The young people keep to biological diversity – even in the future! From 6 - 8 May at the youth congress “Youth | Future | Diversity" many new ideas for projects for the conservation of biological diversity arose. Nearly 200 young people from Germany, Austria and Switzerland met in Osnabrueck at the Center for Environmental Communication of the DBU.
They followed the convention hosted by the Federal Ministry of Environment (BMU), the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) and the environmental foundation DBU. Right at the beginning they discussed with Federal Environment Minister Dr. Norbert Roettgen, BfN-President Prof. Dr. Beate Jessel and Dr. Fritz Brickwedde. Röttgen: "I was impressed by the dedication, the joy of discussion and the ingenuity of the young people. I like to take their suggestions into the government's work. The UN Decade of Biological Diversity has only just begun!"
In the final discussion the 16-to-25-year-old participants agreed to continue the “too short" congress. For future events, they formed a follow-up group, which is very active on Facebook. Some ideas came from the workshops: an environmental festival, a mobile app for the biological diversity in cities and green footprints in pedestrian zones which symbolize the ecological footprint. An action day is planned for November 11, 2011. There were also political demands, such as the principle of sustainability-oriented tax system.
The young people created also a piece of art symbolizing the results of the Youth Congress. This mail art object - and thus the message of congress - is now on tour. Interested institutions can borrow it.
