Indian Youth Summit on Climate Change Concludes with a Youth Declaration & More Work for the Delegates
IYSoCC Delegates with Mr. Narayana Murthy (Founder, CEO Infosys)
Hosted by Infosys - the biggest IT brand in India and a big IT brand in the world, and organized by the Indian Youth Climate Network (IYCN), the first Indian Youth Summit on Climate Change (IYSoCC) concluded successfully in the cyber-city of Hyderabad last week. The Summit brought together youth delegates from all across the country and also the Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) from across the globe, to discuss, debate, point out regional, national and global problems aiming to come up with workable solutions. Policy level interventions, a youth declaration for a safer and more secure tomorrow and an even greater youth representation was called for in the four day summit.
The summit also saw participation from some key organizations viz., Environmental Defense, Sierra Club, The Climate Project, Greenpeace etc. most of whom have now been showing keen interest in the green developments in India and believe that India can lead, by example, the movement towards a cleaner, greener and more secure tomorrow.
The Indian Youth Summit on Climate Change (IYSoCC) was formally launched by Mr. Nitin Desai and Dr. Vandana Shiva, two leading personalities working to raise awareness on global warming in the Indian and International politics and emphasizing the need for an ‘Ever’Green Revolution among the farmers, respectively. Mr. Bittu Sahgal, Editor Sanctuary Magazine, a strong believer in the power of the youth and an individual who realizes the need for green action today also addressed the audience.
All of this happened over video conferencing, to minimize the carbon footprint of the National Summit. Several other key personalities from governmental, non-governmental organisations, media personalities, corporate houses etc. also addressed the audience during different parts of the days, throughout the summit.
The Summit also gave a platform to the youth from all parts of India, ensuring a representative voice and for the first time brought together all of Indian youth under one roof. All the delegates were split into different working groups discussing issues of water, waste, energy, greening corporate houses etc. in an attempt to cover as many issues as possible. Regional problems and local solutions were emphasized while still realizing the magnitude of the real issue.
Presentations and debates clearly suggested that regional impacts of climate change are now being felt by the people of India, that the intent among the youth is to secure their future and that inaction from the government and the policy makers’ end would no longer be accepted.
The need to account for historic carbon emissions by the developed countries was also felt at the summit, calling for the Indian Government to strongly emphasize this at all International Meets, Seminars and Conferences concerning climate change mitigation and adaptation, while still maintaining the urgency to act at home.
The conference concluded with a youth declaration committing to making India clean, green and on the pathway to sustainable development. The individual delegates from the conference now go back to their respective cities, towns and villages to not only spread this message but also to remain connected to work on the Indian Youth Charter on Climate Change - a youth action plan towards a self-sustaining India, that can act as a role model for the rest of the world.
Click here to read the Indian Youth Declaration on Climate Change
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