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Caretakers of the Environment/Global Environmental Youth Convention Declaration

We the youth leaders attending the second Global Environmental Youth Convention and the 16th International Caretakers of the Environment conference, coming from 52 countries spanning the continents of Asia, America, Africa, and Europe, strongly urge the leaders of the world gathering at the Johannesburg Earth Summit to consider the following.

• Education is the foundation for sustainable living, and therefore needs to be accessible to all people.
  

• Solving environmental problems requires dealing with Social, Economic, and Political issues as well.
  

• In addition to education, communication and participation, legislation is needed to prevent further environmental degradation.
  

• Business and industry have a vital role to play in protecting the earth in the way they produce, invest in research and development, and affect both local and global economy. Legislation should reward those corporations that consider corporate responsibility to include environmental and social responsibility, and act accordingly.
  

• Achieving environmentally friendly lifestyles requires a change in people's mentality from Ego-Centric to Eco-Centric.
  

• Un-sustainable mobility is a great threat to our planet therefore emphasis must be placed on sustainable mobility and a major shift from private to public transportation.
  

• ICT can - when used responsibly and fairly - become a healthy bridge between people and nations, and as such reduce physical mobility.
  

• The use and development of recyclable products and renewable resources should be maximised while the consumption of material goods should be minimised, when possible.
  

• Without world peace, safety and cooperation, any attempt to move towards a more sustainable world is meaningless.
  

• Children and youth make up the largest segment of the earth's population and their voices should be heard, particularly when the future is at stake. 
  

Adopted on: 2 July 2002. Turin, Italy – Pracatinat 

The above mentioned paragraphs will later this year be presented at the Earth Summit by Mr Cavellera, Member of Government of Piedmont Region, Mr Gamba (on the left photo), Member of Government of Provincia Torino, and Mr Ortolano, City of Turin, who guaranteed to do their best to make the world leaders attentive to the voice of the youth.
                                                                                          Hjalmar Nordén