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Mission statement
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Given the positive response to the previous
Congresses, PRO EUROPE will hold its 3rd International Congress
in October 2006. Paris will play host to the event which will
be entitled "Green Dot 2006: a successful path
to environmental citizenship". As with the Berlin
Congress, the Youth Eco-Parliament (YEP) will take place in
parallel for the second year running.
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Environmental
education of children and young people has become essential
in increasing awareness and a sense of responsibility.
The 1st YEP brought young people from 10 European countries
together to produce a White Paper on the environment
containing resolutions and proposals for action on air,
water, waste, energy and food related to the 6th Environmental
Action Programme of the European Commission. The high
point of the young people’s work was coming to
Brussels in May 2005 to present their White Paper to
key European decision-makers, namely European Parliament
(EP) |
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President Josep
Borrell MEP, EP Environment Committee Chair Karl-Heinz
Florenz, European Environment Commissioner Stavros
Dimas, as well as HRH Prince Laurent of Belgium, President
of the Royal Institute for the Sustainable Management
of Natural Resources and the Promotion of Clean Technologies.
The European Recycling Weeks organized by PRO EUROPE
in 2001 and 2004 were resounding successes. Central
to these events was the organisation of PRO EUROPE’s
International Congress. The 1st Congress was entitled
"Recycling as Part of Daily Life in Europe"
and was held in Madrid in September 2001. Over 600
participants from more than 20 countries shared their
experiences and views for the first time at a forum
of this kind. The 2nd Congress took place in Berlin
in 2004 and served as a key information and discussion
forum for interested participants from a total of
37 countries. The topics of sustainable development,
recycling and the need for environmental education
received broad-based coverage, and the Congress concluded
by stressing the need to strengthen recycling markets
and step up international co-operation. |
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Mandate of the 2006 Congress
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| "Green Dot
2006: a successful path to environmental citizenship"
will highlight the role of PRO EUROPE’s
members as catalysts of behavioural change within
society, and their valuable contribution towards achieving
a sustainable society. The broader role of
PRO EUROPE’s members as promoters of responsible
behaviour in terms of the environment, the economy
and society - the 3 pillars of sustainable development
- will be further underlined and reinforced through
the Congress’ link with the 2nd edition of the
Youth Eco-Parliament.
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| To increase the
relevance of the Congress beyond the waste management
community and to underline PRO EUROPE’s contribution
to sustainable development, the Paris Congress will
be closely linked to current and future developments
in the environmental policy arena which will influence
the framework in which the Green Dot schemes operate.
During 2005-2006, the 2nd YEP will invite 100 groups
of students aged 14-17 to draft "Open Letters
for the Environment". The Open Letters will
be based on the young people’s observations
made during their work on local environmental projects.
In Paris, a presentation ceremony will take place
on 19 October 2006 when the Open Letters will be handed
over to influential figures and political leaders
during the Congress proceedings. |
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Goals of the 3rd International
Congress
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- To affirm the Green Dot systems as a key element
of the drive towards environmental citizenship.
- To examine how to move society and industry
towards environmentally responsible behaviour.
- To gather representatives from the fields of
politics, business, science, NGOs and industry,
opinion formers and members of the press, local
authorities and consumers to discuss the need
for a change in thinking and behaviour, new strategies
and a review of key objectives already achieved.
- To provide a forum for discussion and technical
exchanges of experiences among PRO EUROPE members
and external experts.
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- To review the contribution of packaging recycling
to sustainable development.
- To debate current legislative developments such
as the European Commission's Thematic Strategies
on waste prevention and recycling (including a revision
of the Directive 75/442/EC on waste) and sustainable
use of natural resources, the next revision of Directive
94/62 on Packaging and IPP (Integrated Product Policy).
- To examine the role of sociological and socio-political
strategies - the Congress will promote the relevance
of environmental education for future generations.
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- To produce Open Letters reflecting the opinions of European
Youth on the environment and their aims concerning sustainable
development.
- To examine the experiences to date and the future challenges
facing, in particular, collection and recovery schemes and
their stakeholders from the ‘new’ Member States.
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Main Themes of the Congress
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- The 3rd International Congress will focus primarily
on the subject of environmental citizenship, with
input from all relevant stakeholders. The following
themes will be addressed:
- Green Dot and the EU policy environment: examining
the current ‘hot’ legislative issues
in the waste field
- Changing behaviour: towards a new citizenship?:
underlining the role PRO EUROPE and its members
play in moving society and industry towards environmentally
responsible behaviour.
- Towards sustainable resource management: the policy
shift from an emphasis on regulating waste streams
towards broader environmental prevention, eco-efficiency
and the sustainable use of natural resources.
- The contribution of packaging recycling to sustainable
development.
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Structure of the Congress
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The Congress is
structured around a mixture of high-level round table
discussions and more technical workshops in order
to make it both interesting and interactive. On the
one hand, it will communicate clearly the key messages
of the day, whilst on the other hand the objective
is to involve the audience in a broad forum for the
exchange of views and experiences. The first day will
focus on broader political messages. The second will
focus on PRO EUROPE’s messages and technical
exchanges. The Master of Ceremonies will support the
interactive structure of the discussions and will
moderate in the debates. |
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