Rio+20 Side Event: Global South Women and Youth June 20 10am-12pm

YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED TO ATTEND

Rio+20 and Women’s Lives:

a Cross-generational Dialogue

Women’s personal stories for Rio+20 and beyond

What:     A Rio+20 press briefing and side-event  

When:    Wednesday, June 20, 10am -12 noon

Where:   Ford Foundation Pavilion (will be located directly next to the Brazil Museum of Modern Art, 85 Infante Dom Henrique Avenue, Flamengo Park, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)   

Six outstanding global women activists (from Uganda, Nigeria, Cook Islands, Mississippi/US, Philippines, and Brazil) young and old, share their personal narratives to help us understand the cross-cutting impacts of climate change and other environmental issues on their lives.  In conversation they’ll also discuss the importance of women’s empowerment and reproductive health, and new, innovative connections among women of all ages for practical implementation of the Rio+20 outcome and beyond. 

Welcome: Nilcéa Freire, Ford Foundation Representative, Rio Office and the Honorable Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland, and Chair, Mary Robinson Foundation for Climate Justice

Introduction: Vicky Markham, Director, Center for Environment and Population (CEP)

Moderator: Tracy Mann, Director, Climate Wise Women

Special Guest Speakers:    

•       Ulamila Kurai Wragg, Executive Director, Pacific Gender Coalition, Rarotonga, Cook Islands: member of the Cook Islands’ official delegation to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
•     Constance Okollet, Chairperson, Osukuru United Women’s Network, Tororo, Uganda: self-described “peasant farmer”, has addressed the UN General Assembly and participated in numerous international events, speaking on behalf of her village on climate change impacts.
•        Sharon Hanshaw, Executive Director, Coastal Women For Change (CWC), Biloxi, Mississippi, USA: has organized public forums on federal emergency management, education, affordable housing, and how to elevate the voices of poor and minority communities in the wake of severe climate events such as Hurricane Katrina.
•    Esperanza Garcia, Co-Founder, International Youth Council: President of Philippine Youth Climate Movement and Columbia University Coalition for Sustainable Development, member of official Philippine delegation to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
•     Esther Kelechi Agbarakwe, youth leader, Nigeria: part of the “Elders+Youngers” project with The Honorable Mary Robinson, Desmond Tutu, and others, around Rio+20. She will focus on health and education issues in Nigeria linked to sustainable development in Africa.
•        Ana Paula Sciammarella, Brazil, Attorney and Member of the Network of Brazilian Women

Individual press briefings will be held directly after the side-event.

For more information contact: Tracy Mann tmann@mglimited.com, or Vicky Markham vmarkham@cepnet.org.   Follow on twitter @markhamv.

Co-sponsored by: Center for Environment and Population (CEP),  Climate Wise Women, and Columbia University Coalition for Sustainable Development.

CUCSD Newsletter: See you in Rio!

Long time no see! CUCSD here. So, Rio+20 is happening in 7 days - check out what CUCSD has been up to for Rio!  Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. CUCSD:newsletter What are we up to? Follow Us On Twitter Like Us On Facebook Email Us The Future We Want, and CUCSD CUCSD in Rio! Some of our delegates made it to Rio safe & sound and more to join in the next 7 days! (View post) Thank you for all your support in our work and we are very excited about what young people like us will bring to the conference. Stay tuned for our activities including CUCSD-sponsored side events in Rio! Vote for the Future You Want For the last few months, people from all different backgrounds brainstormed ideas for our sustainable future. Read our blog post to see some up-to-date conversations in the 10 topics of Rio+20 Dialogues and don't forget to have your voice heard by voting for the future you want!  “Finding Sustainability in Universities” CUCSD just completed their event at the Youth Blastcalled ¨Finding Sustainability in Universities.¨ Speakers from Columbia U, Sciences Po, Smith College, and NYU talked about their respective universities and what has been done to reduce CO2 emissions. Click here for more information. CUCSD Sponsored Side Events @ Rio+20  Exciting! Columbia University Coalition for Sustainable Development is organizing two key side events at Rio+20: Rio+20 and Women’s Lives: June 20 10am-12pm at the Ford Foundation Pavilion NY+20 Event: Details to come  The Green Power Fund with Columbia U. Prof., Graciela Chichilnisky: June 18 5:30 at RioCentro Global Climate Coalition Workshop with Yale U. on June 19: Details to come For more information, visit our blog or email to cucsd.media@gmail.com.  So, what has been going on in CUCSD? 1. In May, a CUCSD delegate Scott Miller made it to DC after biking 300 miles from NYC via Climate Ride. (Click to see Earth Institute's blog post about Scott.) He said "I along with nearly 200 fellow riders are more inspired than ever to promote bicycle transportation initiatives and sustainable development through all means with special focus on collaboration between NGO/nonprofits and the private sector to organize and mobilize toward creating a future we all want." Special thanks to those who supported him through this meaningful event! 2. A few CUCSD delegates/Executive Committee members/focal points completed their studies at Columbia University and received their degrees! Congratulations to all who graduated and we wish you all a rewarding career path as you move forward! 3. Two CUCSD delegates joined "Rio+20 Review and Outlook" hosted by UNA-SNY Energy Project. Kate with NY+20 Youth & Student Movement / Human Impacts Institute and Krystal representing CUCSD spoke about the global effort to engage young people in Rio and the current conference preparations for Rio+20. Click here to read more. ... and many more that have happened with CUCSD and we hope to continue to share them with you! Don't forget to stay tuned for what we are up to by visiting our blog, Facebook, and Twitter! See you in Rio! Partners: our awesome partners who support what we do.

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Liter of Light Walk June 3

 1.4 billion people have no access to electricity... EVERY PERSON WHO WALKS WITH US LIGHTS UP A HOME FOR 5 YEARS. Join the walk tomorrow.  

MyShelter Foundation and the Liter of Light project invite you to walk with us during the Philippine Independence Day Celebration (PIDC) parade in New York on Sunday, June 3 as we walk down Madison Avenue:

• Meeting place will be on 37th Street ( Between 5th Avenue and Madison Avenue ).
• Sequence # 80 , Street location 37A
• Assembly Time: 10am
• Sunday June 3
• We will be providing LITER OF LIGHT T SHIRTS to the first 100 walkers. 
• Folks wearing LITER OF LIGHT T SHIRTS will be included in the film and might be interviewed. 

The Liter of Light project is an initiative that empowers social entrepreneurs to provide low-cost solar energy to poor communities in the developing world. Established in the Philippines with one carpenter in one town, the project has now expanded to light up 200,000 homes all over the world (www.aliteroflight.org)

The Liter of Light was selected as one of ten lighthouse projects by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to be showcased during the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro this June. On the road to Rio, the project will be marching with Filipinos and Filipino-Americans in the PIDC parade in New York to highlight this unique contribution of Filipinos to the rest of the world.

If you have any questions, please contact: ami@1literoflight.org

New York+20 on IISD!

NY+20 was published on IISD's ENB  at the Second Round of ‘Informal-Informal’ Negotiations on the zero draft of outcome document of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD or Rio+20). More on the article here.

New York+20: Youth-led action for sustainable development  Organized by Columbia University Coalition for Sustainable Development

Esperanza Garcia, President, Columbia University Coalition for Sustainable Development, applauded the actions by the “real” leaders at the forefront of sustainable development. Elizabeth Thompson, Rio+20 Executive Coordinator, said it is a wonderful time to be young as the challenges present many opportunities for creating new ways of “acting.” Amb. Josephine Ojiambo, Permanent Representative of Kenya to the UN, said “those not able to, must be persuaded to, or asked not to hold back” the process of change.

This event presented youth and students with an opportunity to voice their opinions on sustainable development at the UN. Esperanza Garcia, President, Columbia University Coalition for Sustainable Development, moderating the event, said the youth’s role in the negotiating process leads to better policy formulation and implementation. Elizabeth Thompson, Rio+20 Executive Coordinator, spoke on the Higher Education Sustainability Initiative, which asks universities to commit to: shrinking their ecological footprint; addressing issues of water waste, energy and transport; greening their physical structures; supporting the development of a body of literature on sustainability and sustainable development; and teaching sustainable development as a core module across disciplines. Ambassador Josephine Ojiambo, Permanent Representative of Kenya to the UN, commending the activities of the NY+20 initiative, warned of the economic and environmental hazards that disproportionately affect the youth, and encouraged young people to use their energy to “shake off” complacency and old habits of unsustainable living. Kate Offerdahl, Columbia University, applauded the efforts of New York youth as well as internet participants from across the world in producing their formal statement. Brendan Guy, Yale University, read the formal statement to the UN, highlighting: accountable sovereignty; inclusive representation of youth in international governance; and responsible finance though stringent environmental and social impact assessments. Céline Ramstein, Sciences Po Environment, told of the major cities who have joined in the youth movement called MyCityPlus 20. She described how the idea was realized through social media and stressed the importance of engaging the youth in generating enthusiasm into the sustainability process. Ivana Savic, Children and Youth Major Group, outlined the focus of the group’s actions, which is to provide policy inputs and build a movement around sustainable development in the form of proper implementation, focused on youth needs. Jean-Pierre Thébault, French Ambassador for the Environment, warned of the many difficult subjects that need to be addressed prior to Rio+20, and said that the youth’s “job” only starts at Rio, continuing for the next two to three decades.

Youth and student representatives from NY+20 discussed sustainable development perspectives.

More Information: http://www.newyorkplus20.wordpress.com/ Contacts:  Esperanza Garcia <newyorkplus20@gmail.com>