter what your age.

Last year, the idea gained momentum across Canada and with people in countries as far away as Australia, Afghanistan, England, Switzerland, Thailand, Kenya, Malawi and Tanzania. “In 2010, the Barefoot Challenge is going to be bigger than ever before,” adds Rajan. His school, Lakefield College School, is also taking part in the Challenge.

Since 2001, Rajan has been instrumental in raising millions of dollars for various causes. Five years ago, he was chosen as an official Youth Ambassador for UNICEF Canada. Rajan is asking Barefoot Challenge participants to have friends, family and neighbours sponsor them and donate the proceeds to UNICEF Canada.

“This initiative is a call to action,” he says. “And when people ask me why I don’t have shoes, I’ll remind them that millions of children throughout the world don’t either.”

Shoot Nations 2010 Photography Contest

Shoot Nations is an annual, global photography project including a competition, workshops and exhibitions on various continents. Each year focuses on a different global issue and the photographs produced are presented to the United Nations in New York. The theme for this year’s competition is CITY LIVING.

It doesn’t matter what sort of camera you have: phone camera, high-end digital, point-and-shoot – it’s your view of what city life is like that we are after. This year we want young people the world over to address the challenges of an increasingly urban world. Whether living in the country, town or big city, we want to build a global picture of what urban environments mean to young people. Are the streets paved with gold? Or are they fraught with risk and difficulty? And how do the challenges of growing up in the city differ as a boy or a girl? The competition will also focus on the movement and impact on the people and places left behind.

The photos will provide a vivid illustration of young people’s differing viewpoints on the subject from all over the world.

THE BRIEFS: Submit three photographs (or drawings), one to capture each of the following ideas:

1. What does ‘city’ mean to you?
2. Growing up in the city as a boy or a girl
3. Country to city, city to country – people on the move

The competition is open from Friday 21 May — Wednesday 28 July 2010

For more information please visit the Shoot Nations website: http://www.shootnations.org/

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