Rio +20: MGCY Closing Statement

The Major Group for Children and Youth (MGCY) is the official voice for all under 30 in the sustainability negotiations, also known as Rio+20. MCGY engaged with young people from across the world to share their voices at Rio+20. Through networking and collaborating, the MGCY has developed strong teams that contributed to the policy negotiations. The MGCY also works to inspire and platform youth activism through a series of working groups, aimed at bringing people together to help build the global youth voice. In light of the comments in an earlier post from Mary-Ann and Tamai about the energy of young people at the conference, we publish today the statement from MGCY at the close of Rio +20:

I want you to imagine a generation that has been damned, imagine children deprived of a world without war, imagine a community where human beings are slaves to fellow beings and where disease and hunger are the order of the day. That is the future we warned you of in 92 and that future, is today.

If these sheets of paper are our common future, then you have sold our fate and subsidised our common destruction.

Where was our voice, the voice of our children and grandchildren in this? How can you listen to them in the future if you did not show the will to create the space now.

We have one planet. Our being, our thinking, and our action should not be constrained by national boundaries but by planetary ones. You failed to liberate yourself from national and corporate self-interest and recognise our need to respect a greater more transcendental set of boundaries.

We came here to celebrate our generation. We have danced, and dreamed, and cried on the streets of Rio and found something to believe in. You have chosen not to celebrate with us.

(Calmly-change of pace) You were supposed to show leadership. It was not just your job merely to seek consensus. It was your job to commit, show ambition and to lead. You have failed.

You have worked hard to close a deal. So, if any of you think this document is the ambitious, action-oriented outcome you said you wanted please stand up.

If you are unable to stand up, then you must be unwilling to move forward.

So we will move forward for you.

We know this:

We need intergenerational cooperation.

We need innovation and creativity.

We need to embrace the values of sustainability, equity, justice and respect for human rights.

We need to recognise that material resources are finite, but human potential is not.

So get out of our way and..

We will create strong global institutions

We will create new paradigms of wealth and prosperity

We will act as the voice for future generations, one( that you so wilfully ignored.

We will stand united beyond borders and bridge the national interests that divide us

We will implement what you have not.

We are moving forward decisively with action. We are not deterred.

To find out more about the work of MGCY, click here.

–Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – June 22, 2012

Alice Jones reports on Friends of Nano activities in the USA

Greetings to all Friends of Nano from the United States. The following is our report on our activities as a group and what has resulted from our formation as an International Unit since Ballygriffin, 2011.

Charlene Wimer and I returned to the U.S. full of “fire in our hearts” and ready to transform our world. We soon learned it doesn’t work that way. We had to take baby steps, learn more about what Friends of Nano and Associate groups were already established in various places in this vast country. We had to learn what their ministries were, and what their needs, if any, were. We had to identify the leadership at each location. This was information which needed to be collected in an organized fashion, and Leadership Team member Sr. Jocelyn, and Sr. Dina here in San Antonio, Texas, helped in this activity.

There are several cells in California, one in Arizona, in New Mexico, in Louisiana, in Mississippi and two in San Antonio, Texas. Some have been in existence for many years and others are more recent. There are three Community Ministry Centers which serve poor immigrant families in many ways. Some Friends of Nano work as a unit and others go out individually to visit the sick, as Eucharistic Ministers, and in many other ways.

Recently, a National Leadership Team was established in which Charlene and I will serve as resource persons. We had the opportunity to participate in a conference call and “meet” each other, to describe our ministries, and to share our concerns and needs. That was a necessary step in beginning to open the lines of communication among us. The Guidelines have been shared with all the cells and they have also seen a video in which Charlene and I tell all about our Gathering in Ballygriffin, what we learned and what we hoped would be the outcome.

Since that initial “meeting”, I have been in touch with the Friends of Nano in Mississippi, a cell which is trying to regroup and grow. Increasing our numbers is a goal of all the ministries. The Resource materials at the Friends of Nano website are very helpful.

I am happy to share that this coming week I will be going to New York City to meet with Sister Fatima, a Presentation Sister at the United Nations. She will introduce me to the many activities and programs ongoing at the United Nations addressing World Poverty. I am really thrilled with this opportunity to learn more, and ask for your prayers that this experience will help me to become better informed and cognizant of future steps we may take to help in this world crisis.

We need to continue to stay in touch, to communicate not only our needs but also share solutions. God bless you all.

Rio+20 – are the young people putting us to shame?

Tamai and Mary-Ann have sent us the following post from Rio:

Many millions of words have been spoken at the earth summit and the prelude leading up to it that all stand for nothing if we fail to act. In Rio it is generally agreed the final text is very timid. We are not surprised to hear that some developed countries are proclaiming the summit a success story. Maybe it is because they have been able to evade commiting to any agreement that makes them responsible for the environmental degredation caused by the unsustainable consumption of earths resources by the wealthy.

We think Rio+20 was successful; certainly a success in that thousands of people came together from so many walks of life and from so many diferent backgrounds and life circumstances. One group in particular was the large contingent of youth.

We can be proud of these young people. They expressed dissatisfaction with the way the generations preceding them had messed up the planet and was failing to work together to fix it again. These young people are not the leaders of tomorrow – they are the leaders of today and showing us the way forward. We went to a number of events which had been put together and lead by young people from all over the world. This is just a sampling of some of the things they have instigated and are working through as you and we watch television:

• Young people in Brazil, concerned that children in remote areas are not able to attend school, have founded a service to take children to school along the Amazon River. Children are collected by a small boat that takes as long as 30-50 hours to reach school. They stay for ten days at a time and as well as the usual lessons are taught farming, agriculture and how to set up solar energy. The young founders of this project have had to overcome the logistics of feeding the children and providing power etc.
• The girl guide and scouting movement have set up ´A Global Action Classroom` that operates wherever the scouting movement is present. It is achieved by using digital technology and enables cross cultural collaboration. Children make short video clips of what they are doing for the environment and share the clip with an international audience and the United Nations.
• Children all over the world are learning about sustainable development in schools and taking the message home and putting pressure on their parents to safely dispose of rubbish, `refuse, reduce, recycle` and other lessons they learn in the classroom.
• Some college students have petitioned their school administration to use rainwater in the toilets and to set some goals on sustainablility to be achieve within the next five years.
• A 17 year old girl from a slum in Rio de Janiero was concerned there was a need for health and other services close to where she lived. She mobilised other young people to get a petition signed and now they have a health service.

This is the message from young people to us: `Invest in young people because we haven´t failed yet! Sometimes for us things do not work out as we expected but it is not failure – it is just that we have learned there are several ways of doing things that don´t work yet`.  

Let us stop letting our young people down. Why should future generations clean up our mess? We can work alongside our children and young people – if you want some ideas click here. Project Earth is an online forum fostering environmental and cultural exchange and networking schools and clubs around the world. If you are fortunate enough to work with children imagine the potential Project Earth could have to help you ignite young minds and change the way we all live! Or you may want to promote what your young people are doing – if so, please add a comment here.

Mary-Ann Gives an Update from Rio +20

Tamai and I met up with the other Presentation groups a week ago and we are staying in the same place.  They are Rosemary Grundy from Australia; Betty Rae, a Canadian ministering in St Dominique; and Marcela from Chile, ministering in Equador.

We have spent the last week attending a variety of capacity building sessions – we have heard some wonderful input from world leaders in their field including people like Mary Robinson, a former President of Ireland and Julia Gillard, the Prime Minsiter of Australia. There has been a feast of topics to choose from around the three core topics of the environment, economy and society.

We have attended some of the negotiations where there are multilateral discussions with people picking away at a document, one word at a time and after hours of talking failing to agree on anything. The negotiations I attended were painful and non-productive. 

I have met with the New Zealand delegates and negotiators and had the opportunity to give feedback and clarify some issues. The text has been agreed and the hope is that the Heads of Government will work on it some more over the next two days. It is to be hoped that the developed countries will show more good will towards developing countries before signing off on the document.

Today was different from the days so fay because it was the first day of the actual conference. There are many prime ministers, presidents and some royalty here – Tamai was in a small group with Prince Albert of Monaco and the Prince went over and shook his hand. Today has been more formal and we are hearing statements from the heads of major groups – women, children and young people, farmers etc. Heads of Dtate are making their statements also.

There are thousands of people here, full of energy and excitement. There are many words being said and amazing ideas shared. As time goes by and we have a chance to process some of the experience we will write again.

In the meantime, do continue to hold everyone here in prayer.

Mary-Ann Greaney

Write to your Government Representative at Rio+20

In many countries, charities and agencies may have put in place a system whereby you can write to the head of your country’s delegation at Rio+20 to encourage them to take appropriate action now.

Friends of Nano in Ireland can sign a Trocaire petition to Minister Phil Hogan here, if they wish.

Mary-Ann Greaney writes about Rio+20

18,000 people are registered participants in Rio de Janiero at the Rio+20 earth summit with 50,000 expected to converge on the city to take part in fringe activities around sustainable development. Tamai and I both arrive on Monday 11 June ready for the first session on 13 June.  What are the signs of hope as we enter into potentially world changing dialogue and decision making?

There will be a strong Catholic presence at this international event in a variety of capacities. Many religious have NGO status, as we do, and many Catholics are members of other organisations who will be present. Catholics are not the only group who hold the key to the ‘reign of God’ when we consider the committed people from other faith backgrounds who are grounded in justice and fairness for all. Large numbers of people who will be present have an understanding and belief in documents like the Earth Charter which reflects many principles of Catholic Social Teaching (CST).  

We are blessed to have these principles to underpin our response at Rio+20 and in particular:

• People have a fundamental right to life, food, shelter, health care, education and employment. All have the right to participate in decisions that affect their lives. All have a duty to respect the rights of others in society.
• The goods of the earth are gifts from God, and are intended by God for the benefit of everyone.
• We are one human family. Our responsibilities to each other cross national, racial, economic and ideological differences. We are called to work globally for justice.
• All people have a right to economic initiative and to private property, but these are not unlimited rights. It is unjust to amass excessive wealth when others lack the basic necessities of life.
• The economy exists to serve people. People have the right to productive work, fair wages, and safe working conditions. They have the right to participate in decisions that affect them in the workplace.

The task is a big one and as the event is now only days away I realise Tamai and I are not so much representing the Presentation Congregation or the Friends of Nano as being a voice for the many people on the margins and the poorest in society – the people that Sisters, associates, and friends of Nano live and work alongside on a daily basis.

Please pray over the coming days for a successful outcome to Rio+20.

Incoming Leadership Team

Congratulations to the new Congregational Leadership Team:

Mary, Anne, Frances, Grace & Julie

The Friends of Nano
International Team
wish you every blessing
for the coming years

May you be blessed
with the art of presence
and the gift of discernment.