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VU to host world youth environmental convention

The team: Amrit Jessal, Vince Dugrain, Sister Catherine Tay, Im Sophea, Kins Aparece

There’ll be water on the brain at Victoria University (VU) from 5-12 July, as almost 100 delegates from around the world arrive to face the twin challenges of global water supply and conservation as part of Green World Youth Day (GWYD), an annual international youth forum promoting environmental sustainability and methods to counteract environmental degradation.

The 8-day programme is being project managed by a team of VU students from the Events Project Management course (BMO2531), working alongside the GWYD international management team to foster international youth cooperation on key environmental issues. With the theme ´Water for Life´, this year’s GWYD will explore innovative methods of conserving water during drought and providing a clean supply in less-developed areas of the world.

Course Lecturer and Programme Advisor, Selvi Kannan, said that the VU team, along with GWYD delegates, will engage with a variety of organisations (such as City West Water, Commonwealth Bank, Western Water, Telstra, and Melbourne Zoo) to organise talks, workshops, and other activities, all related to water management. "There’ll be visits to see businesses affected by drought and eco groups tackling problems out in the field," she said. "There will also be tree planting projects, where the local shires will be involved."

Hailing from France, UK, Cambodia and the Philippines, the VU team is already well-placed to bring a wider world perspective on water supply and conservation, yet according to Ms. Kannan the group is itching to work with the other delegates from around the world and hear their stories. "Our team is very excited by the prospect of hosting all these people, of sharing experiences, and working together to build lasting water management outcomes," she said. "They are also very keen to get Melbourne recognised as a water-conscious environment by these international visitors."

With delegates coming from India, China, Africa, France, Burma-Myanmar, and from across South East Asia, the VU team is hoping to make a real splash at this year’s water-wise GWYD and has listed the following objectives:

• To bring together WYD participants from different countries, cultures and faiths to get to know one another and to share their experiences of life and the world;
• To raise awareness and mutual understanding of environment and development, particularly in water issues facing the world;
• To create a forum in which young people can discuss the issues that face them in their country in terms of development and share ideas on how to tackle those issues while forming new contacts;
• To introduce and involve participants in the ‘see – judge – act’ method of development education;
• To build international partnerships with young people in other countries;
• To identify small-scale actions for individuals and groups to take up once they go home.

Green World Youth Day Brochure

For more information on the World Youth Day go to www.greenwyd.org

Contact:	Selvi Kannan
Phone:	+61 3 9919 5374
Email:	selvi.kannan@vu.edu.au