MGCY

Major Group for Children and Youth

UN CSD

MGCY Communication February2012

Overview of the MGCY

Welcome to the MGCY and Rio+20

The Rio+20 Earth Summit is anticipated to be the largest, and arguably most important, UN conference in history. The MGCY aims to advance the participation of all young people in the protection of the environment and the promotion of economic and social development. The MGCY works to ensure that youth voices are represented in the negotiations and to do this, we need your voice. This MGCY communication is aimed at providing you with information you need to get involved. We will tell you more about who the MGCY is and why you should join.

Who is the Major Group for Children and Youth?

The Major Group for Children and Youth (MGCY) is the official voice for young people in the UN sustainability negotiations, specifically the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) and the Rio+20 Earth Summit. The MGCY is made up of organisations and individuals who care about the sustainability of our planet and actively w ant to participate in shaping the future. Through networking and collaborating with young people around the world, we develop policy recommendations for the official sustainable development process and participate in the negotiations to lobby for their adoption. In addition, the M GCY is a platform for youth involved in sustainability at a local level to share their ideas, tell their stories and voice their opinions. The MGCY is open to every young person and the more people involved, the stronger our influence will be to inspire change. At the United Nations, we design the way the world works. We design the future.

The MGCY is your voice. Let it be heard.

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MGCY Communication February 2012

[Issue] :: [Date] Who is the MGCY?

Principles
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The MGCY operates on principles. These principles guide our work in terms of policy and what we advocate for, and also how we work together. The MGCY is open to everyone who shares these principles with us and is committed to achieving a sustainable world.

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How does the MGCY work?

The work of the MGCY is done entirely by volunteers; international young people who are committed to making a difference. There are different layers of organization within the MGCY to help facilitate the inclusion of youth voices in the sustainability process. Organising Partners The Organising Partners (OP) are the main liaison between the MGCY and UNDESA, the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, under which the CSD and Rio+20 fall. Their main role is to disseminate relevant data and information for the MGCY to help facilitate activities that maximize youth participation. Facilitation Team The Facilitation Team (FT) is the MGCY's decision-making body with the mandate to facilitate children and youth participation and activities within the MGCY and Rio+20 process. Members of the FT are energetic and result 2 oriented people with a common interest in advancing the role of young people, and working with the MGCY. Task Forces Three Task Forces (TFs) have been established in line with the thematic discussions for Rio+20. The TFs are focused on policy contributions and work with youth internationally to develop and lobby for policy that reflects the voices, aspirations and concerns, of youth. Working Groups Youth activism with the MGCY is facilitated through the Working Groups (WGs). Different WGs have been established to enable young people with different interests to get involved in their own capacity. The WGs have a primary focus of inspiring local action to help build the strength of the youth voices in the process.

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MGCY Communication February 2012

Who is the MGCY? Issue [#] :: [Date]

Facilitation Team
Coordinating activities and strategically guiding the work of the MGCY
The Facilitation Team (FT) is the MGCY's decision-making body with the mandate to facilitate children and youth participation and activities within the MGCY and Rio+20 process. Members of the FT are energetic and result oriented people with a common interest in advancing the role of young people, and working with the MGCY.

Who are the Major Groups?

The Major Groups are the official representation of civil society in the UN sustainability negotiations. The first Rio Earth Summit held in 1992 produced Agenda 21, known as the Blueprint for Sustainable Development. A component of this document was the recognition given to nine groups of civil society, which formalized their presence in the negotiations. The nine groups are Women, NGOs, Business and Industry, Farmers, Indigenous People, Local Authorities, Workers and Trade Unions, Scientific Communities, and Children and Youth. Historically, the Major Groups have been actively involved in the sustainable development negotiations and have provided innovative spaces for discussions to occur. Their participation is a fundamental prerequisite for the achievement of sustainable development.

How does the Facilitation Team work? The FT regularly meets every 2 weeks through an online call to monitor and report on TFs, WGs and other relevant activities, identify needs, make plans and coordinate activities. Minutes from the FT calls are kept on a shared document and available online. All decisions are made by consensus and are guided by our MGCY Processes and Procedures document. What kind of actions are taken by the Facilitation Team? The FT makes decisions that have broad reaching impacts on the MGCY as a whole, such as how a program will be implemented or what actions will be taken to meet certain objectives. Decisions are also made about how certain groups function in an effort to increase youth participation and to ensure MGCY activities are of a high standard, reflecting the principles that we operate on. All decisions are made by consensus and are guided by our MGCY Policy and Procedures document. How do I catch up on whats been going on? Becoming an active contributor to the FT can take time because there is a lot of work that has been done that you would need to catch up on. Reading the different pages on the website and reviewing previous minutes can help. In addition, introductory sessions will be held with new members of the FT prior to each call to help you get started. 3

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MGCY Communication

[Issue] :: [Date] Who is the MGCY?

Task Forces
Facilitating youth involvement for the creation and advocacy of policy amendments
There are three MGCY Task Forces aligned with the objectives of Rio+20 who work towards creating policy. The Task Forces are: Green Economy in the Context of Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication Institutional Framework (Governance) Objectives These Task Forces developed the MGCY contribution to the Zero Draft, which will become the primary negotiating text at Rio+20. Since then, we have been attending formal and informal negotiations to advocate for our points and influence policy. Heres an overview of the groups: Green Economy The Green Economy aims to create an economic model that fully integrates sustainable development and poverty eradication. MGCY believes it is a system that can improve human wellbeing and social equality within the carrying capacity of the planet. We have developed youth-specific policy recommendations, such as youth employment through green jobs for youth, and lobby for these to be adopted. Institutional Framework Governance The MGCY believes there is need for reform in the governance for sustainable development. We believe that the establishment of ombudspersons for future generations and the greater participation of all stakeholders provide concrete solutions to shift the focus of our decision-making from short-term benefits to the long-term interests of younger and future generations. Objectives The MGCY objective for Rio+20 is commitment to the implementation of sustainable development, guided by a number of goals. The MGCY are creating a vision of these goals that integrate existing arrangements, include the seven critical issues, and have an action-oriented approach. The MGCY also advocates for improved monitoring and evaluation mechanisms. 4 3

MGCY involvement in the process so far

The MGCY worked with hundreds of youth and their organisations to compile our contribution to the Zero Draft. The MGCY contribution is the basis of our lobbying strategy and the points we advocate for. To ensure youth voices are considered throughout the process, the MGCY has had representatives attend all formal and informal negotiations.

Regional Preparatory Meetings

The MGCY facilitated youth participation at the Regional Preparatory Meetings held in Africa, Latin America, the Arab Region, the Asia Pacific, and Europe and North America.

Second Intersessional, NY

Held to discuss the structure of the Zero Draft and recap on expectations for Rio+20, MGCY representatives lobbied for our key policy recommendations and collaborated with others, building a stronger civil society movement towards Rio.

Informal Informals, NY

Held to negotiate the content of the Zero Draft, the MGCY attended these sessions and continued to lobby for the points in our contribution.

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MGCY Communication Lorem Ipsum Dolor February 2012

Issue [#] :: [Date] Who is the MGCY?

Working Groups
Inspiring youth to take local action, and building a platform to make youth voices heard globally
A key component of MGCY work is It is the responsibility of every person to create the change we hope to see in the world, and facilitating youth activism at a local the MGCY works to create a platform level that can be used to where these local initiatives can be influence decisions at a seen. If you are engaged with global level. This is done !"##$%&'()"%*( %&,"#-%&'.( activities relating to through Working Groups /"0012"#13&'(1&4( (WGs), which are Rio+20 and -"2%0%+%&'(5")67( different collections sustainable !(+('&495 !(#+(&,%-*( of people who 6$&/0&%,*(2)%04%&'( development, )&%3&'(*8"*08( 678($&"!084'8( 67#")'7( work according to share your 1&4(%&,"#-13"&( /"008/398(1/3"&( ",(5")&'(*8"*08( their particular stories with us. interest or skill. There The MGCY website are many areas of serves as the central interest that point for young young people people to !.&/012%*( have, and the 3"$4.58')"%-*( connect and +)**"#3&'(678( /"&&8/3&'(5")&'( WGs are aimed 1/398( share ideas, *8"*08(%&9"0984( *1#3/%*13"&(",( at connecting %&(0"/10(1/3"&( and we are /7%04#8&(( those people trying to together to collect as many help build the youth youth voices as possible in 7$%01(&-&%,*( voice for sustainability. 3"$4.56/(-4*( +8/)#%&'(A&1&/%10( support of Rio+20. Write a *#8*1#%&'(,"#(678( +)**"#6(6"( :;<=( Essentially, the MGCY acts as story, make a video, start 8&1208(:;<=( <"&,8#8&/8(",( 1&4(5")67( a platform for these a discussion forum, or get =")67(>?@>( 1/39%38+( activities to be voiced, thus involved in education and demonstrating the support and capacity building, and share it action that young people have for our policy on our social media sites. recommendations. We encourage all We want to hear your voice and share it with interested young people to get involved. the world to influence change. Several WGs have already been established in our preparations for Rio+20. We are always open to expanding these to include new ideas. The central diagram provides an overview.

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WG has a variety of activities already underway, so check out our website to find out what these are and how you can get involved. 5

Contact Us
If you are interested in getting involved, let us know. There is a lot of work to get done in a short space of time and w e need your help to make our voices stronger. The MGCY is open to any young person under the age of 30 years and we welcome your ideas, thoughts, and skills in how we can make the youth voice stronger for sustainable development. All this information and more can be found on our website www.uncsdchildrenyouth.org and we encourage you to check it regularly to keep up to date w ith events and activities. We look forward to hearing from you. Make your voice heard.

MGCY Communication February 2012

Who is the MGCY?

Organising Partners:

Ben Vanpeperstraete Ivana Savic Kiara Worth

ben@rioplus20s.org ivana.savich@gmail.com kiara.youth@gmail.com

MGCY
www.uncsdchildrenyouth.org

UN CSD

Green Economy: Michaela Hoogenboom Lena Mckelburg Institutional Frameworks: Alice Vincent Sebastien Duyck Objectives: Saba Loftus Oli Maisonet-Guzman

Task Forces:
michaela@rioplus20s.org lmm.wdst@yahoo.com alice.vincent@worldfuturecouncil.org sebastien@rioplus20s.org saba.loftus@gmail.com olimaisonet@gmail.com

Communications Kiara Worth kiara.youth@gmail.com Children Ivana Savic ivana.savich@gmail.com Capacity Building Barkha Mossae barkha.mossae@gmail.com Youth Blast Steering Committee coyrio@gmail.com Fundraising Saba Loftus saba.loftus@gmail.com Youth Actions Anna Collins anna.collins1985@gmail.com For more information, and to register with the MGCY, please visit our website: www.uncsdchildrenyouth.org

Working Groups: