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International Children’s
Conference on Environment
A Charter of Challenges for Governments of
the World
Namrata, Niveda, Raghav and Robin
A s
part of the CLEAN-India programme the children are encouraged to
take part in International Conferences to widen their horizons,
learn about environmental problems and solutions in other countries
and interact with other children. It is a part of the process to
groom well-informed, committed and dedicated future citizens of the
world.
Recently CLEAN-India had the privilege of
being invited to participate in the International Children’s
Conference on Environment (ICCE) organised by UNEP in Victoria,
Canada in May 2002. The ICCE has recognised the fact that
children need to be active participants in decisions that affect the
future of the planet.
After a selection process consisting of a
written test and interview, CLEAN-India selected two students from
Delhi and two from Bangalore to represent India at this convention.
The students who participated in the Convention were :
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1. |
Miss. Namrata Anirudh: GEAR Foundation,
Bangalore |
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2. |
Miss. Niveda Manjunath, Centre For
Learning , Bangalore |
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3. |
Master Raghav Srivastava, Sanskriti School, Delhi |
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4. |
Master Robin Rajput, Salwan School (AS), Delhi |
Children’s Experience
Beginning of A New
Experience
The conference started off
with a grand opening ceremony, Holly Arntzen, a nature singer sang
beautiful songs on Nature. A few people from the environmental board
of the Government of Canada and UNEP addressed the delegates. We
also had a flag ceremony, where children from different countries of
the world held their national flags, representing themselves at the
ICCE! We were also introduced to the Junior Board - a group of
children who were involved in organising the conference. That night,
we were really excited because we had big days ahead of us!
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Learning More and Having Fun
We got to learn a lot about
nature through a variety of workshops. All the workshops were
equally interesting and there were new things to learn in each
one. The workshops were activity based and there were games
where we had lots of fun and also learnt facts about nature.
Through one of the workshops, we learnt various songs on
environment. |
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Going Out In the Wilderness
We
were not just inside rooms talking or learning about nature.
We also went out to feel it. Of the 5 days, one day was
allotted for "Field Trips". The field trips, which we four
attended were: Urban Watershed, Gently down the Watershed,
Tremendous trees, Take a walk on the wild side! We were taken
out of the University Campus to learn more about nature around
Victoria, and the problems faced and how they are trying to
solve them. Apart from all this we had lot of fun! We walked
through forests or on the sandy beaches, learning about the
living and non-living thing, around us. Sometimes we also got
to feel the things, like touching slugs and tree barks. |
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Our Learnings at The Conference
We learnt ..
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That as a community we can share our ideas and help the
environment!
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That dead trees are also useful and not a waste and are known
as Wildlife trees!
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About environmental problems of other countries, and how they
solve these problems!
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That if we really want the Earth to become a better place to
live in, we need to work as a team!
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That we are the future of the Earth and it’s our duty to
protect it!
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That we should inform our leaders about the current problems
facing the world, so they can do something about it too!
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Adults should care
for the Earth, as they are the present generation. If they
don’t take care of it, there won’t be any world left for us
kids! |
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The End Of
The Great Event
The last day of our conference was like
a blow of hot air on our faces, the days had passed so fast!
That evening we had a closing ceremony! All the delegates
dressed in their national costumes assembled at the
Auditorium. In our group each of us got a chance to go up on
stage and be a part of the closing ceremony! Niveda and
Namrata read out all our challenges with the Junior board and
other children. Raghav and Namrata got to sing in the choir of
Holly! One of the songs goes like this : Come on Ride……, This
happy Train, Come on Ride….., We Won't be Back Again!
And Robin got to go for the flag
ceremony where the children from different countries held
their flags up and bid goodbye.
At the end of it, we were all sad but happy to see what little
we achieved by helping the environment and what more we could
achieve. |
Friendship groups
All the children were divided into 23
groups. Each group was named after an endangered animal. All
the groups met everyday. We all introduced ourselves, played a
few games to warm up. We also made secret friends. But one of
the main things we did was formulating challenges. Each day
had a theme like water conservation, climate change, healthy
children and communities and resource conservation. The
challenges brought out the problems the world is facing with
regard to water, climate change etc. All these challenges will
be presented at World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD). |
We must keep all these
things in mind, for each and every small thing does matter. All our
activities are related to the environment. We are dependent on
Nature for everything. The least we can do is to use the gift of
nature wisely.
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