This webinar explains the history and significance of Rio+20, the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, 2012.

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WHAT IS RIO +20, THE CSD
PROCESS, AND HOW YOUTH
CAN PARTICIPATE
UN CSD Major Group of Children and Youth
in collaboration with Earth Charter International and EOTO World

2. Welcome to the second instalment of the
MGCY’s Capacity Building toolkit!
 In this webinar, we will look at:
A brief history of the Earth Summit & important events
along the road to Rio+20
 7 Critical Issues - what are the major priorities for the
conference?
 How do children and youth participate in the official
Rio+20 process? Do we have a say?
 What exactly is the Zero Draft?

3. Something big is happening in Rio
de Janeiro this June…

4. The story of Rio+20

5. Ever heard of the Earth Summit?
 1992
The original Earth Summit, also known as the UN
Conference on Environment and Development
(UNCED) - was held in 1992, in Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil. It was the first meeting of its kind. 170
governments and 2400 representatives from civil
society – more than 17,000 people - came together
to discuss the creation of a sustainable future.

6. Delegates created a vision of a sustainable world, and outlined what steps needed to
be taken to attain it. The outcomes of the first Earth summit were presented in these 6
important documents:
Rio Declaration on
Environment and Agenda 21 Forest Principles
Development
a list of global measures to a set of principles for the
27 principles for achieving protect the environment and preservation of forests
sustainable development, guarantee sustainable and monitoring impact on
emphasises linking economic growth. Timberlands
environmental and
economic issues.
Convention on Drought The Framework The Convention on
and Desertification Convention on Climate Biological Diversity
Change an international agreement
proposals to combat on conserving biological
desertification in specific This convention aims to
provide a framework for diversity, using components
ecosystems; by increasing in a sustainable way; and
participation of local actions to curb human- sharing fairly and equitably
communities. caused climate change; between all people.
The Rio Declaration: http://www.un.org/documents/ga/conf151/aconf15126-1annex1.htm
Agenda 21 : http://www.un.org/millennium/declaration/ares552e.htm

7. Earth Summit 1992 also established the Commission
on Sustainable Development (CSD).
 The CSD monitors international treaties on the environment,
provides policy direction, and coordinates action within the
United Nations system to achieve the goals of Agenda 21.
 The CSD meets each year for
negotiations and the Major Group
of Children and Youth have
participated in several of these
meetings. To find out more about
Children and Youth contributions
to CSD meetings check out
Our History:
http://uncsdchildrenyouth.org/what-weve-done/

8. 2000: the millennium development goals
 In the year 2000, world leaders agreed to 8 goals on
sustainable development, that would be met universally by
2015. These “Millennium Development Goals” were set
out in the Millennium Declaration.
 Read the Millennium Declaration here:
http://www.un.org/millennium/declaration/ares552e.htm
 Although progress has been made on most of the goals
since then, we do not expect all of them to be met by
2015.
 The Millenium Development Goals:
http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/goals/index.htm

9. 2002…
 10 Years after Earth Summit 1992 came the Rio+10 Conference in
Johannesburg (South Africa), which produced a follow-up document:
the Johannesburg Programme on Implementation (JPOI). This
plan focuses on operational steps to ensure:
 Poverty eradication
 Changing unsustainable patters of consumption and production
 Protecting the natural resource base
 Read the full declaration and plan of implementation online:
 The Johannesburg Declaration: http://bit.ly/6rv2Mi
 Johannesburg Plan of Action: http://bit.ly/b2Hrz6

10. Fast forward 20 years:
1992-2002

11. Some good things have happened
•Overall life expectancy and Human Development
levels have increased. The UNDP reports: “Most
people today are healthier, live longer, are more
educated and have more access to goods and
services. Even in countries facing adverse economic
conditions, people’s health and education have
greatly improved”.

12. Gender equality
 We have made steps towards gender equality.
 There has been a 60% increase in the number of
women in national parliaments since 1992.

13. However…
 Most of the news is not happy news. A lot of work
remains to be done.
 Despite global efforts to reduce CO2 emissions the
use of fossil fuels has been on the increase.
 CO2 emissions have actually risen from 357ppmv
(parts per million by volume) to 389ppmv and it
seems unlikely that the target of curbing
temperature increasing to 2 degrees Celsius by
2100 will be met.

14. Polar caps are still melting
 The polar bears
are not happy
 Sea levels are
rising, thereby
threatening low-
lying countries

15. We’ve lost 300 million ha of forest area
 Although the rate of deforestation has been slowing down,
large areas of primary forest are declining especially in
Africa and South America.
 As a lot of the world’s
forest has been replanted,
this means that the forests
we have now, have lost
substantial amounts of
diversity in terms of plant
and animal species.

16. The list goes on… but we need to fight back!
 More people live in hazard-prone areas due to
increased exposure to natural disasters
 About 1 billion people are hungry, and about 1
billion children and youth live in extreme poverty
conditions.
But enough with the negative figures – let’s focus
on changing this.

17. 2012:
Rio+20 Earth Summit

18. Welcome to Rio+20…
 Today, almost 20 years have passed since the original Earth Summit.
Now it is time to reflect on the progress we’ve made and the work
that still needs to be done. It’s time forRio+20!
 At the end of June 2012, Rio+20 (the UN CSD Conference on
Sustainable Development) will take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
This year’s conference will be focussed upon 3 themes:
 (1) OBJECTIVES
 (2) The GREEN ECONOMY in the context of POVERTY ERADICATION
 (3) INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
(Governance).
 To learn more - check out the “Themes of Rio+20” sections of this toolkit
 A summary can also be found on our website: http://uncsdchildrenyouth.org/rio20/

19. The process
What will happen before Rio+20?
Several important steps have led the way to this important conference.
Check out this timeline:
5 Regional 3 weeks of 3 PrepComms
Preparatory 3 Intersessionals Informal (preporatory
Meetings negotiations committee
meetings)
16t- 18th May
September 2011 2010
15th -16th 25th - 27th
Latin America December 2011 New York,
January 2012 Draft Zero
New York, USA USA submissions
New York, USA
October 2011 1st November
CSD-19 Arab Region 2011
19th- 23rd March 7th-8th March
26-27th March 2012
the19th meeting October 2011 2012 2011
of the parties Asia Pacific Region New York, USA
which signed the New York, USA New York,
original Rio USA
October 2011 Draft Zero
Declaration
Africa document
13-15th June 13-15th released :
2012 23April - 4th May
December 2011 2012 June 2012 11th January
Rio de Janeiro,
Europe & North Brazil New York, USA
Brazil 2012
America

20. The Documents

21. Agenda 21, JPOI, and now, Zero Draft
– what are these about?
 Agenda 21 and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation are two major documents
which came out of Rio Earth Summit, and Rio+10 respectively. These are strategy
documents, created after weeks and months of research and discussions and input
from governments and stakeholders. They map out how member states should
proceed in order to implement policies which are relevant to sustainable
development.
 Agenda 21, which was delivered by the historic Earth Summit in 1992 still remains a major
blueprint for sustainable development. A lot of its recommendations have yielded positive
benefits. However, not all member states, whether willingly or unwillingly, followed its
recommendations and therefore its legacy was not one of unmitigated success.
 The Johannesburg Plan of Implementation aimed to consolidate the measures written
in Agenda 21.
 In Rio+20, we also expect an outcome document which will map out strategies for the
world to turn towards true sustainable development. So far, we have the Zero Draft,
which is a document compiled by governments and stakeholders, including the MGCY,
to guide the negotiations and outcomes in Rio.
The most important actors to influence the Zero Draft should be you.
It’s about your future – so you should have a say what you expect
the document to produce!

22. Zero Draft, youth input and SDG’s
 The Zero Draft of the Outcome Document, also called “The Future
we want”, is the result of input from governments and stakeholders.
 It contains a list of objectives, recommendations, and aspirations,
which will guide the negotiations in Rio.
 Young people also have an official position, which was drafted by
youth online before 1 November, and which was submitted for the
Compilation document out of which the Zero Draft is issues.
 The Zero Draft has been criticised by stakeholders for not being
ambitious enough. This is why it is crucial for young people to go
through the document (it’s very easy to read!) and continue lobbying
for points which are relevant to them!
 We are expecting member states to agree upon “Sustainable
Development Goals” which relate to the critical issues and themes of
Rio. This is very important – the goals which are set in Rio will be the
goals that guide the strategies member states will take towards
sustainable development!

23. How can youth participate at Rio+20?

24. Stakeholder and major group participation
 The Rio Earth Summit in 1992 led to the development of Agenda 21, often
referred to as the ‘blueprint for sustainable development’.
Agenda 21 recognized that
sustainable development could not be 9 major
groups
achieved by governments alone. It UN members
CIVIL SOCIETY and
would require the active participation groups organisations
( such as NGOs)
of all sectors of society and all types
of people – consumers, workers, Who will
business persons, farmers, students, take part Regional
teachers, researchers, activists, 53 member states in Commissions (such
as European
(governments) Rio+20? Commission)
indigenous communities, and other
communities of interest.
The major groups play an important role because they are the voice of civil
society. The Major Group of Children and Youth (MGCY) is one of 9 groups that can
officially take part in the UN meetings on sustainable development. The other major
groups include: Women, Indigenous Peoples and NGOs.

25. Children and youth are widely recognized as an important
part of civil society, with strong interest in protecting and
preserving the planet’s resources.
 The past decade has seen a growing acceptance of the
importance of youth participation in decision-making. The
international community has started recognizing that,
children and youth should be provided a secure and healthy
future, including an environment of quality and respect for
diversity, improved standards of living and access to education
and employment.
 The Major Group for Children and Youth have successfully
engaged in the political process which has led to improved
policy making, adoption, implementation and evaluation.

26. How will children and youth participate in Rio+20?
 You don’t have to be in Brazil to participate! No matter
where you are, the key factors for successfully
participating are the same:
 Be prepared; Get friends and others around you with
whom you can work and take actions; and above all, Be
brave!
 Participation comes in many forms, and you can
take on different roles when engaging into the
process. Everyone’s participation is valuable
because we all contribute in different ways based
on our interests and capacity....(Rio+Twenties)

27. Participation in Rio
 A lot of young people would have obtained accreditation to the conference
itself, whether it is as an NGO, part of the press or an official youth
delegate or as member of a National Delegation. Once inside, there are
lots of ways children and youth can influence the process
 From lobbying directly to delegations, enhancing the policy base , or
making the process more accountable, here is how they do it:
 Oral interventions
 Tracking the negotiations
 Corridor lobbying
 Participating in workshops
 Holding side events
Most children and youth will not be physically present DURING the Rio+20
conference... How can they still take part in the process?

28. From OUTSIDE the Conference Centre and at home:
 Be There!
 Come to the YOUTH BLAST!!... Over two thousand young
people are expected to attend the Youth Blast, the official
young people’s event for Rio+20. The Youth Blast aims to:
 Empower children and youth present at Rio+20.
 Provide information and training for leaders around the CSD and
provide a space for young people to share best practices for
implementing solutions and participating in decision-making at the
international level.
 To strategise prior to Rio+20.

29. Raise awareness!
 Reach out, and translate the outcomes of the
discussions for the public to understand.
 Organise an Event where people can learn about
the issues, watch or make videos, get together and
create Rio+20 themed art.
 The conference slogan is: The Future We Want...
What kind of future do you want?

30. Support the activists attending the conference.
Help put pressure towards various decision makers!
If a particular country is blocking progress, why not
organize spontaneous and peaceful
demonstration in as many cities as possible all
around the planet? These local actions are really
important to build pressure on the right actors and
make them “feel the heat”, wherever they are.

31. Use the internet
 Helpyouth inside and outside of the conference with
planning and coordination.
They will need your help and ideas to ensure
children and youth have a greater impact in the
decision making!

32. Before Rio+20

33. What can you do right now?
 Children and youth all over the world will be taking action in their own countries and
communities, to raise awareness of Rio+20 and the address the critical issues, even BEFORE it
starts! You can be part of the global movement for change RIGHT NOW.
In the other sections of this toolkit you can find out how to:
 Talk about Sustainable Development and Rio+20 in your Community...
 Start your own Campaign through Social Media...
 Use your creativity to Inspire Others...
 Influence Decision Makers to Take Action....
For more information on how children and youth are already participating and influencing
the global decision-makers, check out the Rio+twenties participation guide! Read or
Download the guide here: http://rioplustwenties.org/?page_id=970
It was written by youth who have taken part in some of the world’s most important negotiations
and have shared many best practices, tips, tricks and examples of How Youth Activism has
helped to bring change for better

34. What are the objectives of Rio+20?
SECURE Concrete global action cannot be achieved without commitment
RENEWED from political leaders. This means that policy makers must not only
POLITICAL come up with decisions that are beneficial to all on social,
COMMITMENT economic and ecological levels, but also, they must stick to those
decisions and take concrete steps to make them happen.
ASSESS Many goals are outlined during important summits, but absence of
PROGRESS follow-up means that these goals often fall short of their target.
AND Rio+20 aims to ensure that actions are taken and carried out
REMAINING efficiently and therefore have the right means to examine if the
GAPS
decisions are on the right track.
The world is now facing difficult challenges. Since we are the
ADDRESS generation that will have to live with the immediate consequences
NEW of those challenges, we need to prepare for them. Rio+20 will
CHALLENGES therefore address the issues of: 1. JOBS 2.ENERGY 3.CITIES
4.FOOD 5.WATER 6.OCEANS 7.DISASTERS

35. The Activity Bit:
Giving presentations

36. Raising awareness: giving presentations
Sustainable development can sound like a boring term to most
young people. One of the ways more young people can be
encouraged to participate, talk and act about their sustainable
future is by making the terms and issues more accessible to
them.
You can do that by staging events and giving presentations!
The events can be anything from fun activities with local
communities or kids, or more serious events with personalities or
media presence. Games, art (painting murals, or an “activism
tree”, music shows) or simple discussion groups are a way to
bring people together under a theme – see other sections of
the toolkit.

37. Things to consider when staging an event:
What is the evaluation
Title and Budget: How criteria? How will you define
much money will the event as a success? one
purpose of the you need? Who idea is to ask yourself "If all
event can fund you? goes according to plan, such
and such should happen"
Know your objective: what do
What are the
you want to achieve? What are resources? Who is Write an
the messages you want to get needed to help
across? What are the actions that out? What agenda for
you want the audience to take equipment, what the event
after the event?
venue?
Think of Why Note down all the
this event is What are the key actions and due
messages? and
needed? and How will you get by dates eg
Who is the them across? "book venue by
Target? ..."

38. Some recommendations for giving a great presentation
and keeping your audience hooked!
 Give presentations which INSPIRE rather than simply inform – you don’t just want to present a group of
people with facts about sustainable development. You want them to feel concerned and connect, and to
encourage them to voice what they really want ahead of Rio+20.
 Identify a THEME and make it consistent throughout the presentation! You have to know what you want to
achieve with the activity. It’s better if you convey to your audience the reason of you’re conducting this
presentation and what you expect from them. Let them also know if they can raise questions or wait for a
discussion afterwards.
 Provide the OUTLINE of your presentation so it becomes easy for the audience to follow.
 Demonstrate your enthusiasm! Be passionate ,and amaze the audience. It is important that you believe in
what you are saying. Your passion is what convinces the audience. Have confidence and show that you
have no doubts about your statements, especially if you want to reach an agreement. Make your
presentation like a show with conviction!
 Use of facts and figures! “Shocking statistics” often make people reflect. But make sure to place numbers,
statistics and figures in context to give them meaning (For example, instead of saying “Deforestation is
occurring at the rate of 20,000 hectares a day”, you can put it in context by comparing the amount of
forest lost to the size of Paris. “Every day we are losing 20,000 hectares of forest, which is about the same
size as Paris”. Or place the amount of food wasted in rich countries(220million metric tonnes) by comparing
to the amount produced in sub-Saharan Africa (200million metric tonnes) per year.
 Try to make it visual: use slides or props wherever possible, but don’t overdo it.

39. Key points to remember
 Know your audience: what their needs are? What their wants are? What do you
want to get from them and how can you achieve that? Do they respond to more
logical presentations or do they need something more emotional? Gather the
targeted information. The information might differ depending for who it is. For
example, if it is for children, you have to make the information simple, playful and
interactive.
 You have to secure a good understanding of what are you presenting. That might
sound silly but you shouldn’t just read the lines, but be ready to explain the meaning
if someone was not able to grasp your idea. Rehearse!
 language, you don’t want to wind them up. Stick to 2/3 main points to avoid
bewildering the audience.
 Your speech must be clear, make pauses in between the sentences, and try to
pronounce properly, so others can understand your statement or question. Try to
speak louly enough for people to hear you, but don’t shout! Avoid language such
as "isn't it", "you know", "um mm“.
 Try to smile, Of course not too much! That keeps a good mood!
 Eye contact! That’s probably one of the most important things. It maintains connection
between you and people you are presenting to . Otherwise it might seem like you are
presenting for yourself and others will not find it interesting.

40. useful links:
 How to give presentations like Steve Jobs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-ntLGOyHw4
 How to overcome speech anxiety:
http://www.howcast.com/videos/174024-How-To-
Overcome-Speech-Anxiety://
 How to tell a story: NPR's Scott Simon shares his
experience and wisdom to help you with your own
storytelling
skills: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiX_WNdJu6w
 How to stage an event:
http://www.ehow.com/how_2246624_organize-
community-events-raise-awareness.html

41. Questions? Comments? Suggestions?
The MGCY capacity building team: mgcy-capacity-building-team@googlegroups.com
UN CSD Major Group of Children and Youth: http://uncsdchildrenyouth.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UNCSDYouthCaucus
EARTH CHARTER INTERNATIONAL
Website: http://www.earthcharterinaction.org/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/EarthCharter
Twitter: @earthcharter
EOTO WORLD
Website: http://www.eotoworld.org/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/EOTOWorld
Twitter: @EOTOWorld