EarthFocus Magazine

Global Youth Conference on Forests, Water, Health and Peace: 12 interviews

Following the Global Youth Conference on Forests, Water, Health and Peace, you will find below a series of interviews all directly related to the event in addition to the complete webcast of the event. Click on each image to play the corresponding videos:

Videos of the Massive Change Network Seminar, Geneva, 24 Feb. 2011

Earth Focus Foundation organized a special event with the support of the Green Film Festival in Geneva on the 24th of February 2011.

Earth Focus Foundation presented THE PLAN written and directed by David Osterberg and Michael Stenberg of Biospheric Pictures AB (2010, 58’, Sweden) followed immediately by live discussion with Bruce Mau and Bisi Williams, and director David Osterberg.

Video summary of the event:

After the screening of THE PLAN, Bruce Mau lead a discussion exploring these questions:

1. How can we get the power of design into the hands of the 99% who have not had access to higher education?
2. How do we break through the noise, and make the best of human culture the most visible?
3. What can we do to accelerate the best (and stop the rest)?

Interviews:

What is the Massive Change Network?

The Massive Change Network is purpose filled, entrepreneurial, experienced based design possibility network. The key strategic idea of the Massive Change Network to provide via various means and methods the inherent and native capacity of citizens, students, governments, business and community leaders to develop and enhance their critical design thinking skills. The vast majority of global citizens lack access to this critical working tool.

Our purpose is sharing knowledge with the 99% of global citizens who do not have access to college, university, or post secondary education. Our intention is to deliver the most knowledge, wisdom and culture to those with the least. The Massive Change Network is mandated to focus on inclusivity rather than exclusivity.

To greet the greatest opportunities and meet the most pressing challenges being presented to our world, citizens must be equipped to accelerate the uptake of new solutions. The emerging global conditions will require a new kind of scholar, worker, entrepreneur, leader, and educator. This emerging ecology of ever increasing technological, social, financial, environmental, governmental, and educational challenges, will require citizens committed to working collaboratively across professional silos, the ability to not only think critically, but creatively, and to move beyond theoretical musings to practical implementation. The 21st century will be the century where every citizen must become a life-long learner of some capacity. A network changes everything.

For more information visit:

• www.MassiveChangeNetwork.com
• www.brucemaudesign.com/98199/Massive-Change
• www.earthfocusfoundation.org
• www.festivaldufilmvert.ch
• www.lamuse.ch
• www.ville-ge.ch/mhng
• Slides of the Earth Focus Foundation

Earth Focus recapitulative video of 2010 events

Presentation of Earth Focus foundation in video featuring Mrs Nicola Spafford Furey during the 2048 project meeting in December 2010 in Geneva as well as young students at the GIN (Global Issues Network) conference and at the Global Youth Conference explaining their actions to change the world:

Global Youth Conference 2010: video summary

This video highlights the main points discussed at the last Global Youth Conference 2010 organized by the Earth Focus Foundation in Geneva:

Global Youth Conference on Climate Change and Sustainable Development

The Earth Focus foundation, continuing the work with young people started within the renowned Bellerive Foundation, organized the World Youth Conference (8-11 November 2010), in Geneva.

The conference welcomes young people from all over the world to contribute to the subject of Climate Change and Sustainable Development.

Video webcast of the conference

The conference consisted of plenary sessions with experts regarding the effects of climate change, such as:

• Mrs Nicola Furey, Vice President, Earth Focus foundation
• Dr Quentin Deville, Member of the Board, Earth Focus foundation
• David Hiler, Minister of Finance, Canton of Geneva
• HRH Prince Frederick von Saxe-Lauenburg^[1], Grand Cross Saxe-Lauenburg (GCSL), Fellow of the International Institute of Peace Study of London (FIIPS), Children of the World
• Antony Hequet, Münd
• Prof. Martin Beniston, Chair for Climate Research, University of Geneva
• Dr Curtis Doebbler, Visiting Professor at Geneva School of Diplomacy & International Relations
• Philippe de Rougemont, Noé 21
• Dr Maria Mendiluce, WBCSD
• Elliott Verreault, ItsOneHumanity
• Adam Koniuszewski, Green Cross
• Dr Rudolph Rechtsteiner and Hans-Jörg Haas, Greenpeace
• Martin Atkin, WWF
• Rosie Waygood, Children of the Earth
• Marie-Noëlle Keijzer ^[2], WeForest
• Heiner Benking, Council on Global Issues
• Carlos Giger, GoCycle
• Henry Derwent, International Emissions Trading Association

Stands from many of those organizations were present on site, to expose and promote their activities, give information and testimonies of their actions, and initiate discussion with the conference attendees.

Monday, November 8th

The conference started with encouraging words from the Earth focus foundation and a message from the Geneva Authorities. The audience had the privilege to attend very interesting presentations completed by questions and answers with the panel. You can view the webcast of the whole conference by clicking here.

Tuesday, November 9th

The themes of the day were "Education, Youth and Civil Society" and "Nuclear, Clean and Renewable Energies". After a presentation by Antony Hequet, Jon-Hans Coetzer, General Manager and Academic Coordinator of the Geneva School of Diplomacy & International Relations, introduced several presentations from students of the Koc School, Turkey, on the topic of education, youth and civil society.

The plenary sessions were complemented by workshops on various topics, such as:

• Ethics in Modern Society by Brianan Kiernan and Antony Hequet
• Climate Change and the Global Commons by Heiner Benking
• Ecology, Economy and Social Flow by Sarah Dreyfus
• A New Approach to our Environmental Dilemna by Rosie Waygood
• Connecting to our higher values and the power of thought by Karoline Buys
• Latin America: Strategies Inherent to Natural Resources and Sustainable Tourism as a Development Alternative (Venezuela) by Corina Cortes

Wednesday, November 10th

In the field of climate change and biodiversity, students from the Collège André Chavanne, Collège du Léman, Collège Rousseau and the Koc School have presented their work which led to intense debate and discussions.

The workshops covered different topics such as:

• Protecting Human Rights in a Future Climate Regime by Curtis Doebbler and Margreet Wewerinke
• The Hazards of Climate Change on Socio-economic Development by Dorina Drowniak, Bedir Özuslu, Cem Albayrak, Melih Yavci, Selin Arisal and Vidal Arditi
• Zermatt Unplugged by Brianan Kiernan
• Visualising the inner Yes to Creating a Sustainable World by Rebecca Inauen
• Creating from a space of alignment by Philipp Knechtle
• Oriental Coaching, a powerful tool to achieve a sustainable human development by Jordi Tebé

Thursday, November 11th

During the morning, Noé 21 and ItsOneHumanity presented films and Philippe de Rougemont animated a workshop and debate. Following the proposition of Prince Frederick von Saxe-Lauenburg, a 1 minute silence commemoration in memory of the First World War armistice was made at 11am, the 11th of November. A message from Jean-Paul Moka (viewable below), from Congo, was shown to the participants which had the opportunity to comment and respond to. The conference ended up with voting on a clear message to negotiators at COP 16 in Cancun and a walk to Place des Nations to deliver the message to United Nations, World Meteorological Organization, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and World Trade Organization.

Message from Jean-Paul Moka:

Here is a 10 minutes movie clip summarizing some of the events of the conference:

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^ Prince Frederick von Saxe-Lauenburg, with and for Children of the World, is organizing a Teddy Bears' picnic in Geneva, in Summer 2011. Please contact the foundation if you are wanting to collaborate, donate funds, time or anything from office space, phone line, fax machine or computer; any help is very warmly welcome!

^ For a limited time only, you can purchase an ecologic ICE-WATCH that will allow WeForest to plant 100 trees! More information on their website.

Ryan Hreljac: The Dandelion Project, Ryan’s Well Foundation and Project Tanzania

Iam 15 years old, a year older (and two heads shorter) than 14-year-old R yan Hreljac.

At the age of six, he saved up over $2000 to fund a well for an African community with no clean water source.

Over the next 5 years, he created Ryan’s Well Foundation and so far has funded over 210 wells in 10 countries, 8 in Africa and 2 in South America.

Ryan has already accomplished so much, in his fourteen years of life. He is an inspiration to all of us, if not, a little bit intimidating.

European Council of International Schools Conference

At the European Council of International Schools Conference in November 2005 three students each made an appealing speech to the audience of 3000 people.

Present were: H.R.H. Prince Edward, representing the Duke of Edinburgh Award Programme, Mr. J-F. Rischard, author of High Noon and an audience and members of the teaching profession.

We would like to share some excerpts of this exiting and inspiring day.

The Global Issues Network Conference

This was a conference where youth were able to express their views on issues affecting the world in which we live and discuss how to help.

The confernce consisted of three main parts.

The first part consisted of lectures and presentations by various key figures in global issues development and various non-governmental organisations.

From an academic point of view, the main keynote speaker Jean François Rischard, a Luxembourgois, was most enlightening. He spoke about the content and themes behind his book High Noon: 20 Global Problems, 20 Years to Solve Them (see Editorial Page).

He was able to grasp the full audience as his intelligence concerning the social and environmental issues flowed freely from this very talented public orator. It was an incredibly impressive display of wisdom, knowledge, and experience, which was further projected in the conference as a whole.

Comments & Feedback: The Global Issues Network Conference

Long has it been that I have been able to obtain so much feedback from a single experience. I will be forever grateful for the opportunity for my voice to finally be heard concerning global issues.

My perspective on various subjects has been focused and the various presentations, notably those of Claire Bertschinger and Jacob Leaf, inspired me as a human, confirming the notion that one person can make a difference.