Third Youth Eco-Parliament and UN Decade of Education for Sustainability
What is the Youth Eco-Parliament (YEP)?The Youth Eco-Parliament® (YEP) is an environmental education programme initiated in 2004 by PRO EUROPE, in partnership with the Ecole et Nature Network with the aim of encouraging sustainable development in Europe.
Believing that youngsters from different countries can share a common educational approach and take an active part in today’s society on environmental issues, the YEP was created with the aim of enabling young people to act alongside adults to protect the environment as well as offering them an opportunity to experience a form of democracy, exercise citizenship and open their mind to environmental issues.
The YEP aims at helping participants develop skills in observation and finding solutions to environment issues. It teaches youngsters to put environmental values first and encourages them to become involved both individually and on a group level in the social and political life of their country and planet. The programme is also characterised by a multi-cultural dimension, through exchanges between different countries and recognition of the value of each culture. Finally, by experiencing this project, the young people have found it has given them an awareness of the financial challenges related to sustainable management of our environment.
PrinciplesThe overall YEP project takes place within the framework of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development and uses pedagogical methods in line with the UN's environmental education aims. The educational programme of the Youth Eco-Parliament is based on 3 pillars:
- A collaborative writing programme that takes place during an entire school year with students and teachers from across Europe and beyond
- National and international meetings of student delegates that discuss their local environmental projects and present the collaborative efforts of their work to adults
- An exchange of ideas on the Internet in the form of discussion forums or chat The Youth Eco-Parliament® is an environmental education project with the aim of encouraging sustainable development in Europe.
The two first editions of the YEP brought young people from more than 14 European countries together to discuss the environmental challenges of our times and actions for the future.
The 1st YEP’s outcome took the form of a White Paper on the environment containing resolutions and proposals for action on air, water, waste, energy and food. In 2006, the 2nd YEP involved more than 3600 students who collaboratively drafted 7 Open Letters on the environment, which were addressed to influential representatives from civil society (i.e. producers, politicians and civil servants, researchers and scientists, educators, journalists, NGOs and international organisations).
The young people’s work has been so highly valued that they have been invited by the European Commission to participate in Green Week 2007 on 12-15 June, the largest and highest profile environmental annual event in Europe. At this occasion, they shared their experiences and presented the 7 Open Letters to all the Green Week participants. Six young Europeans from France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Slovenia and Spain participated in panel discussions on various environmental issues such as climate change, footprints, and international co-operation and delivered a speech alongside a number of distinguished speakers: Mogens Peter Carl, European Commission Director General for Environment; Humberto Rosa, Portuguese Secretary of State for Environment, Roland Vaxelaire, President Carrefour Belgium and Julia Marton-Lefevre, Director General of IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature).
2007- 2008: Third edition of the YEP ‘Let’s change our daily habits!’Throughout 2007-2008, the 3rd Youth Eco-Parliament will unite motivated young people from previous editions of the YEP to contribute to the objectives of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD).
From June 2007 to May 2008 young people from ten European countries and Canada will identify, assess and share best environmental practices in their respective local communities on various issues such as:
- Biodiversity
- Sustainability
- Energy
- Waste
- Water
- Food
- Urban environment
A piece of collective writing, posted on the YEP website, will result in the publication of a Report entitled "YEP Report for the environment: Let’s change our daily habits!"
This Report will be officially presented on 15 May 2008 during PRO EUROPE’s 4th International Congress in Prague. The delegates will submit their findings to UNESCO representatives, who have committed to consider their contributions as part of the DESD 2nd biennial report.
For detailed information on the YEP, please visit www.eyep.info