When countries gather in October for the next United Nations Biodiversity Conference COP17, there will be one main question: How far have we come in conserving and restoring biodiversity, using it sustainably and doing all of this as global community?
We know that youth plays an important role in all those efforts, be it by participating in citizen science projects gathering data, doing field research, organizing events to raise awareness, saving small ecosystems, making sure that pollinators can survive in an ever changing environment, requesting the governments to finally take actions, highlighting the links between biodiversity and climate change, and and and.
We want to make sure that when the governments come to Armenia, they will know how we, the youth, are contributing to the goals that - hopefully - will lead us to live in Harmony with Nature by 2050. We want governments to take us seriously - to see us as their partners in protecting biodiversity, as their conscience when not moving quick enough and as the future generation that will need to deal with the consequences of their decisions today.
We, therefore, would love to hear from you: What are you doing? It doesn’t matter how small or big your efforts are related to biodiversity, if it is in your school yard, in your town or bigger, if it is in person or online - we would like to hear from you. We have prepared some questions below - but if you would like to share your story via email or on social media - please don’t hesitate to reach out!
Reach us via gybn.europe@gmail.com.
What do we plan to do with this information?
- Share them publicly in a communication campaign, including social media, website, etc
- Prepare a report to be shared with government, partners and interested audience
- Showcasing examples during the COP (in meetings, at the youth pavilion, …)
Who are we?
The Global Youth Biodiversity Network (GYBN) is an international network of youth organizations and individuals with a common goal: preventing the loss of biodiversity and preserving Earth's natural resources. We are the recognized platform for youth coordination for the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
GYBN Europe is the regional European chapter of GYBN.
Until COP17 we plan several activities for and with youth - you can get an overview on our website here.
We also hope to collect some funding to support youth to attend the COP - please spread the word about our crowdfunding campaign and ask family, friends, colleagues to donate!