1. Conversation Kit
Rio+20 — the short name for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development,
to take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 20 to 22 June 2012 — is a historic opportunity
to define pathways to a cleaner, more equitable and more prosperous world for all.
Twenty years after the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio, the UN is bringing together governments,
international institutions and civil society representatives to engage them on concrete steps
to reduce poverty while advancing social equity and ensuring environmental protection,
three pillars that define “sustainable development”.
It is up to all of us to build our future, so everyone should have a voice in Rio+20. That’s
why the UN Department of Public Information created the “Rio+20: The Future We Want”
campaign. The campaign invites people around the world to share their visions on ways
to build a future that promotes prosperity and improves people’s lives without further
degrading our planet’s natural environment. This new platform engages everyone in a
global conversation about their hopes, aspirations and ideas for the future.
How to participate? Write, talk, draw, capture!
We want to hear your ideas on what you believe your lives and communities should be like in the year
2030. All type of submissions can be sent:
o Videos or tape recordings (3 minutes or less)
o Drawings in pencil, crayons or paints, no larger than 22 by 28 centimeters (8.5 by 11 inches)
o Letters or short essays (500 words or less)
o Videos or photographs of the things you like about your community – things you think should still be
part of life in 2030.
What to talk about: Seven key issues and beyond
For the Rio+20 Conference, we are focusing on promoting seven issues that are key to sustainable
development -- sustainable cities, resilience from disaster, energy, food, social equity and decent work,
oceans and water. Fast facts and stories about each issue can be found on-line at un.org/futurewewant.
Global conversation events on some of these issues can be held, for example, “The Future We Want for
Water” or “The Future We Want for Cities”, on a monthly basis or as a tie-in to specific dates before
Rio+20, such as World Oceans Day on 8 June. We also encourage you to develop ideas and themes that
are relevant to the situation in your particular community.
United Nations 20-22 2012 • Rio • Rio de Janeiro, Brazil • un.org/futurewewant
June June 2012 de Janeiro, Brazil • un.org/sustainablefuture

2. Questions to start your thinking about the future you want:
Your Community: Describe what you would like your community, neighbourhood or village to look like in
2030. Where do you get your energy and water? How will you deal with challenges such as public health,
jobs, sanitation?
Your Culture: Name three things that are part of your current local culture, values and traditions that you
want to see continue in the future. What three things do you most want to change?
Your Message: What would you answer if the leader of your country asked you: “Name one thing the
world’s leaders could do today to help us achieve a better tomorrow”?
Where/how to send your ideas?
People from all ages and all places are welcome to participate. Submissions can be sent individually or by
groups in the six official UN languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. Many of the
62 UN Information Centres and their partners around the world are collecting inputs in local languages,
such as Japanese and Portuguese.
If groups of friends, colleagues, students, etc. wish to contribute collectively, you may want to hold your
own Rio+20: Future We Want global conversation event.
One idea may be to partner with your local UN Information Centre, which can invite experts from across
the UN system, as well as from academic institutions and civil society organizations. To find your local UN
Information Centre and contact them about possible collaboration and language opportunitues, please
visit: http://unic.un.org/factsheet/Default.aspx
If you are connected to the Internet, there are several options:
1. Go to un.org/futurewewant and click on “Join the Global Conversation” for submission details
and instructions
2. Send your sketches, essays and other submissions to us via e-mail at: info@futurewewant.org.
3. Post your videos on our YouTube channel by e-mailing them to: c9ymftcdmzrs@m.youtube.com.
Check out the videos posted by others at youtube.com/futurewewant.
Inputs can be shared on Twitter using hashtag:
Arabic: ‫#مستقبلنا‬
Chinese: #我们期望的未来
English: #futurewewant
French: notreavenir
Russian: #нашебудущее
Spanish: nuestrofuturo
United Nations 20-22 2012 • Rio • Rio de Janeiro, Brazil • un.org/futurewewant
June June 2012 de Janeiro, Brazil • un.org/sustainablefuture

3. A few things to keep in mind:
1. We want concrete visions in addition to general aspirations to illustrate, for example, technologies,
designs and solutions needed to make communities sustainable.
2. We want visions that are realistic and achievable by 2030. For example, they should illustrate how
existing technologies and tools will be used to achieve greater local sustainability.
3. We want visions that are positive – that show how we can achieve and sustain the future we want.
How we will use your ideas
The best ideas will be used to create vivid videos and computer animations of communities in different
parts of the world in the year 2030, which will be showcased on our website and incorporated in an
exhibit displayed at the Rio+20 conference in June.
The visualizations will also be used worldwide after Rio+20 on a wide variety of platforms.
Additionally, the #futurewewant hashtag will feed an RSS display on the homepage of
un.org/futurewewant and selected posts from followers will be featured on the UN social media
accounts.
•••
For more information, please visit: un.org/futurewewant
Or contact mediainfo@un.org
To find your nearest UN Information Centre please visit: unic.un.org
United Nations 20-22 2012 • Rio • Rio de Janeiro, Brazil • un.org/futurewewant
June June 2012 de Janeiro, Brazil • un.org/sustainablefuture

4. If you are not connected to the Internet,
fill out this form and mail it with your submissions to your closest UN Information Centre, or to:
Rio+20, The Future We Want
c/o United Nations
380 Madison Avenue, M-16033H
New York, NY 10017, USA
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Submission Form
Your name:
First Last
Name of the organization submitting the enclosed ideas:
Your age, or the age range of the group submitting these ideas:
Your mailing address:
Number and street City
State/Province Zip code Country
Your telephone number:
Your e-mail address if available:
Topic(s) of your submission: