Tunza empowers the youth

The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) is encouraging the world’s youth to join the global organization Tunza that aims to give students an active role in spreading awareness, drawing up sustainable solutions and effecting policy change to protect the environment.

Another joint initiative of UNEP and Bayer, Tunza, Kiswahili for “to treat with care and affection,” serves as a venue for constant exchange of fresh ideas on environment protection among the young.

Tunza’s youth advisory council is recognized as a UN constituency.

Filipino students can join Tunza as individuals or through their organizations.

“UNEP and the UN are really interested in getting concrete youth involvement,” said Bryan Coll, UNEP associate information officer, at the recent Bayer Young Environmental Envoys (BYEE) meeting in Germany.

He told the BYEE from 18 countries that Tunza was a platform for them to get together and use the UN’s channels of communication with government.

UNEP information officer Waiganjo Njoroge said Tunza would provide students a network of environment advocates and access to UN experts who could give them advice.

“The UNEP program is meant…to give (young people) the opportunity to harness their creativity and seek solutions to majority of the problems we are experiencing,” Njoroge said.

At the latest Tunza conference in Bandung, Indonesia, delegates drafted a declaration to be presented at Rio+20, the global environment conference to be held in Brazil next year to mark two decades after the Earth Summit.

In the declaration signed by delegates from 126 countries, the young people underscored the importance of a green economy. It laid down their own action plan for environment protection.

UNEP economist Fulai Sheng, who helped craft the UN green economy model, stressed that what was needed was a “radically new understanding” of the concept. Sheng said, “We have to make green a source of economic growth. We have to make green an engine of development.”

He called for a more positive look at the relationship between environment and business, rather than looking at economic activity as a major cause of environmental deterioration.

Those interested to join Tunza may check out its Facebook page www.facebook.com/uneptunza or write to [email protected].