20 "Pacific" Solutions to a Sustainable Future

In a few days time the 6th World Youth Congress will set the platform for the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. One of the outcomes of the WYC 2012 is to come up with 20 solutions for a sustainable future to save the world.

As part of the WYC and a delegate from the Pacific region, I involved other young people from the Pacific to share what they view as solutions for a future which is sustainable for the present generation and the generations to come.

These are their solutions:

1. Educate: start grassroots education on Sustainable Development – use the media and creative arts
2. Participate: meaningful and proactive youth participation – empower the future leaders
3. Protect: and promotion of traditional knowledge
4. Invest: more into renewable energy
5. Commit: more genuine high-level commitment
6. Collaborate: solidarity between the rich and the poor nations of the world
7. Prioritize: economic development, environmental conservation and social equity
8. Focus first on climate change adaptation, then mitigation and climate financing
9. Change your mind set – the challenges faced by the world today are global and we can’t solve it locally. We need a global effort!
10. Listen to what young people are saying
11. Take responsibility of your actions
12. Don’t lost hope!
13. Don’t lose hope!
14. Don’t lose hope!
15. Don’t lose hope!
16. Don’t lose hope!
17. Don’t lose hope!
18. Don’t lose hope!
19. Don’t lose hope!
20. Don’t lose hope!

This is what young people in the Pacific believe are answers to some of the most pressing issues of our time. What are your solutions?