Rio+20

IDEA founder Leyla Aliyeva’spost on Huffington Post.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/leyla-aliyeva/rio20-an-opportunity-to-s_b_1021560.html

Earlier this year the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon, said young people needed to be included in national delegations to UN meetings, including next year’s increasingly crucial Rio+20 conference.

Rio+20 marks the 20th anniversary of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development and is a new step to securing renewed political commitment for sustainable development across the world.

Ban Ki-Moon’s clarion call that “young people can and must play a central role in bringing dynamic new ideas, fresh thinking and energy to the Rio+20 process” is a fantastic opportunity for us all to harness the power of youth.

There are 1.8 billion people aged 15-24 in the world; this creates a wonderful opportunity to put sustainable development at the heart of policy making for governments all over the world, now and forever. Imagine the heads of state, prime ministers and presidents attending the conference working toward achieving the goals and aspirations of over a billion young people.

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